The Rundown Lite: PCA Posting Unprecedented Numbers, RIP Lee Elia, ABS in ASG, Frankenstein Trailer
Is it just me, or was that series at Wrigley against the Cardinals over a month ago? After scoring 28 runs across those three games, the Cubs tallied just three in the first two against the Twins before busting out for eight more in the finale. Now comes what should be a sterner test as they face the Yankees in the Bronx for yet another interleague matchup.
One of the few areas in which I’m still a little old-school in my thinking is that these games should be more about novelty than normalcy. Not that MLB is taking my advice on anything. Regardless of my perceived propriety, the Cubs need to play well here at the first-half finish line if they want to go into the break with the division lead. They are only two games up on the Brewers heading into Friday’s action, and Milwaukee is hosting the last-place Nationals this weekend.
I’ve got a lot to do today and not enough time to get to all of it if I waste more time, so let’s get to it.
PCA is doing very big things
A lot of us believed Pete Crow-Armstrong would be more than an above-average big leaguer, but no one thought he’d be putting up the kind of numbers we’ve seen to this point. With two home runs on Thursday, the center fielder became the fastest Cub ever to reach 25 homers and 25 steals. In fact, only two other players have reached those numbers in two different seasons apiece.
Ryne Sandberg went 26/54 in 1985 and 40/25 in 1990; Sammy Sosa went for 33/36 in 1993 and 36/34 in 1995. The first “wow” moment is the fact that Crow-Armstrong joined them by July 10. By doing so, he joins a list that previously featured only Bobby Bonds (1973) and Eric Davis (1987) as players with 25/25 before the All-Star break. When you add in his 70 runs batted in, PCA stands alone.
Seriously, no other player in MLB’s long history has had 25 home runs, 25 steals, and 70 RBI before the break. Ready for more? PCA’s 25 homers put him one behind Kris Bryant (26 in 2015) for most ever by a Cub in his age-23 or younger season. That mark is also three shy of Patrick Wisdom‘s rookie record of 28, though the former Cubs slugger set that when he was 29.
Okay, we’ve got one final superlative for you. The multi-homer game on Thursday gave PCA five such games on the season. He’s also had six games with two steals, making him just the seventh player ever, of all time, with at least five multi-homer and multi-steal games in a season. And by doing so in his 92nd game, he got there 18 games faster than anyone before him (Ian Kinsler, 2009).
At 5.1 fWAR, Crow-Armstrong is on pace to get close to 8.5 over 650 plate appearances. He’s the only player in the NL above 4.2, putting him nearly a full win ahead of Shohei Ohtani, plus he’s playing elite defense in center. I have my doubts about him being able to earn MVPete honors, but this is shaping up to be an incredible season.
Legendary Lee Elia Passes Away
Former Cubs player and manager Lee Elia passed away Wednesday at the age of 87. The Philadelphia native spent decades in professional baseball as a player, coach, and manager, but he’s best known for unleashing one of the most epic rants in history. Not just in sports, but across the whole of human existence.
ABS at ASG
The league announced Wednesday that the automated ball-strike system will be used during the All-Star Game in Atlanta next week. It will be the same system used during spring training, with teams getting two challenges that are retained if successful. Only pitchers, catchers, or batters may appeal a call, and it must take place almost immediately.
Barring a serious snafu, it looks like ABS could be implemented permanently by next season. I’m all in favor of this development, especially with some of the zones we’ve seen this season. While MLB umpires are actually far better than they’ve ever been due to the accountability systems currently in place, bad calls still have an unnecessary impact on the game.
Home Run Derby Field Set
Man, I’m super meh on this group.
- Ronald Acuña Jr., Braves
- Byron Buxton, Twins
- Junior Caminero, Rays
- Jazz Chisholm Jr., Yankees
- Oneil Cruz, Pirates
- Cal Raleigh, Mariners
- Brent Rooker, Athletics
- James Wood, Nationals
Trailer Time
I’m a sucker for monster movies, probably because I loved the Crestwood House Monster Series books back in the day. You know, the ones with the distinctive orange covers and font? That’s why I’m excited to see what Guillermo Del Toro has in store for us with Frankenstein, which releases on Netflix in November.
