Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong joins just 5 players in MLB history with rare HR feat

Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong joins just 5 players in MLB history with rare HR feat originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Chicago Cubs are in the thick of the NL Central race, and they also have Pete Crow-Armstrong making a legitimate case to win MVP over Shohei Ohtani.

On Monday night, he further bolstered his case with an all-around incredible game. He had a leadoff home run on the very first pitch of the game against the crosstown rival Chicago White Sox, and then walked it off in the 10th inning.

As MLB.com’s Brent Maguire notes, Crow-Armstrong hitting a leadoff and walkoff homer in the same game is just the sixth time in MLB history it’s ever been done, as PCA joins some rare company with one of the coolest feats in baseball.

Pete Crow-Armstrong joins five others in rare MLB history

“Crow-Armstrong became just the sixth player to hit both a leadoff homer and a walk-off homer in the same game,” Maguire writes.

The most recent instance came back in 2010, when Chris Young for the Arizona Diamondbacks accomplished the same feat against the San Diego Padres.

Ian Kinsler in 2009 also accomplished this feat, winning the game for the Texas Rangers against the Minnesota Twins in the 12th inning.

While the Cubs got to experience this rare feat from Crow-Armstrong, they have actually seen someone do this before. Unfortunately, it was done against them.

Back in 2003, Reed Johnson for the Toronto Blue Jays hit a leadoff home run, and then hit a 10th-inning walk-off home run off Shawn Estes.

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Darin Erstad in 2000 for the Los Angeles Angels, in a season that’s somewhat similar to what PCA is doing this season, where Erstad won a Gold Glove, hit 25 homers, and stole 28 bases, he hit a leadoff and walk-off homer in the same game against the Twins.

Finally, back in 1957, Vic Power was the first player to achieve this feat, slugging a leadoff and walk-off homer for the Athletics to beat the Baltimore Orioles.

This is some very cool history for Crow-Armstrong to join, as it’s even rarer than a no-hitter or even a perfect game. It’s interesting that half of the six times this has happened, it’s been to an AL Central team, including the Twins twice.

The Cubs are the only team to experience this from both sides, giving up the leadoff and walk-off homers to Johnson back in 2003, and now 23 years later, having Crow-Armstrong hit a leadoff homer and a walk-off homer.

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