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Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong, who entered play Thursday afternoon with 45 home runs, punctuated his case for National League Most Valuable Player as he joined the exclusive 40-40 club after swiping his 40th base of the campaign.
After drawing a lead-off walk in the bottom of the first inning, Crow-Armstrong wasted no time taking off for second base, easily beating catcher Brian Navarreto’s throw as the Wrigley Field crowd erupted in celebration.
With his white pinstriped Cubs jersey covered in dirt, Crow-Armstrong rose to his feet and tipped his helmet to the roaring audience.
Crow-Armstrong’s historic feat made him just the seventh member of MLB’s 40-40 club, joining Shohei Ohtani (2024), Ronald Acuña Jr. (2023), Alfonso Soriano (2006), Alex Rodriguez (1998), Barry Bonds (1996) and Jose Canseco (1988).
In the wake of Ohtani’s injury-induced struggles and hiatus, Crow-Armstrong has become the runaway favorite for NL MVP amid a torrid, historic stretch.
Through 158 games entering Thursday, the 24-year-old posted an eye-popping .280/.373/.577 slash line to go with the 45 homers, 107 RBIs and now 40 steals — which doesn’t even mention his outstanding defense.
Crow-Armstrong currently wields 27 fielding run value, ranking him as MLB’s most valuable overall defender, per Statcast.
“It’s the best position-player season I’ve ever seen in my career,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said, per The Athletic.
“He’s going to win the MVP. He’s going to win the Hank Aaron Award. He’s going to win the Platinum Glove. To me, that’s more impressive than any kind of Triple Crown that we would talk about.”
Taken 19th overall by the Mets in the 2020 MLB Draft, Crow-Armstrong was dealt to Chicago at the 2022 trade deadline as part of a deal for infielder Javier Baez and pitcher Trevor Williams.
He appeared in parts of the 2023 and 2024 campaigns before enjoying a breakout 31-homer, 95-RBI season in 2025 and establishing himself in the Cubs’ lineup.
This year, Crow-Armstrong has cemented his place among MLB’s elite and is in position to become the Cubs’ first regular season MVP since Kris Bryant in 2016.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
