The Mariners may have taken the series opener against the Cubs with a 9-4 win on Friday, but the real spotlight was elsewhere. Cubs’ legendary slugger Sammy Sosa made his long-awaited return to Wrigley after two decades, greeted with a standing ovation and waves of nostalgia. But, on his return, not all of his records were still intact, and that’s thanks to the Cubs’ breakout sensation of the season: Pete Crow-Armstrong.

Just a day before Sosa’s visit to the North Side ballpark, PCA set another record. The Cubs lost to the Milwaukee Brewers 8-7 on Thursday, but Armstrong hit his 20th home run of the season and set the record for being the youngest Cubs player ever to have 20 homers and 20-plus stolen in a single season. He managed to do that in just 73 games. Sosa took 96 games to reach the same mark back in 1994.

PCA got the chance to meet Sosa outside the clubhouse on Friday and he reflected on the conversation later: “He said, ‘I like your game, you keep it low.’ I told him, ‘Yeah, I didn’t hit as many home runs as you, so I got to.’ He was very complimentary and sweet,” PCA revealed.

Sosa himself appeared on Inside the Clubhouse podcast on Saturday to discuss his return to Wrigley and he also talked about PCA there. “Every time he goes to the plate, he’s so confident that he’s going to make contact, he’s going to hit home runs, he’s going to steal bases. And I’m congratulating him because, I mean, 20-20 is already early in the year. It could be maybe 30-30 or 40-40 — you never know,” the 56-year-old said.

Well, considering PCA’s current form, achieving that feat doesn’t seem far off. “But you know, the way he plays the game, he plays it hard. He goes after every ball, and when he plays, you have confidence that he’ll come through with a good swing. He makes good adjustments. So, I think he’ll be fine. He’ll be very, very good,” Sosa added.

And he isn’t the only one backing PCA. The Cubs pitcher, Justin Steele, who has been sidelined for months now, was even louder and clearer. When MLB’s official account posted on X celebrating Crow-Armstrong’s breakout campaign with a video of his 452-foot homer against the Brewers, Steele couldn’t help but correct them. He quote-posted it with a four-word message: “You misspelled MVP campaign.”

Steele isn’t wrong — he just echoed what much of the MLB world is thinking. Not only is PCA making waves in the MVP race, he currently sits atop a star-studded group of NL outfielders in All-Star voting, too. Even though it’s still early for any predictions, he’s definitely showing MVP-level potential.

Pete Crow-Armstrong reflects on his season

PCA is slashing .270/.308/.871 with 21 home runs and 61 RBIs. His baserunning is top-notch, too; he has 23 stolen bases. And guess what? He also leads the National League with a 4.5 WAR.

On Friday, in an appearance on 670 The Score, he reflected on his breakout season. “Just having a year of experience — a year and some change, I guess — that’s huge. I think just being able to know what I’m doing that much better is big,” he said. “I’m just growing up a little bit, and I’m really relying on a lot of good people around me to steer me in the right direction, and that’s what’s worked,” Armstrong said during his conversation with David Haugh.

“I think there’s a few things physically that I could probably attribute to the success we’re seeing with the bat, but like I just mentioned, I think it’s more so the work behind the scenes and the work on myself that’s playing the biggest part in any sort of success we’re seeing here,” he further added,

PCA has definitely taken a huge leap this season, and that too, so early in his career. For the Cubs, who are leading the NL Central with a 46-30 record, his presence is reassuring. The fans would hope he continues to deliver like this for the rest of the season.