After a slow start to 2026, the 24-year-old slugger turned in a dominant performance in just his third full MLB season
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2 min read
Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong won the National League MVP award for the 2026 season unanimously, the BBWAA revealed Thursday evening.
The Baseball Writers’ Association of America ballot uses two voters from each of the 15 chapters housing NL teams. Each voter submits a ballot with 10 players, ranked 1-10. A first-place vote gets a player 14 points, while second place earns nine, third place eight, etc., until a 10th-place vote earns one point. Ballots are due before the playoffs begin, as this is a regular-season award.
Though the results were unsurprising by the time the year wound down, going back to the start of the season, this marks a huge upset. Shohei Ohtani was the overwhelming favorite to win the award heading into the season and maintained favorite status through the All-Star break. A combination of his injuries and PCA’s monster season turned the tide late.
Appearing in all 162 games, Crow-Armstrong hit .280/.372/.570 (156 OPS+) with 31 doubles, eight triples, 45 home runs, 107 RBI, 119 runs, 41 steals and 9.8 WAR. He led the majors in WAR, runs, home runs and total bases while leading the NL in slugging, OPS and OPS+. He became the seventh player in MLB history to join the 40-40 club (40 home runs and 40 steals in the same season). Further, he led the majors in multiple advanced defensive metrics, putting together one of the great all-around seasons from a position player in recent memory.
| Player | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pete Crow-Armstrong, Cubs | 30 | 420 | |||||||||
| Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers | 26 | 2 | 2 | 264 | |||||||
| Brice Turang, Brewers | 1 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 190 | |||
| Elly De La Cruz, Reds | 10 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 173 | ||||
| Jacob Misiorowski, Brewers | 2 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 157 | ||
| Gabriel Moreno, Diamondbacks | 3 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 132 | |||
| Fernando Tatis Jr., Padres | 2 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 121 | ||
| Cristopher Sánchez, Phillies | 2 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 68 | |||||
| Alex Bregman, Cubs | 1 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 63 | ||||
| Matt Olson, Braves | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 40 | ||
| Kyle Schwarber, Phillies | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 31 | ||||
| Chris Sale, Braves | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 22 | |||||
| Otto Lopez, Marlins | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 17 | ||||||
| CJ Abrams, Nationals | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 | |||||||
| Bryce Harpr, Phillies | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 | ||||||
| James Wood, Nationals | 1 | 2 | 2 | 9 | |||||||
| Brandon Lowe, Pirates | 2 | 6 | |||||||||
| Ozzie Albies, Braves | 1 | 5 | |||||||||
| Michael Harris II, Braves | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||||||||
| Andy Pages, Dodgers | 1 | 5 | |||||||||
| Jordan Walker, Cardinals | 1 | 5 | |||||||||
| Sal Stewart, Reds | 4 | ||||||||||
| Jake Bauers, Brewers | 2 | 2 | |||||||||
| Alec Burleson, Cardinals | 2 | ||||||||||
| Jackson Chourio, Brewers | 2 | ||||||||||
| Ty France, Padres | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| Hunter Goodman, Rockies | 1 | 1 |
PCA joins the following list of Cubs to win MVP:
- Kris Bryant, 2016
- Sammy Sosa, 1998
- Andre Dawson, 1987
- Ryne Sandberg, 1984
- Ernie Banks, 1958 and 1959
- Hank Sauer, 1952
- Phil Cavaretta, 1945
- Gabby Hartnett, 1935
- Hack Wilson, 1930
- Rogers Hornsby, 1929
- Frank Schulte, 1911
Ohtani, the four-time MVP, finishes in second. At the plate, Ohtani hit .275/.377/.512 with 26 doubles, four triples, 30 home runs, 81 RBI, 89 runs, 11 steals and 3.2 WAR. On the mound, he was 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 95 strikeouts in 85 ⅔ innings with 3.2 WAR.
The nationally underrated Brewers second baseman Brice Turang finishes in third. He still hasn’t made an All-Star Game, though he did start 2026 as a member of Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. In the regular season, Turang hit .268/.366/.450 (124 OPS+) with 37 doubles, three triples, 21 home runs, 100 RBI, 102 runs and 7.3 WAR, rating out as one of the best defenders in baseball.
