Latest news with #Cubs'
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong makes child's dream come true at lemonade stand
The post Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong makes child's dream come true at lemonade stand appeared first on ClutchPoints. Not everyone who has Pete Crow-Armstrong's background would find a way to stay as grounded as the Chicago Cubs All-Star. He is the son of two actors and was selected in the first round of the 2020 MLB Draft. Following initial concerns about his offense, the 23-year-old has blossomed into a National League MVP candidate in his second big-league season. Through all these blessings and triumphs, Crow-Armstrong has kept his fun-loving nature. Whether it be his child-like enthusiasm or his decision to roll into spring training with blue stars in his bleached blonde hair (has since changed his hairstyle), this all-round talent stays true to himself. Crow-Armstrong has spoken openly about inspiring others to approach life in the same way. He put those strong words into firm action this week. The excellent center fielder strolled over to a lemonade stand in Chicago, via Jomboy Media, and gave three boys an experience they will brag about for days on end. One will walk around with living proof of the lasting impact a ballplayer can have on a child. The young fans were trying to raise enough money so that one of them, who is already sporting short blonde hair, could get the signature blue-star haircut that Crow-Armstrong displayed in early 2025. The man they call PCA decided to help him out. He supplied him with the money needed to obtain the unique style, shook the kids' hands, took a picture and signed an autograph. He left the young entrepreneurs in complete awe. Crow-Armstrong's gesture deserves endless praise, but one also should not overlook their reactions. These children were so grateful for the opportunity to meet one of their idols that they asked him to sign a paper towel that was lying around on the stand. It was pure baseball fandom and childhood innocence at its best. A nearby adult, presumably a parent, perfectly summed up the heartwarming exchange. 'That's as good as it gets, guys.' Well done, Mr. Crow-Armstrong. Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong is making a huge difference on and off the field Considering the Sherman Oaks, California native has been exposed to two industries that many may describe as jaded, it is incredible to see him live with such passion and joy. It is clear his parents, one of whom played the mother in 1994's 'Little Big League,' imbued their son with a sense of self and infectious energy. He is now looking to do the same for the next generation. Thriving with the Cubs will enable Pete Crow-Armstrong to resonate with even more people. He owns a 5.7 WAR, second only to New York Yankees great Aaron Judge, and is batting .270 with 26 home runs, 25 doubles, 28 stolen bases, a .555 slugging percentage and .860 OPS. The defensive wizard is also in line to collect his first Gold Glove award, recording 16 defensive runs saved and 16 outs above average, per FanGraphs. The magnificent campaign is made more astounding by the fact that Crow-Armstrong has only a .305 on-base percentage. Obviously, the plate discipline could use some work, but his ability to post big numbers regardless accentuates his individuality even more. He follows his own path, and it is leading to glorious success. And there are many behind him, eager to heed Crow-Armstrong's advice and live life to the fullest. Related: MLB rumors: Cubs 'check in' with Royals amid trade deadline pitching search Related: MLB rumors: Cubs linked to Eugenio Suarez consolation prize at trade deadline
NBC Sports
20 hours ago
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Cubs add pitching depth with Michael Soroka, Andrew Kittredge
The Chicago Cubs bolstered their pitching staff ahead of the trade deadline by adding right-handers Michael Soroka from the Washington Nationals and Andrew Kittredge from the Baltimore Orioles. Washington received minor league infielder Ronny Cruz and outfielder Christian Franklin in the Soroka trade. Baltimore got minor league infielder Wilfri De La Cruz in return for Kittredge. An All-Star in 2019 with Atlanta, the 27-year-old Soroka is 3-8 with a 4.87 ERA this season for the Nationals, who signed him to a one-year, $9 million contract in the offseason. He should provide depth in the Cubs' rotation behind Matthew Boyd and Shota Imanaga. The Canadian is 20-26 with a 3.91 ERA in six major league seasons. He tore his right Achilles tendon on a routine fielding play in 2020, and then injured the same tendon while walking into Atlanta's ballpark the following year. He missed the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Soroka went 0-10 with a 4.74 ERA last season for the Chicago White Sox. The 35-year-old Kittredge was an All-Star in 2021 and has a 3.44 ERA over nine seasons. The reliever has a 3.45 ERA in 31 games this season. He signed a $9 million, one-year deal with Baltimore last offseason that includes a $9 million club option for 2026 with a $1 million buyout. The Cubs trail the division-leading Milwaukee Brewers by one game after beating them 10-3. Chicago gave a contract extension to president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer, who has assembled an entertaining squad led by breakout star Pete Crow-Armstrong. The Cubs have not won a playoff series since 2017, the year after they won their first World Series in 108 years. The Nationals are last in the NL East and fired general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez. Soroka was pulled after allowing two runs in 3 1/3 innings at Houston as the Nationals shopped him. He has allowed three runs or fewer in seven of his last eight starts. Washington also dealt relievers Andrew Chafin and Luis García to the Los Angeles Angels for prospects, and veterans Kyle Finnegan, Josh Bell and Paul DeJong are candidates to be traded before the deadline. The 18-year-old Cruz joins Washington's farm system after batting .270 this season for the Cubs' Rookie-level Arizona Complex League squad. The 25-year-old Franklin is batting .265 with eight homers this season for Triple-A Iowa. The 17-year-old De La Cruz was one of Chicago's top international signings in 2025 as a switch-hitter with power potential. He was ranked the Cubs' 20th-best prospect by Baseball America prior to the trade.