{"id":285809,"date":"2026-04-25T18:18:31","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T18:18:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/285809\/"},"modified":"2026-04-25T18:18:31","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T18:18:31","slug":"pete-crow-armstrong-tries-to-explain-why-he-mocked-dodgers-fans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/285809\/","title":{"rendered":"Pete Crow-Armstrong tries to explain why he mocked Dodgers fans"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong\u2019s scathing remarks<\/a> about Dodgers<\/a> fans took off this spring, he wasn\u2019t worried about how fans might interpret them. His back-and-forth with the Dodgers fans dates back several years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to make sure that the people on the other side of the field who I really respect knew where I was coming from, and that it had nothing to do with the people on the field,\u201d Crow-Armstrong told The Times before the Dodgers\u2019 6-4 loss<\/a> to the Cubs on Friday, full of gratitude for Dodgers manager Dave Roberts<\/a>, shortstop Mookie Betts<\/a> and Freddie Freeman<\/a> in particular. \u201cI wanted to make sure that nobody took it in that way, that I was going at the Dodgers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWas I poking fun at Dodgers fans? Absolutely.\u201d<\/p>\n

It all started in late February, with a Chicago Magazine article<\/a> on Armstrong, which quoted him: \u2018\u2018I love Chicago more and more. It\u2019s just an incredible city. The people are great. … They aren\u2019t just baseball fans who go to the game like Dodgers fans to take pictures and whatever. They are paying attention. They care.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the story came out, Crow-Armstrong went on \u201cFoul Territory\u201d and doubled down.<\/p>\n

When the Cubs came to town Friday, Dodgers fans made it clear they hadn\u2019t forgotten. Thunderous boos greeted Crow-Armstrong as he walked up to the plate for the first time. But Crow-Armstrong was expecting that, and he didn\u2019t walk back anything he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I wish people could see through is, I\u2019m not getting at die-hard Dodger fans,\u201d he said. \u201cThey obviously exist, they\u2019re out there. I grew up seeing those people, too, but it\u2019s a see-me city, man. It\u2019s a Lakers city where people show up to sit courtside and look good. And I view it the same way here.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, Shohei<\/a> [Ohtani<\/a>] and Freddie and Mookie because it wasn\u2019t always like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

On that last point, his tone was sincere.<\/p>\n

Friday\u2019s announced attendance at Dodger Stadium was 53,733, the seventh sellout of the season.<\/p>\n

Dodger Stadium played an important role in Crow-Armstrong\u2019s baseball upbringing. The son of two actors, Ashley Crow and Matthew John Armstrong, Crow-Armstrong grew up in Los Angeles and went to Harvard-Westlake<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He went to plenty of Dodgers games, but when Crow-Armstrong was younger, he latched on to players rather than teams. From the Dodgers, he was drawn to Matt Kemp<\/a>, Andre Ethier<\/a>, and of course, Clayton Kershaw<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember specific stuff too, like Adrian Gonzalez\u2019 first homer as a Dodger,\u201d Crow-Armstrong said. \u201cWe were all watching that together. The Dodgers were a huge part of my life growing up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Pete <\/p>\n

Pete Crow-Armstrong celebrates in the dugout after scoring off a triple hit by Dansby Swanson during the seventh inning Friday.<\/p>\n

(Ryan Sun \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Crow-Armstrong, baseball-hungry from a young age, also would go to Angel Stadium when the Yankees were in town to watch Derek Jeter, one of his favorites, go up against Mike Trout\u2019s Angels. Eventually, his father, an Illinois native, recruited his son into Cubs fandom.<\/p>\n

Crow-Armstrong\u2019s L.A. ties made that first trip with the Cubs to Dodgers Stadium feel \u201cspecial.\u201d Regardless of the size of the stadium, or the major league stage, part of that first experience in September 2024 made him feel like he was back in high school.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m playing in front of my friends again, and I\u2019m getting to show off for my friends and all that fun stuff,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing better to me than seeing a random face that I didn\u2019t know was coming to the game, and they\u2019re sitting three rows behind our dugout. … That\u2019s by far what I look forward to most about this trip.\u201d<\/p>\n

