Pete Crow-Armstrong Wins Unanimous NL MVP Over Ohtani
Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, 24, was named the 2026 National League MVP on Thursday in a unanimous vote, beating Shohei Ohtani and Brice Turang after a 45-homer, 41-steal season. Houston's Yordan Alvarez won the American League award, also unanimously.
Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, 24, won the 2026 National League MVP award on Thursday, November 12, in a unanimous vote of the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The Cubs star beat Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani and Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Brice Turang.
Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros earlier took the American League MVP, also unanimously. Both Cy Young winners were unanimous picks too, which Jayson Stark of The Athletic said had never happened in a single year.
Crow-Armstrong hit 45 home runs and stole 41 bases, becoming the seventh member of MLB's 40-40 club. He joins José Canseco (1988), Barry Bonds (1996), Alex Rodríguez (1998), Alfonso Soriano (2006), Ronald Acuña Jr. (2023) and Ohtani (2024).
He played all 162 games and led the NL in home runs, OPS (.943) and WAR (9.8). He also hit .280 with 107 RBIs, 31 doubles and eight triples. He had already won the Hank Aaron Award as the NL's top offensive performer and a Platinum Glove as its best defender.
The win ended Ohtani's run as the NL's unanimous MVP in each of the previous two years. Ohtani finished second this time.
Asked about Ohtani on a BBWAA conference call, Crow-Armstrong dismissed the framing. "You guys in the media — I mean this in the most respectful way possible — you guys enjoyed making that a thing," he said. "That was never really the case for me, man. I was worried about facing the next arm."
The award comes exactly 10 years after Kris Bryant won NL MVP for the Cubs in 2016. It is the club's first MVP in a decade.
Crow-Armstrong was a 2020 first-round pick. The Cubs traded a World Series champion for him while he was an A-ball prospect recovering from shoulder surgery. A year ago he finished a breakthrough season as a first-time All-Star, Gold Glove center fielder and 30-30 player.
The Cubs then agreed to a six-year, $115 million contract extension with him before this year's Opening Day. Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins said Crow-Armstrong's exit meeting with the club focused on improvement. "The coolest part is the conversation was about how he can get better, because that's what he wanted to talk about," Hawkins said.
Justin Turner, who played 17 years in the majors and helped mentor him, said: "As long as he manages his emotions, he could be the greatest player on the planet."
The season ended early for Chicago. The Cubs were swept by the San Diego Padres in the Wild Card round, losing Game 2 by 4-1.
Crow-Armstrong was already back in the Wrigley Field weight room when the award was announced, while an expected lockout hangs over the sport.
