Cubs Star Pete Crow-Armstrong Wins Unanimous NL MVP

The Chicago Cubs have another MVP winner. 

Pete Crow-Armstrong has officially won the National League MVP award. The Cubs center fielder received all 30 first-place votes and became the Cubs' first MVP winner since Kris Bryant in 2016. 

Crow-Armstrong and Shohei Ohtani were neck-and-neck in MVP odds for most of the second half, but the Cubs center fielder ran away with the award down the stretch. He continued to perform at an elite level, and Ohtani dealt with some injuries that hurt his overall odds. 

Crow-Armstrong finished first as the unanimous National League MVP voting. Ohtani finished as the runner-up with 26 second-place votes, and Brice Turang finished third with 190 points. 

This MVP award marks yet another piece of hardware that Crow-Armstrong has taken home this season. He won a Gold Glove for the second straight year, the Platinum Glove for the first time in his career, Fielding Bible’s Defensive Player of the Year, the NL Hank Aaron Award, and now MVP. 

It was basically a lock for Crow-Armstrong to win his first career MVP award. He pulled away in the odds in the final month of the season and put together the best all-around season in Major League Baseball in 2026.

The 24-year-old superstar was elite at both the plate and in the field this past season. 

He slashed .280/.372/.570 with 45 home runs, 31 doubles, eight triples, 107 RBI, and 41 stolen bases across 162 games. Crow-Armstrong was tied with Kyle Schwarber for the home run lead and led all National League hitters in runs scored (119), slugging percentage (.570), and OPS (.942). 

On top of those hitting numbers, Crow-Armstrong was arguably the best defender in all of baseball. He ranked first among all defenders in Fielding Run Value (26), Outs Above Average (26), Runs Prevented (23), and four- and five-star catches combined (22). The National League MVP also ranked third among all outfielders in defensive runs saved (16), only behind Ceddanne Rafaela (21) and Andy Pages (20). 

Crow-Armstrong put together an unbelievable 2026 campaign. He was a big reason the Cubs made the playoffs and got through the season with all those injuries. He led all of Major League Baseball with a 9.8 WAR. 

After winning his first career MVP,  Crow-Armstrong has certainly established himself as one of the best players in baseball. He made significant adjustments at the plate in 2026 and is arguably the best defender in the sport.