Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong races around the bases in 14 seconds and hits an inside-the-park home run

When Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong puts the ball in play, opposing defenders must take him out of play or get the ball back into the infield quickly, or the speedster could score.

That’s exactly what happened Friday night in their game against the Miami Marlins. Crow-Armstrong started the third inning and hit a fastball into deep right field with the first pitch. Marlins right fielder Jesús Sánchez ran out of the gap between right center and reached for the ball, but missed.

The ball bounced off the warning track, bounced off the wall, bounced back onto the field and rolled toward center field. And Crow-Armstrong took off running as Sánchez kicked the ball back into the infield.

When the cutoff man took the throw, Crow-Armstrong was already at third base. And when the throw was made from short right field to home plate, the second-year major leaguer was already on his way to a point. Catcher Nick Fortes had no chance to make a tag. Crow-Armstrong hit an inside-the-park home run and rounded the bases in 14 seconds.

According to Sarah Langs of MLB.com, Crow-Armstrong’s home-to-home time was exactly 14.08 seconds, the fastest time a runner has run around the bases this season and the fastest time a Cubs player has run home-to-home since Statcast began tracking players’ movements and skills in 2015.

Maybe Tyreek Hill should challenge Crow-Armstrong to a race instead of Olympic gold medalist Noah Lyles. Or with millions of dollars on the line, maybe the Cubs outfielder should consider proposing a contest with Lyles.

Amazingly, Crow-Armstrong’s run around the bases was the third-fastest in MLB since Statcast began tracking such data, Langs said. Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton rounded the bases in 13.85 seconds on Aug. 18, 2017. Buxton was also faster than Crow-Armstrong on Oct. 2, 2016, making the home-to-home run in 14.05 seconds.

Organizing a multiplayer sprint around the bases would probably be a logistical nightmare, but wouldn’t that be a fascinating contest to watch during MLB All-Star Weekend?