On a bright summer night at Wrigley Field, Chicago Cubs youngster Pete Crow-Armstrong not only made his mark with his first three-run home run in the MLB, but also touched thousands of hearts with a touching promise to his mother.
In the seventh inning of a game against a regional rival, Pete stood before the Wrigley crowd – bat in hand, eyes on the stands where his mother was sitting. After a series of fouls, he hit the final ball with a perfect swing, sending it flying over the right wall. It was his first home run at Wrigley – and something he had promised his mother many years earlier.
“If I make it to the MLB, my first homer will be for you.” – Pete’s promise to his mother, actress Ashley Crow.
After the game, Pete didn’t celebrate loudly. He pulled out a letter from his pocket that his mother had written him in high school – a letter about faith, effort, and dreams of going beyond. “Dear Pete, whether you hit a homer or not, I was always proud of the way you stepped onto the field and dared to dream.”
Holding the letter in his hand, Pete choked up in front of the media. “I don’t play football just for the score. I play to keep a promise to my mother – the one who taught me to believe in myself.”
Pete Crow-Armstrong (PCA), born in 2002, is considered one of the Cubs’ most promising young players with excellent speed, technique and defense in the outfield. But it is his humble, emotional personality that makes him loved by fans.
Pete Crow-Armstrong brought not only a victory to the Cubs, but also an inspiring story of love and perseverance. In the MLB world where scores are often the only thing that counts, that moment at Wrigley reminded us that sports can also be a place to keep promises, and turn emotions into immortality.