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Cubs' Ryne Sandberg's ex-teammate reveals message to fans in final days
The post Cubs' Ryne Sandberg's ex-teammate reveals message to fans in final days appeared first on ClutchPoints. The Chicago Cubs lost of their team legends on Monday. Former Cubs infielder and manager Ryne Sandberg passed away at 65 years old. He, along with former teammates Mark Grace, Andre Dawson, and Shawon Dunston, led Chicago through the 1990s. Dunston himself spent 12 years of his career with Sandberg, and he helped deliver the legend's last message. Sandberg played all but one of his seasons with the Cubs. The former MVP was the face of the franchise for more than a decade. That responsibility helped the infielder become a leader known for his work off the field as much as what he did on the diamond. The Hall-of-Famer helped many players throughout their career, including Dawson, Dunston, and Grace. All three were there when Sandberg passed away, and the former manager gave a message to his former teammate. Dunston appeared on MLB Network on Tuesday to pass it on to Chicago's fanbase. 'The last couple of days, he wanted to speak to me, Andre [Dawson] and Mark Grace,' Dunston said. 'That means more than being his teammate. Andre's hurt, too. All the Cubs fans are hurt. Even though he didn't speak much, he spoke. He told us that he loved us and he loved all you Cubs fans too. Go Cubs.' Chicago inducted Sandberg into the team's Hall of Fame in 2005, the same year he made it into the Baseball Hall of Fame. The Cubs retired his jersey as well, a fitting remembrance for one of the team's legends. While he was a great player on the field, Sandberg did not stop contributing to the team when he retired. He served as a manager for minor league teams in Chicago and Philadelphia after his playing days were over. Despite his shaky record, players and former teammates remember him fondly. Sandberg's death puts a dark cloud over Cubs fandom. However, the organization has done everything they can to immortalize him in Chicago history. For former players like Dunston, though, their connection with a former teammate is even more special. Related: Is Ryne Sandberg the best Cubs player of all time? Related: Cubs fans pay tribute to Ryne Sandberg at Wrigley Field statue
Newsweek
2 days ago
- Sport
- Newsweek
Cubs Blockbuster Trade Idea: Chicago Lands Cy Young Winner In 1-for-1 Swap
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The Chicago Cubs need starting pitching, as the team's schedule after the All-Star break has made abundantly clear. For the first time all season, the Cubs entered Wednesday with a two-game deficit for first place in the National League Central. They trail the Milwaukee Brewers, who have five quality starters in their rotation compared to the Cubs' two. As Thursday's trade deadline approaches, the Cubs' top objective should be to find someone who can start a playoff game. It's easier said than done, but that's how contenders separate themselves from the pack at this time of year. CLEVELAND, OHIO - APRIL 10: Pitcher Shane Bieber #57 of the Cleveland Guardians watches from the dugout prior to the game against the Chicago White Sox at Progressive Field on April 10, 2024 in Cleveland,... CLEVELAND, OHIO - APRIL 10: Pitcher Shane Bieber #57 of the Cleveland Guardians watches from the dugout prior to the game against the Chicago White Sox at Progressive Field on April 10, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio. MoreBleacher Report's Joel Reuter proposed an intriguing option for the Cubs in that regard on Wednesday: How about Cleveland Guardians starter Shane Bieber, who is almost ready to return after rehabbing from Tommy John surgery? Reuter proposed a one-for-one mock trade in which the Cubs would acquire Bieber for first base/outfield prospect Jonathan Long. "The Guardians signed Bieber to a one-year, $10 million deal during the offseason that includes a 2026 player option worth $16 million and carrying a $4 million buyout. He has yet to pitch at the MLB level this year as he continues his recovery from Tommy John surgery, but he is on the comeback trail, allowing four hits and one earned run with 14 strikeouts in 7.1 innings over his first three rehab starts," wrote Reuter. "The Guardians were on the other end of a similar trade pickup last year when they acquired a rehabbing Alex Cobb, and he ended up starting two playoff games." Bieber, the 2020 American League Cy Young winner, went four innings and allowed one earned run in his Double-A rehab start Tuesday, punching out seven batters. He may not be fully stretched out yet, but he sure looks ready to retire big-league hitters. Will the Cubs make a strong push for Bieber by Thursday? The answer could help determine the ultimate outcome of their season. More MLB: Yankees Rumors: Pirates Emerging As Likely Pitching Trade Partner?
