Chicago Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong was named the unanimous winner of the 2026 National League MVP award on Thursday, dethroning Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani after Ohtani won the honor in each of the past two seasons, according to “Yahoo Sports”.
The 24-year-old outfielder played in all 162 games and led the National League with 45 home runs, a .943 OPS, and a 9.8 WAR while stealing 41 bases to join the 40-40 club, “Yahoo Sports reported”.
Speaking on MLB Network following the announcement, the two-time MLB All-Star reflected on being mentioned in the same breath as the two-way star, “the network reported”.
“Being mentioned in conversations with, you know, one of the best pitchers in the sport, but also one of the best hitters, a World Series champion, and arguably the biggest part of that,” “Crow-Armstrong said on MLB Network”.
Crow-Armstrong added that his main motivation stems from a desire for continuous improvement rather than a direct daily race against opponents, “according to Yahoo Sports”.
“It’s not like we’re racing and going up against each other every day,” “Crow-Armstrong stated during his interview”.
“But I think it’s just the fact that I want to be better than I was the day before, and really, that’s been all that I’ve needed to motivate myself with for really as long as I can remember,” “he added, per the coverage”.
The young superstar also credited the people around him in the Chicago clubhouse, including manager Craig Counsell and teammates Alex Bregman and Nico Hoerner, “Yahoo Sports noted”.
“I’ve been lucky to be in really good clubhouses my first, you know, parts of four seasons up here,” “Crow-Armstrong said of his teammates”.
“They give me patience and a lot of runway to be myself and succeed that way,” “he continued, according to reporting”.
With the victory, Crow-Armstrong joins a distinguished list of Cubs MVPs that includes Ernie Banks, Ryne Sandberg, Andre Dawson, Sammy Sosa, and Kris Bryant, “the outlets reported”.
He specifically singled out the late Sandberg, who supported him while battling cancer, “per Yahoo Sports”.
“He made himself available for a lot of us over the last few years through chemo and everything,” “Crow-Armstrong said of Sandberg”.
“He was hugely important to the last few years of my life,” “he added, according to the source text”.
Crow-Armstrong also noted that he had spoken earlier in the day with Bryant, whose own MVP win came exactly 10 years prior, “Yahoo Sports documented”.
“I’m happy to carry on their legacy,” “the newly crowned MVP concluded”.