Despite being brought up in Los Angeles, Dodgers fans showed no love for Pete Crow-Armstrong when he came to play, leading to a sour relationship. In a recent interview, the 24-year-old said that he wasn’t backing down either.

Crow-Armstrong has been outspoken about his respect for Chicago’s fanbase. He spoke about his admiration for their genuine interest in baseball, while calling the Dodgers fans casual about the game in the same breath. His comment did not sit well with LA fans, and as their ongoing feud intensified, PCA blamed the fanbase itself.

“If we’re going to be immature and childish about it,” PCA told the Los Angeles Times after Friday’s match. “I’d say they started it; they just gave me an opportunity to kind of run with it.”

On Friday, with a crowd of 53,733 packing Dodger Stadium, boos greeted Crow-Armstrong in each of his three at-bats. He walked once while recording 1 hit and 2 runs against the Dodgers. In the ninth, PCA hit a single off Tanner Scott that brought Dansby Swanson to the plate, setting the stage for the Cubs’ victory.

PCA ran around the bases as Swanson hit the two-run shot to win the match.

But this saga with the Dodger fanbase goes back to February, when Crow-Armstrong spoke about his love for Chicago in an interview with Chicago Magazine. He had then made a witty remark against the Dodgers fans’ dedication to the game.

“They [Cubs’ fans] aren’t just baseball fans who go to the game like Dodgers fans to take pictures and whatever. They are paying attention. They care,” Crow-Armstrong told the magazine in February.

Fans hadn’t forgotten those remarks. But Crow-Armstrong was not apologetic for what he had said.

“Each fan base has their own personality,” PCA expressed to Maddie Lee of the LA Times. “And I was really just comparing my own two experiences: playing for the Cubs, and people showing up and enjoying it, and there’s just an air about the place; and then here, it is what it is like. Maybe if I played here, it’d be different. But I don’t.”

PCA told the LA Times he has a love-hate relationship with LA fans, starting from his rookie season in 2024.

In one of the September series, Crow-Armstrong halted Max Muncy’s almost-homer with a right-center field catch that helped the Cubs win. And he heard from the local fans, which he enjoyed despite everything.

“They were really quick to talk … to me when I was in center field,” PCA recalled. “And I appreciate that kind of stuff.”

But this is not the first time the league has experienced a player-fanbase feud.

In February 2004, the Texas Rangers traded Alex Rodriguez to the New York Yankees to escape his massive $252 million, 10-year contract, which hindered their ability to build a competitive team. And then, upon his return to Texas, he was welcomed with the loudest boos. The volume only upped when A-Rod hit a missile over the fence, giving the Yankees a 2-0 lead. Even though the Bronx Bombers lost the match, those boos definitely made the former shortstop a strong personality.

While Crow-Armstrong’s perception of the Dodgers’ fandom has never changed, he kept on praising the Chicago fanbase. He feels the love and support the Cubs’ fandom has extended toward him. PCA is grateful for his franchise’s patience, too, which eventually made him agree to a contract extension.

The Cubs showed their faith in him this spring with a 6-year, $115 million extension, and Crow-Armstrong is rewarding them with a solid start to the season, evidenced by a .343 BABIP and 32 total bases.

While PCA enjoys playing at Dodger Stadium and poke the fans, he has mentioned that he has no problem with the Dodgers’ players on the field.

Pete Crow-Armstrong clarifies his stance

During Friday’s match, the Dodgers’ social media also got involved in the feud between PCA and the Dodgers’ fans. After Emmett Sheehan struck him out in the first inning, the Dodgers’ social media took a dig.

“A strikeout worthy of taking pictures and whatever,” wrote the X handle, while posting a video of his out.

PCA responded, saying he holds nothing but respect for the franchise’s players, and he did not aim his remarks at them.

“I 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,” Crow-Armstrong told the LA Times. “I wanted to make sure that nobody took it in that way, that I was going at the Dodgers.”

Crow-Armstrong further clarified that his remarks aren’t for genuine, baseball-loving Dodgers fans. He took a dig at those whom he thought took the sport casually.

“What I wish people could see through is, I’m not getting at die-hard Dodger fans. They obviously exist; they’re out there. I grew up seeing those people, too, but it’s a see-me city, man,” PCA reportedly stated. “It’s a Lakers city where people show up to sit courtside and look good. And I view it the same way here.”

Regardless, he expressed his gratitude to Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, and Mookie Betts for enriching baseball in the city where he grew up.

With Saturday’s 12-4 loss to the Dodgers, the Cubs’ 10-game winning streak ended. And LA fans didn’t wait to come back at PCA, as he went 0-4 with four strikeouts.

He also had an embarrassing moment in the game.

Pete lost track of the ball during a fly ball in the bottom of the fifth inning, which fell for a double for Alex Freeland. Following the brutal error, fans of the Boys in Blue took a dig at PCA’s “casual fan” remarks.

“One would say that was a picture worthy catch,” read one comment, while most echoed the same thought.

Now, Pete Crow-Armstrong will definitely get another chance to get the upper hand for now in this ongoing player-fans rivalry on Sunday.