Winnipeg Free Press
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Fans reel after successive deaths of Hulk Hogan, Ozzy Osbourne and other celebrities
CHICAGO (AP) — Kevin Huigens wipes away tears as he gazes upon the statue of Cubs' legend Ryne Sandberg outside Chicago's famed Wrigley Field. Flowers, Cubs caps, American flags and — of course — baseballs, litter the base and the ground beneath. 'I believed in him,' said Huigens, 68, of nearby Berwyn. 'He made being a Cubs fan enjoyable.' Sandberg, who had cancer, died Monday. 'But he's here in sprit, and he's going to lift up our Cubs even if he's not here physically,' Jessie Hill, 44, said, wearing a Cubs cap and jersey. Social media is swamped with outpourings of love, regret and sadness at the death of Sandberg and other cherished celebrities who died this month. The Cosby Show star Malcolm-Jamal Warner, 54, drowned in Costa Rica on July 20. Two days later, legendary heavy metal and reality show star Ozzy Osbourne, who had Parkinson's disease, died at age 76. Jazz musician Chuck Mangione also died July 22 in his sleep at age 84. Then, on Thursday, former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, whose real name was Terry Bollea, was pronounced dead at a hospital after a cardiac arrest. He was 71. 'A loss you can share with everybody' When celebrity deaths come in quick succession, 'if nothing else, it reminds people of their own mortality,' said Robert Thompson, a professor of television and pop culture at Syracuse University. 'The people who were a central part of the culture of the 1980s are getting to that age when biology has its way,' said Thompson, 65. 'When it happens in these big chunks, it becomes even more powerful.' Hogan, Warner and Sandberg were introduced to millions of people as television's popularity exploded during the 1980s. Mangione's trumpet and flügelhorn were staples on smooth jazz radio stations during the 1970s and into the 1980s. Osbourne's career spanned multiple decades, from the 1970s, when his band, Black Sabbath, dominated the heavy metal scene, through the 2000s, when his family dominated reality TV with 'The Osbournes.' 'The silver lining about celebrities is they continue to exist for us exactly as they did before' Thompson said, because we can continue to listen to their music or watch their TV shows even after they die. 'When you lose a grandparent or an uncle it's sad and you grieve with your family,' he continued. 'But it's a private kind of thing. When a celebrity dies, it's a loss you can share with everybody.' Eternal fans Robert Livernois, 59, said he grew up an Osbourne fan. He lives in Birmingham — not the gritty city in the English Midlands where Ozzy was born and raised, but a tony city in suburban Detroit. 'I loved his music. I never subscribed to any of the theatrics,' said Livernois, a radio show host. Osbourne famously bit off the head of a bat during a live performance. Robert West, 40, produces content for The Wrestling Shop in San Antonio. He said he lost two icons within days when Osbourne and Hogan died. He learned of Hogan's death through a text from a friend. 'It's almost like the last bits of my childhood is almost gone,' West said. 'I think he was part of everyone's life.' Weekly A weekly look at what's happening in Winnipeg's arts and entertainment scene. Hogan was a pioneer in the wrestling and entertainment industries, having a similar impact to that of Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson in music, West added. Twenty-three-year-old Indigo Watts is a Black Sabbath and heavy metal fan who was working at Flipside Records, a store in Berkley just north of Detroit, when he learned his hero had died. 'Some guy came in and before he left he asked 'Have you heard about Ozzy?'' Watts said. 'As soon as he said, it my heart just sank.' He said the recent celebrity deaths remind him of a dark period in 2016 when the world lost music legends Prince and David Bowie. 'I was still young, but that hit me like a truck,' Watts said. 'When you're a celebrity and you die, you leave an impact on the world.'
