Pete Crow-Armstrong Joins 40-40 Club as Cubs Clinch NL Wild Card
Pete Crow-Armstrong reached another remarkable milestone Thursday, joining baseball’s exclusive 40-40 club on the same afternoon the Chicago Cubs secured a place in the postseason.
Crow-Armstrong stole his 40th base of the 2026 season during the first inning against the Miami Marlins, adding another landmark to a campaign that has transformed the young Chicago outfielder into one of the most closely watched players in Major League Baseball.
The Cubs then completed the day with a 2-1 victory over Miami at Wrigley Field, guaranteeing Chicago one of the National League’s three wild-card positions. The achievement gives the Cubs consecutive postseason appearances for the first time since their run of four straight playoff trips from 2015 through 2018.
Crow-Armstrong reaches baseball’s 40-40 club
The significance of Crow-Armstrong’s achievement goes well beyond the Cubs’ playoff celebration.
The 24-year-old became only the seventh player in MLB history to record at least 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in the same season. His 40th steal came after he drew a leadoff walk from Miami pitcher Tyler Phillips. On the following pitch, Crow-Armstrong took off for second base and reached the milestone in front of a roaring Wrigley Field crowd.
Crow-Armstrong entered the game with 45 home runs, meaning he had already established himself among the most productive power hitters in the league while maintaining the speed that has become one of his defining characteristics.
His 45 home runs also represent a new career high.
The players previously to reach the 40-40 mark include Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Alfonso Soriano, Ronald Acuña Jr. and Shohei Ohtani. Canseco became the first to accomplish the feat in 1988, while Ohtani most recently reached the milestone in 2024 with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
When the Wrigley Field video board announced Crow-Armstrong’s accomplishment, fans responded with loud MVP chants. The outfielder acknowledged the crowd from second base as the significance of the moment settled in.
Crow-Armstrong later described the experience as an emotional one, saying it was marked more by gratitude than relief or anxiety.
Cubs secure another postseason appearance
While Crow-Armstrong’s milestone provided the headline, the Cubs had another major reason to celebrate.
Chicago entered Thursday needing to finish the job in a tight National League postseason race. The 2-1 victory over Miami officially secured a wild-card berth and guaranteed the Cubs another opportunity to play in October.
Chicago also reached the postseason last year. The Cubs defeated the San Diego Padres in the opening round before falling to the Milwaukee Brewers in the Division Series. The return to the playoffs marks another important step for a franchise that has spent recent seasons rebuilding itself into a consistent postseason contender.
The Cubs improved to 88-71 with the victory, while the Marlins dropped to 78-81.
For Chicago, the achievement was particularly meaningful because the season has not followed a smooth path.
The Cubs opened one portion of the season with a dominant 20-3 stretch from April 14 through May 8. That run was followed by a difficult 2-14 stretch, forcing the team to navigate significant pressure before eventually putting itself in position to return to the playoffs. Manager Craig Counsell pointed to those difficult periods as experiences that helped the team develop resilience.
How Chicago won the game
The Cubs did not need a big offensive performance to secure the postseason berth.
Seiya Suzuki provided Chicago’s first major offensive spark, hitting his 26th home run of the season in the fifth inning. Miami had taken a 1-0 lead in the third when Jakob Marsee delivered an RBI single.
Chicago eventually moved ahead in the sixth.
Ian Happ opened the inning with a triple against Jack Ralston. Three pitches later, Nico Hoerner drove Happ home with a single, giving the Cubs the lead they would not surrender.
Starting pitcher Matthew Boyd supplied the biggest contribution on the mound. Boyd worked seven innings, allowing one run on five hits while walking two batters. Ryan Zeferjahn then closed out the ninth inning with a perfect frame to record his seventh save.
The result produced a fitting combination of individual history and team success.
Crow-Armstrong’s MVP season continues
Crow-Armstrong’s 40-40 accomplishment adds another significant achievement to an already extraordinary statistical season.
Entering the game, he was hitting .280 with 45 home runs, 107 RBIs, 119 runs and 40 stolen bases. His combination of power, speed and defense has placed him prominently in discussions surrounding the National League MVP award.
His offensive production has also rewritten part of the Cubs’ record book.
After hitting his 42nd home run, Crow-Armstrong surpassed the previous single-season home-run mark for a left-handed-hitting Cubs player, a record associated with franchise great Billy Williams. His total has since climbed to 45.
The timing of his 40th stolen base made Thursday especially memorable. Crow-Armstrong did not need the milestone to establish himself as one of the central figures in Chicago’s season, but reaching it while the Cubs clinched their playoff spot created a moment that will remain closely associated with the 2026 campaign.
The Cubs now turn their attention toward positioning for October. Chicago is scheduled to face the Boston Red Sox in a day-night doubleheader, although the opening game was moved because of a storm forecast.
For Crow-Armstrong and the Cubs, however, Thursday was about more than the postseason qualification.
It was a day when one of baseball’s youngest stars entered an exclusive statistical club while his team secured another trip to October. With 45 home runs, 40 stolen bases and a playoff berth now officially secured, Crow-Armstrong has given Chicago plenty to celebrate as the regular season approaches its final days.
