Top Stories
...

Crow-Armstrong, Alvarez voted unanimous MVPs

Pete Crow-Armstrong had a majestic all-around season for the Chicago Cubs. Yordan Alvarez was an offensive force for the Houston Astros.

When it comes to the 2026 MVP awards, two players cleared the field.

Crow-Armstrong won the NL honor on Thursday, and Alvarez slugged his way to the AL prize. The winners were unanimous selections in each league in the same year for the third time, joining 2023 (Shohei Ohtani and Ronald Acuña Jr.) and 2024 (Aaron Judge and Ohtani).

Crow-Armstrong set career highs by batting .280 with 45 homers, 107 RBIs and 41 steals in 162 games. He tied Kyle Schwarber for the major league lead in home runs, and he led the NL in runs (119), slugging percentage (.570) and OPS (.942).

The center fielder also was one of the majors’ premier defensive players. The Southern California native won his second Gold Glove, and he led the majors with 26 Outs Above Average and 23 Runs Prevented, according to Baseball Savant.

“I still don’t feel satisfied with what I put out, with the product that I put on the field this year,” Crow-Armstrong said. “And it sounds so melancholy, but I’m so happy being able to say this because I really just, I know there’s more. I’ve decided there’s more. That’s how I got here.”

Crow-Armstrong, 24, played in the postseason each of the past two years, but the Cubs were eliminated each time.

Crow-Armstrong is the first NL MVP from the Cubs since Kris Bryant in 2016. He was selected by the New York Mets in the first round of the 2020 amateur draft. He was traded to Chicago in the Javier Báez deal in July 2021.

Crow-Armstrong received all 30 first-place votes in balloting from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Ohtani was second after the four-time MVP was hampered by injuries this year with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Brice Turang was third.

Alvarez led the majors in batting average and finished in a tie for second in the AL in homers and second by himself in RBIs, trailing Pete Alonso’s 43 homers and 113 RBIs for Baltimore.

The four-time All-Star played in just 48 games last year because of injuries.

Alvarez was Houston’s primary designated hitter, but his offensive brilliance was enough to overcome his limited contributions on defense. 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 Jose Altuve in 2017. Tampa Bay third baseman Junior Caminero was second in the AL balloting, and Kansas City shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. finished third.


(AP Photos Kareem Elgazzar, Eric Christian Smith)
11 hours ago
catg4 Misiorowski, Schlittler unanimous picks for Cy Young Awards yesterday
catg4 Kansas upends Kentucky 89-69 in Champions Classic Nov. 11, 2026
catg4 Racers roll over Alcorn State 94-57 Nov. 11, 2026
catg4 Kyle Larson wins 2nd consecutive Cup Series title, becomes the 11th NASCAR driver with 3 Nov. 08, 2026
Latest Sports