The only shame in this season for the Chicago Cubs is that it didn’t last longer.
And that’s not just a shame for the Windy City. It’s a shame for the entire MLB world that would’ve loved to watch Pete Crow-Armstrong play more baseball.
The powerful, speedy, graceful centerfield for the Cubs may have just put together the best season in the sport in 2026.
Chicago, though, couldn’t make it out of the NL Wild Card Series, and so PCA and his teammates are at home while the four teams remaining compete to try and win the World Series.
On Wednesday, at least some good news came the way of the Cubs and Crow-Armstrong.
Pete Crow-Armstrong News
MLB announced its finalists for the Gold Gloves on Wednesday. The winners will be announced after the World Series.
Each league had three finalists named at each position.
Crow-Armstrong, as everyone expected, was an NL finalist in centerfield.
The other two finalists in the National League were Michael Harris II of the Atlanta Braves and Andy Pages of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
It’d be quite the shock if PCA didn’t win.
“Crow-Armstrong is the best defender in baseball,” MLB.com wrote in its announcement of the finalists. “His defense was worth +23 runs, according to FanGraphs’ ‘defensive runs’ metric, which paced all players. PCA also led the Majors in Statcast’s fielding run value (+26) and Outs Above Average (+26), with the latter tied for the most OAA by an outfielder in a single season since at least 2016.”
MLB.com goes on to note that Harris had the best season of his career, and that Pages led baseball with 14 outfield assists.
They just both chose a bad time to do that — while Crow-Armstrong is roaming centerfield in the National League, his glove is practically golden before the season even begins.
More Cubs Finalists
The Cubs actually have five finalists for Gold Gloves, which is impressive.
Alex Bregman was nominated at third base.
At shortstop, Dansby Swanson earned a nod.
Ian Happ is a finalist in left field.
And in right field, Seiya Suzuki is on the finalists list.
Your 2026 @RawlingsSports Gold Glove Finalists. ✨ https://t.co/B540Vf3GaW
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) October 14, 2026
Crow-Armstrong is certainly the most likely of any of these guys to win, but the Cubs could genuinely take home multiple Gold Gloves this season.
That doesn’t remove any sting from how the season ended, but it’s a nice footnote to attach to the 2026 MLB season — and if PCA wins the MVP as expected, that’ll be an even better honor.
Cubs Announce Pete Crow-Armstrong News Before Offseason