The Cubs dropped two of three over the weekend against the White Sox, thanks in part to an extra-innings loss on Sunday. Earlier in that game, Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong failed to corral a fly ball in the gap on what would’ve been an exceptional catch. In the aftermath, he exchanged words with a White Sox fan standing right behind the outfield fence and used vulgar language. Unsurprisingly, the video has gone viral.
Here’s the play:
He just whiffed it. It wasn’t a horrible play. Most outfielders don’t even get to that, given that the Statcast measure gave that ball an expected batting average of .800.
On Monday, PCA expressed regret for the incident and his “choice of words.”
“I think I just regret my choice of words the most,” Crow-Armstrong told reporters, “and who that affects in my life directly and indirectly. I don’t think that any of the women in my life would ever think that I would use those kinds of words regularly, especially referring to them. So, I’m just bummed out about the word choice, and that a bunch of little kids go and probably find their way to social media and see that as well.
“But, I am intense on the field and in a moment like that, I just let it get away from me a little bit.”
“I think Pete made a mistake with his choice of words,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “I think he’s aware of that. And that’s it. He made a mistake and we’ve got to move on from it. It’s a reality of this job. It happens. Fan interactions happen. You want to try to keep them positive, even when they’re not. Sometimes, when it’s a really emotional situation, it’s difficult. But, it’s still a requirement of the job.
“He’s an emotional player – we’ve discussed that a lot. And I’ve said consistently, I think that’s a good thing. It’ll improve and it’ll be kind of pointed in the right direction better as he gains experience. But, it’s important for him and he needs it. And we love it. We love a lot of it. But, there’s also going to be learning moments from it.”
It’s much easier said than done, especially from those who don’t have a bunch of people heckling them while they are trying to do their job, but the best route is for PCA and all players to ignore taunts.
