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Rule changes in last MLB CBA have helped Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong chase history

The presumptive NL MVP needs just three stolen bases to achieve a 40/40 season.
ByJake Misener
Michael Reaves/GettyImages

Pete Crow-Armstrong is putting the finishing touches on a season for the ages - one that may very well go down as the best in the 150-year history of the Chicago Cubs. One last feather in his cap would be achieving a 40/40 season. To do that, he'll need two stolen bases over the next week to join one of baseball's most exclusive clubs.

He's already set a career-high with 38 bags, to go along with 45 home runs, 30 doubles and 107 runs batted in, but the 40/40 club would be the cherry on top. It feels like some context is important, though, because I feel like his bid for history is flying a bit under the radar outside Chicago - and rule changes made during the last MLB CBA talks could be to blame.

As Bob Nightengale of USA Today pointed out in his weekend column, just four players accomplished a 40/40 season prior to 2023: Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez and Alfonso Soriano. But since then, Ronald Acuna Jr. and Shohei Ohtani have both done it, and PCA could be the third with a strong final week.

Pete Crow-Armstrong on the brink of joining baseball's 40/40 club

That shouldn't take away from the accomplishments of Ohtani, Acuna Jr. or Crow-Armstrong. But we also shouldn't ignore the impact the rule changes have had on the game (which are exactly what the league hoped for when it made them). For context, in 2022, there were 2,486 stolen bases across Major League Baseball. The 2026 regular season isn't even over yet and we're already over 3,000.

PCA pseudo-joined that group of aforementioned stars with a double in the early innings Sunday, becoming just the sixth player in MLB history with 30+ doubles, 35+ stolen bases and 40+ homers in a season (the others being Ohtani, Acuna Jr., Soriano, Rodriguez and Canseco). As he closes in on 40/40 and the first MVP award of his career, rule change or not, Crow-Armstrong has shown his breakout 2025 was no fluke and he's ready to lead the charge into the next era of Chicago Cubs baseball.

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