One of the most popular defensive statistics in modern Major League Baseball is the Defensive Runs Saved stat.
It isn’t quite as simple as the name suggests, because it involves calculating what a given play’s expected run total was versus the likelihood of a defender making a given catch.
Sometimes, though, it feels like it should be simpler.
Sometimes, it feels like a catch is simply one defensive run saved, just by itself.
That feeling arrived on Friday night when Chicago Cubs centerfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong ranged back to the fence in Miami for the best catch he’s made all season.
It looked like it would be a home run.
PCA had other ideas.
PCA Home Run Robbery Video
You could just watch this over and over:
THIS IS PETE CROW-ARMSTRONG’S SUMMER.
WE ARE JUST LIVING IN IT 🤯
(via @MLB) pic.twitter.com/c2U9Noc1I2
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 5, 2026
There’s a chance, with how the fence juts out there, that the ball would’ve barely stayed in the yard — although Crow-Armstrong was also at a spot that if he had deflected the baseball a certain way, it may still have made it out of the park.
Regardless of the exact semantics, it’s still an absurd catch for Crow-Armstrong.
PCA’s Defense Toward MVP
The coolest part of this catch is that it’s not a fluke.
Some players who rob home runs aren’t actually great defensive players. The prime example is former Angels outfielder Jo Adell, now with the Guardians. While playing in Anaheim, he had a game early in the season when he legitimately robbed three home runs.
The thing is, Adell grades out as a poor defender. That night, he happened to be given a chance to use his height and athleticism at the wall three times to make awesome plays. But the rest of the time, he struggles to be impactful on that side of the ball.
Crow-Armstrong is the total opposite. He’s the best defensive outfielder on the planet. It feels like he catches everything. Centerfield fly balls against the Cubs might as well be in a no-fly zone.
Sometimes, a guy as speedy and graceful as Crow-Armstrong can actually make it look like most catches are easy, and that can limit the amount of chances he gets to make highlight-reel grabs.
Thankfully, Friday provided a moment for a statement grab for PCA in the midst of one of the best defensive seasons in recent memory.
This is a guy who is going to probably hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases. Then you add in the defense, and he’s the clear choice for the National League MVP.
Move over Shohei Ohtani, at least for this season. As ESPN’s post said with the highlight, this is PCA’s world, and we’re all just living in it.
Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong Adds Best Catch of Season to MVP Case