Pete Crow-Armstrong and Yordan Alvarez Win Unanimous MVP Awards
Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez won Most Valuable Player awards unanimously on Thursday, earning the honors for the first time in their careers.
Crow-Armstrong secured the National League honor after hitting .280 with 45 home runs, 107 RBIs, and 41 stolen bases across 162 games, according to the Guardian. He tied for the major league lead in home runs and led the National League in runs with 119, slugging percentage at .570, and OPS at .942.
The 24-year-old outfielder also won his second Gold Glove, pacing the majors with 26 Outs Above Average and 23 Runs Prevented as calculated by Baseball Savant. He is the first Cubs player to win the National League award since Kris Bryant in 2016.
“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 September 16. “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.”
In the American League, Alvarez captured the award unanimously after batting a career-high .316 with 42 home runs and 106 RBIs for the AL West champions. He led the majors in batting average, walks at 109, on-base percentage at .432, and slugging percentage at .601.
The 29-year-old designated hitter became the first American League MVP from Houston since José Altuve won in 2017. Tampa Bay third baseman Junior Caminero finished second in the voting, while Kansas City shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. placed third.
Crow-Armstrong pointed to his refined approach against left-handed pitching as a catalyst for his breakout campaign, raising his average against southpaws to .280 in 2026 after hitting .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 start of the playoffs. “I definitely missed less pitches in the zone, in the heart of the zone, that I should be hitting this year.”
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