This story was excerpted from Jordan Bastian’s Cubs Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
CHICAGO -- Pete Crow-Armstrong broke into a smirk, thinking back to the last time his mom played the role of catcher so he could throw some practice pitches in their yard.
Crow-Armstrong estimates he was probably around 11 years old and he had started to reach about 70 mph on his throws. Still, his mom, Ashley Crow, readied herself and young Pete wound up and fired a pitch that went awry.
“I smoked her in the thigh. And that was the last bullpen she ever caught,” Crow-Armstrong said with a laugh. “But she wore that like a boss. She was literally just as much a part of my athletic childhood as my dad or another coach. It was awesome.”
Crow-Armstrong -- a spark plug of a center fielder for the Cubs and one of baseball’s budding stars -- credits some of his athleticism to his mom, who played multiple sports when she was young.
“She was athletic,” he said. “But she obviously went a different route.”
Ashley Crow went into acting, as did Crow-Armstrong’s dad, Matt Armstrong. That, of course, has been well documented as Crow-Armstrong has gained fame of his own climbing the professional baseball ranks.
Among baseball fans, Crow is famous for playing the mom in the movie “Little Big League,” in which her 12-year-old son becomes the owner and manager of the Minnesota Twins. That film came out in 1994 -- eight years before Crow-Armstrong was born. It has turned into a fun fact that has followed him throughout his baseball career.
All Crow-Armstrong remembers is that his mom played a constant role in his baseball journey.
“She was just out there with me in the yard just as much as my dad,” Crow-Armstrong said. “I know that’s not really the case for a lot of people. My mom and my dad played softball together in their actors’ league. She was pretty in tune with how baseball was played.”
These days, Crow-Armstrong said, his mom has continued to be a great sounding board for him.
“My mom’s super empathetic,” he said. “She would never tell me to do this or do that, but she just always knows what to say when she’s just asking how I'm doing. That’s how she’s invested -- making sure she knows she’s thinking of you. She’s done that my whole life.”
With Mother’s Day looming on Sunday, Crow-Armstrong also reflected on his favorite memory with his mom since reaching the Major Leagues.
Crow-Armstrong’s first day with the Cubs was on Sept. 11, 2023, on the road against the Rockies, but he was not expecting to play until the next day. In the seventh inning that night, then-manager David Ross sent the rookie in as a pinch-runner. His mom was the only person from his personal circle that was able to make it to Coors Field to see his debut.
“She was the only one there that was able to make it -- everybody else was there the next day,” Crow-Armstrong said. “It was so last-minute, but my mom still found a way to get out there. She was the only person I got to really hug after my debut and kind of share that moment with.
“It was fitting. It was perfect. Her and my dad, man, it was us three growing up. That was a special one.”