Summarize and humanize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in EnglishLOS ANGELES — Pete Crow-Armstrong didn’t seem distracted on “Sunday Night Baseball,” even while blowing a kiss to his parents in the VIP seats behind home plate at Dodger Stadium.The Chicago Cubs center fielder stayed on message after Saturday’s reports surfaced about his contract talks with the club, which fizzled around the start of the season. The deal is that Crow-Armstrong will continue to hone his craft, and the Cubs will continue to give him the patience and latitude to develop as a hitter. And for now, at least, all negotiations have been tabled.“I’m here to play baseball,” Crow-Armstrong said. “There’s been a general understanding and a general consensus that we’re not going to let it be a distraction throughout this year.”Crow-Armstrong crisply addressed the topic and then went about his pregame routine before starring in Sunday’s 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. In front of a crowd of 50,899 and the ESPN audience, Crow-Armstrong launched his first two home runs this season and added a triple to help the Cubs take a three-game series from the defending World Series champs.“Just go play” has been a consistent theme. Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer acquired Crow-Armstrong from the New York Mets in the Javier Báez deal at the 2021 trade deadline, a time when the 2020 first-round pick was recovering from shoulder surgery and the organization needed an infusion of young talent.During Crow-Armstrong’s rookie season last year, Cubs manager Craig Counsell instructed him to focus on defense and base running rather than worry about his offensive numbers. Gold Glove potential at a premium position gives Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins and the rest of the front office confidence that Crow-Armstrong will generate consistent value well into the future.Still, Cubs executives and Crow-Armstrong, who is represented by Creative Artists Agency’s baseball division, did not find enough common ground to close a deal during this round of negotiations.“The communication’s been really great throughout all levels of this conversation,” Crow-Armstrong said. “They’ve been nothing but really complimentary of who I am and what I mean to the organization. That goes both ways. I’ve appreciated them throughout this whole situation.”There is no rush in the sense that Crow-Armstrong is only 23 and already under club control through the 2030 season. But he has expressed an interest in a contract extension that would secure his long-term future in Chicago.“That’s something I’d absolutely love to do. Carter and Jed know that,” Crow-Armstrong said. “It’s definitely a testament to the work I’m putting in. But I think it’s clear that I want to win games here, specifically. So I’m glad that they see that — and see that in me. It means a lot.”
PCA TIMES TWO!
The @Cubs grab the lead right back on #SundayNightBaseball with Pete Crow-Armstrong’s 2nd dinger of the game. pic.twitter.com/l63F9j1rIQ
— MLB (@MLB) April 14, 2025Crow-Armstrong’s offensive potential remains questionable and tantalizing. He hit Sunday’s first home run against Tyler Glasnow, driving a 95 mph fastball off the foul pole in right field. He followed that up with a go-ahead homer off high-leverage Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen in the seventh inning. After that ball disappeared over the center-field wall, Crow-Armstrong neared home plate and blew a kiss to his parents, Ashley Crow and Matt Armstrong, who raised him in Southern California.With a huge offensive game, Crow-Armstrong raised his season OPS by 168 percentage points to .689. It will be a long season, filled with more ups and downs. Player development, as Cubs officials like to say, is not a linear process. But passing on a contract extension at his particular moment seems to suggest that Crow-Armstrong thinks he can take his offensive game to another level.Crow-Armstrong didn’t quite go along with that theory, but his confidence is obvious.“Overall, as a player, I have a lot of belief in myself,” Crow-Armstrong said. “I don’t think that will change, no matter the amount of money that I was offered or if I don’t ever get offered again. I don’t think that will ever change.”(Photo: Kiyoshi Mio / Imagn Images)
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