Nick Baumgardner

We talk about this a little bit in transition.

You get past Valentine's Day.

Oh, man, it's about that time.

It's warming up here in the city and you're just getting that itch for some for some baseball.

That's where that's where I'm at.

And so when I'm thinking about the Cubs and the White Sox and right now we're going to start with the Cubs.

Number one storyline going into 2026 for me.

Which version of Pete Crow Armstrong will we see?

We saw the all-star MVP caliber first half from Pete Crow Armstrong.

First half had an 847 OPS, 25 homers.

You saw a guy, Marshall Harris, that was taking baseball by storm.

He was cool, started the season with the blue hair, making plays all around the yard at Wrigley Field.

Top two defensive center fielder in the game of baseball, him and Sadon Rafaela in Boston are both amazing.

Won a gold glove last year, deservedly so.

And you saw a guy where you're like, man, this is the type of dude you build around.

And then the second half got there.

And you did not see the same Pete Crow Armstrong OPS 634 with six homers and a very young player still.

Overall, a very solid season over 90 runs scored over 90 RBIs had over 30 home runs.

The amazing defense in center field.

That's a very, very high-quality season from Pete Gromsong.