Pete Crow-Armstrong's Temper Will Cost the Cubs at the Worst Possible Time

Major League Baseball fans can see it coming from a mile away. Maybe longer. Perhaps as long as it takes to read and count all of the letters on the back of Pete Crow-Armstrong's Chicago Cubs' No. 4 jersey.

Armstrong should do himself a favor and count to 13 (or 14, if he includes the hyphen) the next time he starts to rage against the machine.

The favorite for National League MVP has a temper and it's going to cost him, and the Cubs, at the worst possible moment as they pursue their first World Series title in 10 years.

It could happen in the middle of a strikeout binge, it could happen in the outfield on Chicago's South Side during an encounter with the opposing team's most sassafras fan, it could happen when umpires make like the three wise monkeys (plus one) and see no evil.

Another emotional flareup with PCA happened in the Cubs most recent game, a 2-0 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on Wednesday night. Umpires made a big mistake in missing a balk call against D-backs left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez with two outs in the top of the sixth inning, and young PCA emoted furiously.

Pete Cry-Armstrong.

In a scoreless game to that point, PCA led off from third base and broke for the plate like he was trying to steal. Rodriguez freaked out, stepping off the rubber and throwing an awkward-looking pitchout-like delivery to the catcher as PCA retreated. Illegal. Rodriguez balked -- only none of the umpires called it or apparently saw it. Not even after a pow-wow led by crew chief/plate umpire Alfonso Marquez.

Literally up in arms as he pointed at the pitcher and everywhere else, PCA waved his hands, shook his head and raised his voice. Cubs coach Quintin Berry semi-passively herded him away from the umpires and back toward the bag, but once the conference ended without satisfaction, PCA had to be restrained for real by Berry. PCA was Berry mad.

Temper Pete-ick.

Cubs manager Craig Counsell, also trying to prevent his top player from being ejected, signaled in PCA's direction like he was using The Force. Pete! Whoa, Armstrong! Let the manager argue instead, young apprentice.

Another of the umpires, Mike Estabrook, came over to PCA to calm him and let them vent, which you rarely see. Estabrook must have sensed the crew messed up. PCA seemed to cool off a degree or two, but he was still boiling in the desert heat.

Pete Crow-Angerstrong.

PCA remained unhappy about the call after the game, still not sure why it was OK for the umpires to not fix an obvious mistake, which Marquez later admitted to after he checked video. But calls like that aren't reviewable by the video squad, so the umps error by omission ended up costing the Cubs a run and perhaps more.

“I saw four umpires miss a pretty obvious play,” Crow-Armstrong told reporters. “They're out there every day, just like we are. Their one job is to get calls right, and if they get it wrong, they're supposed to talk about it, figure it out, and get it right. And they didn't.”

Pete Crow-Analyticalstrong.

It's understandable why anyone would be mad, but PCA has got to stop blowing his top like this. Earlier in the D-backs series, he was slamming equipment after making frustrating outs. There was the incident with the lady White Sox fan in May when they got in each other's face through the outfield fence. There was the dugout hissy fit in the 2025 postseason when he struck out 12 times in 27 at-bats.

Take-a-seat Crow-Armstrong.

Armstrong somehow has never been ejected from a major league game, but there's a good chance it's coming. If it happens in the playoffs, it could ruin the Cubs entire season. And even if Armstrong keeps himself in the game literally, his uncontrolled emotions risk diminishing him mentally. He's got a six-strikeout game in him.

We know this. The Cubs know this. The player has to know this. PCA has got to use his emotions in another way.

Pete OutgrowTemperTantrums-Armstrong.