Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong won the 2026 National League Most Valuable Player award unanimously on Thursday, receiving all 30 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. He finished a 45-homer, 41-stolen-base season with a second Gold Glove, putting his impact on both sides of the game at the center of his first MVP award.

The 24-year-old became the first Cubs player to win the NL MVP since Kris Bryant in 2016. The result capped a season in which Crow-Armstrong combined power, speed and elite center-field defense, rather than relying on one standout statistic alone.

A unanimous vote after a 40-40 season

Crow-Armstrong hit .280 with 45 home runs, 107 runs batted in and 41 stolen bases across 162 games, according to the Associated Press. He tied for the major-league home-run lead and led the National League with 119 runs, a .570 slugging percentage and a .942 on-base-plus-slugging mark.

His defensive work added to the case. Crow-Armstrong earned his second Gold Glove and led the majors with 26 Outs Above Average and 23 Runs Prevented, statistics tracked by Baseball Savant and cited by AP. The voting results posted by MLB show that he received every first-place ballot.

What the award means for Chicago

The win makes Crow-Armstrong the 10th Cubs MVP, according to MLB, and the franchise’s first since Bryant’s 2016 award. He improved on a 2025 season in which he hit 31 homers and stole 35 bases, giving the Cubs a sharply stronger offensive year from a player already valued for his defense.

The unanimous vote also sets Crow-Armstrong apart in a tight award conversation: reigning two-time NL MVP Shohei Ohtani finished second, followed by Milwaukee’s Brice Turang. The 2026 results are part of a broader year-end awards cycle; see TheGlobuzz’s coverage of this year’s Cy Young award for another look at the voting.

Sources

Associated Press, Crow-Armstrong wins NL MVP (AP report republished by NBC Sports, Nov. 12, 2026); MLB, 2026 MVP voting results.

Season statistics and defensive measures are credited in AP’s report to MLB records and Baseball Savant; MLB’s award story provides additional Cubs history and season context.