Pete Crow-Armstrong Is Basically Second Coming of Barry Bonds…or Tracy Jones
Pete Crow-Armstrong overcame a slow start to hit 10 homers and steal 27 bases, putting him in rare company. Since 1986, only four other players have generated numbers like that in less than 125 games as rookies: Elly De La Cruz, Trea Turner, Tracy Jones, and Barry Bonds. That means it’s pretty safe to assume PCA will go down as one of the greatest players the game has ever seen.
Rookies with 10 HR & 25 SB in less than 125 games played in a season?️
Pete Crow-Amrstong
Elly De La Cruz
Trea Turner
Tracy Jones
Barry Bonds(since 1986) pic.twitter.com/xvjRWwq2MM
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) October 3, 2024
Or maybe he’ll be more like Jones, who hit 10 homers and stole 31 bases in 117 games for the Reds in 1987 and then hit 15 homers with 24 steals over the subsequent four years of his career. Hey, does anyone else think it’s weird that four of the five players on this list are from the current NL Central? Or that it wasn’t more common in the mid-80s and early 90s when stolen bases were all the rage?
Bonds hit 16 homers and swiped 36 bags over 113 games as a rookie in 1986, the same year Jones debuted. De La Cruz hammered 13 dingers and logged 35 steals over just 98 games in his 2023 rookie campaign, the same year PCA debuted. Turner is on an island as a 2016 rookie — did anything big happen that year — who put up 13 homers and 33 steals.
The new disengagement rules and bigger bases have brought the steal back into vogue, hence guys like De La Cruz and PCA turning their speed into an even bigger advantage. In fact, aggressive and successful baserunning is a big part of why Crow-Armstrong remained in Chicago despite a .180 average and 48 wRC+ through his first 195 plate appearances. He stole 18 bases during that time, giving him at least marginal value from something other than his glove.
An offensive turnaround in late July led to the fleet-footed rookie batting .289 with a 123 wRC+ and seven homers to just nine steals over his final 215 PAs. His walks were up and his strikeouts were down, allowing him to dial back a little on the need to create on the bases. Not that he had been reckless in the early going, it’s just that he seemed far more comfortable out there.
Now that he’s got more MLB experience under his belt and has already shown he’s one of the best defensive players in the game, I’m looking for PCA to take his offense to a new level next season. Home run records, beware.