Chicago Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong once counted late actress Hayden Panettiere among his childhood babysitters, an unusual Hollywood connection that surfaced following her death at age 36. Growing up in Southern California as the son of actors Ashley Crow and Matthew John Armstrong, the young center fielder found himself surrounded by television and film co-stars during the production of the NBC superhero drama Heroes.
From Southern California Sets to the Big Leagues
Long before emerging as a standout outfielder in Major League Baseball, Crow-Armstrong spent his youth embedded in the orbit of his parents’ television careers. His mother, Ashley Crow, portrayed Sandra Bennet—the adoptive mother of Panettiere’s character, Claire Bennet—across 41 episodes of Heroes during the show’s 2006-to-2010 run. His father, Matthew John Armstrong, also guest-starred on the network series in 2006 as Ted Sprague, a character wielding the ability to generate and manipulate radiation.
Rather than living a sheltered life under studio lights, however, the athlete’s upbringing remained grounded in athletics. According to past interviews with the player, his parents deliberately kept him separated from the entertainment industry spotlight to prioritize his athletic development.
“The Coolest One”: A Childhood Crush
During an April 2022 interview with NBC Chicago when he was a minor-leaguer and the club’s No. 4 prospect, Crow-Armstrong detailed the reality of having a cast of television stars supervise him after school. Among those familiar faces, Panettiere left a lasting impression on the future baseball professional.
“Hayden Panettiere babysat me,” Crow-Armstrong told NBC Chicago in 2022. “I had the biggest crush on her. Yeah, I’d say she was probably the coolest one for me.”
The center fielder added that he genuinely enjoyed the company of the older actors working alongside his parents on set, though baseball ultimately claimed his primary focus.
Professional Ascent in Chicago
That early-life proximity to Hollywood has long since taken a back seat to a rapidly ascending baseball career.
Entering play on Tuesday, Crow-Armstrong sustained a powerful .281/.379/.550 slash line, accompanied by 30 home runs, 78 RBIs, and 31 stolen bases, cementing his status at the forefront of National League Most Valuable Player discussions.
Despite his parents’ extensive IMDb resumes—which include his mother’s famous turn as Billy Heywood’s mother Jenny in the 1994 film Little Big League—Crow-Armstrong has frequently noted that his cinematic appreciation remains firmly anchored to that baseball comedy.
