Cubs star Crow-Armstrong hits 45 homers and steals 41
Astros slugger Alvarez wins AL honor after .316 season
Both players earn first MVP awards in unanimous votes
Pete Crow-Armstrong was unanimously named the National League’s Most Valuable Player on Thursday after the Chicago Cubs center fielder produced a spectacular all-around season.
Crow-Armstrong joined Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez as a first-time MVP winner. Alvarez was the unanimous American League winner after making a run at the Triple Crown, batting a career-high .316 with 42 home runs and 106 RBIs for the AL West champions.
Crow-Armstrong set career highs by batting .280 with 45 homers, 107 RBIs and 41 stolen bases in 162 games. He tied Kyle Schwarber for the major league lead in home runs and led the NL in runs (119), slugging percentage (.570) and OPS (.942).
He was also one of the majors’ premier defensive players. The Southern California native won his second Gold Glove and 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 16 September. “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.”
Alvarez led the majors in batting average and finished tied for second in the AL in homers and second outright 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 defensive contributions. 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 José Altuve in 2017. He received all 30 first-place votes in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Tampa Bay third baseman Junior Caminero, who batted .276 with 42 homers and 101 RBIs, finished second, receiving 27 of 30 second-place votes. Kansas City shortstop Bobby Witt Jr finished third.
Alvarez made his major league debut with Houston in 2019, batting .313 with 27 homers and 78 RBIs in just 87 games to earn the AL Rookie of the Year award.
He was the ALCS MVP in 2021 and helped the Astros win the 2022 World Series. He is a career .300 hitter with 212 homers and 599 RBIs in eight major league seasons.
The 24-year-old Crow-Armstrong, who agreed to a six-year, $115m contract in March, is the Cubs’ first NL MVP since Kris Bryant in 2016.
Crow-Armstrong was selected by the New York Mets in the first round of the 2020 amateur draft before being traded to Chicago in the Javier Báez deal in July 2021.
He enjoyed a breakout season in 2025, helping the Cubs qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2020. He batted .247 with 31 homers, 95 RBIs and 35 stolen bases in 157 games.
Crow-Armstrong made significant strides at the plate in his fourth season, particularly against left-handed pitching. He batted .280 against left-handers in 2026 after hitting just .188 against them the previous 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 playoffs. “I definitely missed less pitches in the zone, in the heart of the zone, that I should be hitting this year.”
