Crow-Armstrong and Alvarez Unanimously Win First MVP Awards: 45 Homers and 41 Steals in One Season, a .316 Average in the Other

Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong was unanimously named the National League's Most Valuable Player on Thursday. Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez was the unanimous American League winner, also a first-time MVP.

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

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

After Crow-Armstrong homered twice in an 8-4 win over Atlanta on 16 September, Cubs manager Craig Counsell said you spend your whole life in baseball and you just do not see this happen on a baseball field, and that he was grateful to be part of it and grateful the fans got to see a season like this.

Alvarez made a run at the Triple Crown for the AL West champions, batting a career-high .316 with 42 home runs and 106 RBIs for Houston.

Alvarez led the majors in batting average and finished tied for second in the AL in homers and second outright in RBIs, trailing Pete Alonso's 43 homers and 113 RBIs for Baltimore.

Alvarez was Houston's primary designated hitter, but his offensive brilliance was enough to overcome his limited defensive contributions. 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. He received all 30 first-place votes in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Tampa Bay third baseman Junior Caminero, who batted .276 with 42 homers and 101 RBIs, finished second with 27 of 30 second-place votes, and Kansas City shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. finished third.

Alvarez made his major league debut with Houston in 2019, batting .313 with 27 homers and 78 RBIs in just 87 games to earn the AL Rookie of the Year award. He was the ALCS MVP in 2021 and helped the Astros win the 2022 World Series. He is a career .300 hitter with 212 homers and 599 RBIs in eight major league seasons.

The 24-year-old Crow-Armstrong, who agreed to a six-year, $115m contract in March, is the Cubs' first NL MVP since Kris Bryant in 2016. He was selected by the New York Mets in the first round of the 2020 amateur draft before being traded to Chicago in the Javier Baez deal in July 2021.

Crow-Armstrong enjoyed a breakout season in 2025, helping the Cubs qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2020. He batted .247 with 31 homers, 95 RBIs and 35 stolen bases in 157 games.

Crow-Armstrong made significant strides particularly against left-handed pitching in his fourth season. He batted .280 against left-handers in 2026 after hitting just .188 against them the previous year, and said before the playoffs that getting to know the strike zone better had helped him make consistent quality at-bats and miss fewer pitches in the heart of the zone.