Pete Crow-Armstrong won the NL MVP award unanimously on Thursday after the center fielder starred for the Chicago Cubs in a majestic all-around season.
Crow-Armstrong joined Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez as first-time MVPs. Alvarez was the unanimous AL winner after making a run at the Triple Crown, hitting a career-high .316 with 42 homers and 106 RBIs for the AL West champions.
Crow-Armstrong set career highs by batting .280 with 45 homers, 107 RBIs and 41 steals in 162 games. He tied Kyle Schwarber for the major league lead in home runs, and he led the NL in runs (119), slugging percentage (.570) and OPS (.942).
He also was one of the majors’ premier defensive players. The Southern California native won his second Gold Glove, and he led the majors with 26 Outs Above Average and 23 Runs Prevented, according to Baseball Savant.
“You spend your whole life in baseball and you just don’t see this happen on a baseball field,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said after Crow-Armstrong homered twice in an 8-4 win over Atlanta on Sept. 16. “You’re grateful to be a part of it. You’re grateful to see things like this and then you’re grateful that the fans get to see a season like this.”
Crow-Armstrong received all 30 first-place votes in balloting from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers finished second, and Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Brice Turang was third.
Alvarez led the majors in batting average and finished in a tie for second in the AL in homers and second by himself in RBIs, trailing Pete Alonso’s 43 homers and 113 RBIs for Baltimore.
Alvarez was Houston’s primary designated hitter, but his offensive brilliance was enough to overcome his limited contributions on defense. The four-time All-Star also led the majors in walks (109), on-base percentage (.432) and slugging percentage (.601).
The 29-year-old Alvarez became the first AL MVP from Houston since Jose Altuve in 2017. Third baseman Junior Caminero, who batted .276 with 42 homers and 101 RBIs for Tampa Bay, was second in the AL balloting. Kansas City shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. finished third.
Alvarez broke into the majors with Houston in 2019. He hit .313 with 27 homers and 78 RBIs in just 87 games, earning the AL Rookie of the Year award.
Alvarez was the ALCS MVP in 2021 and helped the Astros to the 2022 World Series championship. He is a .300 hitter with 212 homers and 599 RBIs in eight big league seasons.
Crow-Armstrong improved significantly after breakout 2025
The 24-year-old Crow-Armstrong, who agreed to a $115 million, six-year contract in March, is the first NL MVP from the Cubs since Kris Bryant in 2016.
Crow-Armstrong was selected by the New York Mets in the first round of the 2020 amateur draft. He was traded to Chicago in the Javier Báez deal in July 2021.
Crow-Armstrong had a breakout season last year, helping the Cubs qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2020. He hit .247 with 31 homers, 95 RBIs and 35 steals in 157 games.
The left-handed batter made significant strides at the plate in his fourth season, namely against lefties. He hit .280 against southpaws in 2026 after that number was .188 last year.
“I would say, like, what contributed to making myself a consistent quality at-bat and all that stuff is just, like, getting to know the strike zone just that much better,” Crow-Armstrong said before the start of the playoffs. “I definitely missed less pitches in the zone, in the heart of the zone, that I should be hitting this year.”
Reporting by The Associated Press.