The Chicago Cubs star opens up about becoming a member of a star-studded Team USA roster for the World Baseball Classic and bringing his fearless protection to the stage.
When Pete Crow-Armstrong places on a Team USA jersey, it’s not precisely a new feeling. The Chicago Cubs heart fielder has been representing the crimson, white, and blue since he was 12 years outdated. But stepping onto the sphere within the World Baseball Classic alongside a few of the recreation’s greatest stars nonetheless feels a little surreal.
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Crow-Armstrong admitted as a lot on an upcoming episode of Boardroom Talks, set to drop later this month, whereas discussing what it means to share an outfield with gamers like Aaron Judge and Byron Buxton for Team USA.
Pete Crow-Armstrong and Aaron Judge heat up earlier than an exhibition in opposition to the Colorado Rockies. (Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
“I was about to say that you see me playing next to you,” Crow-Armstrong joked in response to a query in regards to the stacked roster. “That’s what makes it a little different. I’m having a hard time bringing myself back down to earth, and considering myself a teammate of theirs, I think at this point.”
For Crow-Armstrong, who has rapidly constructed a status as certainly one of baseball’s most electrical defensive outfielders, the chance represents each a private milestone and the continuation of a lengthy national-team journey. Long earlier than he was patrolling heart subject for the Cubs, he was making performs for USA Baseball on the youth degree, gaining worldwide expertise that helped form his recreation.
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Defense, after all, stays a calling card. Asked whether or not followers may see the identical highlight-reel performs on the worldwide stage — the diving catches and wall climbs which have develop into a signature a part of his fashion — Crow-Armstrong didn’t hesitate.
“That’d be nice,” he mentioned with a grin. “It’s going to be tough in left-center in Houston, right-center. Center field, though, it’s never off limits.”
If there’s a wall to scale, he’s prepared.
“There’s a pad on that thing,” Crow-Armstrong mentioned. “I’m always looking forward to it playing at Wrigley with the brick. So if there’s padding on the wall, it will be touched.”
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That fearless method has made the 23-year-old a fan favourite in Chicago and one of the thrilling younger defenders in baseball. Now, on the game’s international stage, Crow-Armstrong may have the prospect to showcase that very same power — chasing down fly balls, crashing into partitions, and doing no matter it takes to assist Team USA defend its place among the many world’s greatest.
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