Pete Crow‑Armstrong Unanimous 2026 NL MVP After Historic 40‑40 Season

The Baseball Writers’ Association of America named Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong the 2026 National League Most Valuable Player on Thursday, capping a season that made the result feel inevitable. Crow-Armstrong received all 30 first-place votes after hitting 45 home runs and stealing 41 bases, becoming the first player in Cubs history to reach the 40-40 mark and the first unanimous MVP in the franchise’s history.

The case began with production that stood above the rest of the league. Crow-Armstrong batted .280 with a .372 on-base percentage and .570 slugging percentage, leading the National League in slugging and OPS at .942. He tied for the major league lead with 45 home runs and led MLB in extra-base hits with 84, runs scored with 119 and total bases with 357. Put together, it was a season that combined top-end power, speed and day-to-day run creation.

It was also much more than an offensive award. FanGraphs credited Crow-Armstrong with 10.6 WAR — wins above replacement, a catchall metric meant to measure total value — the highest figure in the majors. MLB reported that his 3.6-WAR lead over the next player, Bobby Witt Jr. at 7.0, was the first gap of at least 3.0 WAR between the top two players since 1956. In center field, one of the sport’s most demanding defensive positions, Statcast credited him with plus-26 fielding run value, the best mark for any outfielder, and plus-26 Outs Above Average, tying Byron Buxton’s 2017 figure for the most by an outfielder in a season.

That combination is what turned the MVP vote into a formality. The 40-40 club is one of baseball’s rarest single-season feats, and Crow-Armstrong became just the seventh player in major league history to join it. For the Cubs, the season carried added weight: no player in franchise history had produced a 40-homer, 40-steal season, and no Cubs player had ever swept every first-place vote for MVP.

“It’s the best position-player season I’ve ever seen, personally,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer told MLB.com. “He’s going to win the MVP. He’ll win the Hank Aaron Award. He’ll win the Platinum Glove. To do all those things in one season is incredible, and we’re just lucky to have him.”

The full awards haul matched that description. Crow-Armstrong also won the National League Hank Aaron Award, given to the league’s top offensive performer, along with the NL Platinum Glove and his second career Gold Glove in center field. The Cubs acquired him as a prospect in the trade that sent Javier Báez to the New York Mets, and he has now delivered one of the most complete seasons the franchise has ever seen.

For MVP voters, the breadth of Crow-Armstrong’s dominance left little room for debate. He was one of the game’s best hitters, its most productive all-around baserunner among elite sluggers, and its top defensive outfielder by multiple measures. By the time the BBWAA ballots were counted, the only suspense left was whether anyone would leave him off the top line. No one did.