Watch: PCA’s Game-Ending Catch Even More Amazing Considering Fan Interference

Photo of Evan Altman Evan AltmanSeptember 11, 2024

Pete Crow-Armstrong has come into his own over the last few weeks, and Tuesday night in LA showed just why the Cubs felt they robbed the Mets at the trade deadline in 2021. He drove in two runs and had a pair of hits in the Cubs’ second straight win over LA as further proof that the bat is fine, but it’s his glove that will remain his carrying trait.

First, he tracked down a Kiké Hernández fly in right-center by sprinting 106 feet and making a sliding grab at the warning track in the 7th inning. The Cubs were down two runs at the time and the Dodgers had a runner on first who would have scored easily had the ball dropped, but this ended the inning with no further damage.

Next up was a very similar play that required PCA to travel one foot farther to snag a Shohei Ohtani fly for the second out in the bottom of the 8th. Adding to the level of difficulty was a little hitch when the center fielder paused briefly as if in deference of Cody Bellinger in right before dropping into a slide and having to reach almost behind his back to make the catch. This is god-tier body control.

Finally, there was a game-ending catch on a Max Muncy fly ball that would have put the Dodgers within one run. Closer Porter Hodge had to step off the mound to calm his racing heart, after which Muncy sent a ball to the wall. Again it was out to right-center. Again PCA was there to make the play.

“I was just ready for the contact,” Crow-Armstrong told reporters. “We were playing pretty deep. The most important run is the one on deck. And, yeah, we were just trying to take away any ball, I guess. But I just saw ball up and went for it.”

But now take a closer look at the play from a different angle and you’ll see that it was even more amazing than you can see from the wider view. A Dodgers fan reached over the wall in an attempt to catch the home run — which would have resulted in fan interference and an out anyway — and the ball clearly hits the bill of the cap he was using as a glove.

I’m sure plenty of folks don’t find this to be a big deal at all, but I would challenge you to go out and play a simple game of catch with some dude holding his hat a foot from your glove.

This kid is legit.

Photo of Evan Altman Evan AltmanSeptember 11, 2024
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