Show off he did.<\/p>\n

Crow-Armstrong\u2019s standout defensive showing peaked in a game-sealing catch over the wall in right-center field, robbing Max Muncy of a home run.<\/p>\n

The rookie center fielder didn\u2019t bother to hide his delight, jumping and shouting in celebration. He developed a contentious relationship with Dodgers fans in that series.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were really quick to talk … to me when I was in center field,\u201d Crow-Armstrong said. \u201cAnd I appreciate that kind of stuff. Like they\u2019re obviously engaged and in the way that they want to be. \u2026 And just very easy to kind of give it right back. Like, \u2018Yeah, please, be my guest.\u2019 But I kind of love that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

The Cubs\u2019 next visit to Dodger Stadium was just as eventful. News broke that the Cubs and Crow-Armstrong\u2019s agents at CAA had engaged in extension talks. Then he broke out of a slump to hit two home runs and a triple in a win that clinched a series victory.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love playing here,\u201d Crow-Armstrong said afterward. \u201cIt\u2019s a fun crowd, and I like the noise. I think the Cubbies like playing here, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

He grinned, in case the jab was too subtle.<\/p>\n

Crow-Armstrong had a similar look on his face when that history came up again Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we\u2019re going to be immature and childish about it,\u201d he said, \u201cI\u2019d say they started it, they just gave me an opportunity to kind of run with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crow-Armstrong walked into Dodger Stadium expecting it to be a topic he\u2019d have to address all weekend, fully prepared to keep running with it.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach fan base has their own personality,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I was really just comparing my own two experiences: playing for the Cubs, and people showing up and enjoying it, and there\u2019s just an air about the place; and then here, it is what it is like. Maybe if I played here, it\u2019d be different. But I don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

His experience with Cubs fans also factored into his desire to stay with the organization long term. This spring, he signed a six-year, $115-million contract. And on Friday, he commended Cubs fans for their patience.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t the hottest start to my career, but I got loved the same way that I do today,\u201d Crow-Armstrong said. \u201cAnd even right now, when it\u2019s been tough on me results-wise, all I hear running out to the field is, \u2018Hey, we love you. We got you. The city loves you. You\u2019re the best.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The sentiment from Dodgers fans Friday was a little different. Not only did they boo Crow-Armstrong\u2019s every at-bat, but even the Dodgers\u2019 social media team piled on.<\/p>\n

After Crow-Armstrong struck out in his first at-bat \u2014 one of Dodgers starter Emmet Sheehan\u2019s career-high-tying 10 strikeouts \u2014 the Dodgers\u2019 social media account posted a video of his last whiff, with the caption: \u201cA strikeout worthy of taking pictures and whatever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crow-Armstrong and the Cubs, however, got the last laugh, as the Dodgers\u2019 bullpen buckled. With the score tied in the ninth Friday, Crow-Armstrong lined a single into shallow left field against Dodgers reliever Tanner Scott. Then Scott grooved a fastball down the middle to Dansby Swanson, who hit it over the left-field wall.<\/p>\n

Crow-Armstrong had a trip around the bases to relish the relative quiet he and his teammates had induced.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong\u2019s scathing remarks about Dodgers fans took off this spring, he wasn\u2019t worried…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":285810,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[11585,2139,426,21264,6308,122456,122455,2424,423,48,52,51,47,50,49,3835,592,91630,7756,122457,8843],"class_list":{"0":"post-285809","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-cubs","9":"tag-dodger-stadium","10":"tag-dodgers","11":"tag-dodgers-fan","12":"tag-field","13":"tag-first-experience","14":"tag-first-trip","15":"tag-friday","16":"tag-game","17":"tag-la","18":"tag-la-headlines","19":"tag-la-news","20":"tag-los-angeles","21":"tag-los-angeles-headlines","22":"tag-los-angeles-news","23":"tag-mookie-betts","24":"tag-people","25":"tag-pete-crow-armstrong","26":"tag-son","27":"tag-town-friday","28":"tag-way"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=285809"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285809\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/285810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=285809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=285809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=285809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}