Pete Crowe Armstrong was a member of the Mets for approximately 13 months.
He has made many friends and had a good time within the organization, but until this week he had never set foot in Citi Field or even New York City.
“I’ve never experienced anything like this before,” the Cubs outfielder said this week from the clubhouse during a visit to Queens. “It’s not weird. It’s just new and exciting.”
Crowe Armstrong made an impact for his former team on Wednesday night with the game-winning sacrifice fly in the fifth inning of the Cubs’ 1-0 win.
Before scoring the winning RBI in his fifth at-bat, Crowe Armstrong whiffed on Joey Butt’s changeup and sent his bat flying down the first base line, where it interestingly got caught in the protective netting. for a moment.
Crowe Armstrong was the 19th overall pick in the 2020 draft, but due to the pandemic, he didn’t travel to the Mets’ home base like many draft picks.
Although he did not play in any minor league games that season for the same reason, he made his debut with Low-A St. Lucie in 2021 and appeared in six games before needing shoulder surgery at the end of the season.
By the time he returned to the field, he was a member of the Cubs.
The Mets mortgaged part of their future with the ill-fated contracts of Javier Báez and Trevor Williams at the 2021 trade deadline and watched Crowe Armstrong, now 22, crack Chicago’s system.
According to MLB Pipeline, the defensively gifted center fielder is the Cubs’ top prospect and is looking to prove he can handle the day-to-day duties of major league pitchers.
Crowe Armstrong will probably always qualify as what could have been for the Mets, who got brief production from both Báez and Williams but paid that cost.
Crowe Armstrong admitted he was looking forward to finally arriving at Citi Field, but had no intention of showing himself to the Mets. He wanted to catch up with the friends he had made.
Crowe-Armstrong became acquainted with prospects such as Mark Vientos, Brett Batty and Francisco Alvarez through playing in instructional leagues and working at the Mets’ facility in Port St. Lucie.
Before this week’s game, he had a conversation with several players on the field, a moment most staff members only dream of.
Even if Crowe Amstrong wears a different jersey than expected, prospects in that class are making an impact in the majors.
“I’ve been looking forward to seeing my friends the last few years, especially on the big league field,” he said. “We talked about this day. …There was a lot. [conversations]”
