Power and speed, personified.

That is Pete Crow-Armstrong in a nutshell. And it’s what helped him make Chicago Cubs history this season.

The center fielder has at last achieved a coveted 30-home run, 30-stolen base season, joining Sammy Sosa as the only two Cubs in franchise history to reach the milestone. 

Crow-Armstrong’s two-run homer in the fourth inning of Friday’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals was his 30th of the year. His 35 stolen bases are the fifth most in the National League and ninth most in MLB.

Crow-Armstrong joins the New York Mets’ Juan Soto — who entered the 30-30 club on Sept. 9 — and Francisco Lindor, as well as the New York Yankees’ Jazz Chisholm Jr., the Cleveland Guardians’ Jose Ramirez and the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Corbin Carroll as the sixth player to reach the mark in 2025.

In his age-23 season, Crow Armstrong is the youngest Cub to reach 30-30, as Sosa first achieved it at age 24. Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels holds the record as the youngest player in MLB history with a 30-30 season, doing so in 2012 at age 21.

Sosa, a Cubs legend and Hall of Famer, reached the 30-30 landmark twice, first in 1993 (33 HR, 36 SB), in his second season and breakout year with the Cubs, and then again in 1995 (36 HR, 34 SB). In the latter season, Sosa was a first-time All-Star and a Silver Slugger Award winner, and he finished eighth in NL MVP voting.

Crow-Armstrong, a first-time All-Star in 2025, had been within arm’s reach of the 30-30 club for a while. By July 23, he already had hit 27 homers and stolen 28 bases. He swiped his 30th bag on Aug. 10 in St. Louis.

However, a two-month slump since the All-Star break — during which he slashed .210/.266/.364 (.630 OPS) with just four homers — hindered his chance at history.

Despite his rough stretch, Crow-Armstrong undoubtedly has provided the spark the Cubs needed en route to their first postseason berth since 2020 and their most wins in a single season since 2018. He is second on the Cubs in bWAR (5.6), leads the team in fWAR (5.1), and as the NL’s leading outfielder in outs above average, he’s well on his way to earning his first career Gold Glove.