Pete Crow-Armstrong didn’t just earn National League Most Valuable Player honors in 2026. He also put together one of the greatest MVP seasons the league has seen in the past half-century.
PCA swept to NL MVP honors in unanimous fashion, earning all 30 first-place votes in balloting released Thursday, Nov. 12 by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. The coronation seemed a formality, as “MVP!” chants grew louder in Wrigley Field and anywhere the Cubs took their five-tool center fielder on the road.
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And by season’s end, it was almost unfathomable what this 6-foot, 184-pound center fielder produced.
He led the major leagues with 45 home runs – and also topped every fielder at every position with 26 outs above average.
He led the NL with a .570 slugging percentage and .943 OPS – and also stole 41 bases in 48 attempts, becoming the seventh member of baseball’s 40-40 club.
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2025 NL — Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers
(Kirby Lee, Imagn Images)
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2025 NL — Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers
(Kirby Lee, Imagn Images)
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2025 AL — Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
(Brad Penner, Imagn Images)
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2024 NL — Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers
(Sam Navarro, Imagn Images)
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2024 AL — Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
(Lon Horwedel, USA TODAY Sports)
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2023 NL — Ronald Acuña Jr., Atlanta Braves
(Brett Davis, USA TODAY Sports)
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2023 AL — Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
(Orlando Ramirez, USA TODAY Sports)
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2022 NL – Paul Goldschmidt, St. Louis Cardinals
(Quinn Harris, USA TODAY Sports)
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2022 AL – Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
(Brad Penner, USA TODAY Sports)
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2021 NL – Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies
(Benny Sieu, USA TODAY Sports)
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2021 AL – Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
(Gary A. Vasquez, Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2020 NL — Freddie Freeman, Atlanta Braves
(Tim Heitman, USA TODAY Sports)
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2020 AL — Jose Abreu, Chicago White Sox
(David Richard, USA TODAY Sports)
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2019 NL – Cody Bellinger, Los Angeles Dodgers
(Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports)
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2019 AL – Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
(Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY Sport)
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2018 NL – Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers
(Benny Sieu, USA TODAY Sports)
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2018 AL – Mookie Betts, Boston Red Sox
(Bob DeChiara, USA TODAY Sports)
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2017 NL — Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins
(Jason Getz, USA TODAY Sports)
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2017 AL — Jose Altuve, Houston Astros
(Troy Taormina, USA TODAY Sports)
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2016 NL — Kris Bryant, Chicago Cubs
(Dennis Wierzbicki, USA TODAY Sports)
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2016 AL — Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
(Kelvin Kuo, USA TODAY Sports)
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2015 NL — Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals
(Brad Mills, USA TODAY Sports)
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2015 AL — Josh Donaldson, Toronto Blue Jays
(Nick Turchiaro, USA TODAY Sports)
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2014 NL — Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers
(Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY Sports)
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2014 AL — Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
(Jayne Kamin-Oncea, USA TODAY Spor)
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2013 NL — Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates
(Charles LeClaire, USA TODAY Sports)
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2013 AL — Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers
(Rick Osentoski, USA TODAY Sports)
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2011 NL — Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers
(Jonathan Daniel, Getty Images)
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2010 AL — Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers
(Andrew Weber, US PRESSWIRE)
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2009 NL — Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
(Christopher Hanewinckel, US PRESSWIRE)
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2009 AL — Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins
(Jeff Curry, US PRESSWIRE)
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2008 NL — Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
(Jeff Curry, US PRESSWIRE)
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2008 AL — Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox
(David Butler II, US PRESSWIRE)
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2007 AL — Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees
(Jerry Lai, US PRESSWIRE)
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2005 NL — Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
(Jeff Hanisch, US PRESSWIRE)
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2005 AL — Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees
(Jerry Lai, US PRESSWIRE)
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2004 NL — Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants
(Donald Miralle, Getty Images)
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2003 NL — Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants
(Eliot J. Schechter, Getty Images)
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2003 AL — Alex Rodriguez, Texas Rangers
(Jed Jacobsohn, Getty Images)
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2002 AL — Miguel Tejada, Oakland Athletics
(Jed Jacobsohn, Getty Images)
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2001 AL — Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners
(JOHN MABANGLO, AFP via Getty Images)
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2000 NL — Jeff Kent, San Francisco Giants
(JOHN G. MABANGLO, AFP via Getty Images)
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Major League Baseball’s MVP winners since 2000
2000 AL — Jason Giambi, Oakland Athletics
(PETER MUHLY, AFP via Getty Images)
He led the majors with 119 runs scored as the leadoff man for an 89-win club, and his adjusted OPS was 56% higher than league average.
Add it all up, and Crow-Armstrong produced a major league-leading 9.8 WAR, as calculated by Baseball-Reference.
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That’s the most impactful NL MVP season, by that metric, since Barry Bonds accrued 10.6 WAR in 2004, the third time in four years he produced double-digits in that category. Before Bonds, Colorado’s Larry Walker posted a 9.8 WAR, equal to PCA, in winning the 1997 MVP.
And to find a superior MVP season not moored in the high era of baseball’s performance-enhancing drug scandal or played at altitude (though WAR partially bakes that in), we have to go back to Bonds in 1993 (9.9) and Joe Morgan way back in 1975, when he posted 11 WAR on the strength of a .466 OBP and 67 steals.
At 24 years old, PCA stands shoulder to shoulder with those greats.
It’s been a meteoric rise, from 19th overall pick by the New York Mets, to his 2021 trade to the Cubs in exchange for Javier Báez, to his year-over-year gains in less sexy but crucial categories like contact and walk rate, all of which have coalesced to make him arguably the game’s best all-around everyday player.
And now, National League MVP, perhaps the first of more to come.
