Pete Crow-Armstrong was unanimously named the National League's Most Valuable Player on Thursday after the Chicago Cubs center fielder produced a spectacular all-around season. He joined Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez as a first-time MVP winner, with Alvarez unanimously taking the American League award. Crow-Armstrong, 24, received all 30 first-place votes, while Shohei Ohtani finished second in the NL with 26 second-place votes.

Crow-Armstrong set career highs by batting .280 with 45 homers, 107 RBIs and 41 stolen bases in 162 games, and led the NL in runs (119), slugging percentage (.570) and OPS (.942). His 45 homers and 41 steals made him the seventh player in MLB history to have a 40-40 season. He also won his second Gold Glove and led the majors with 26 Outs Above Average and 23 Runs Prevented, according to Baseball Savant. Cubs manager Craig Counsell said after Crow-Armstrong homered twice in an 8-4 win over Atlanta on 16 September: "You spend your whole life in baseball and you just don't see this happen on a baseball field."S1S2

Alvarez, who was Houston's primary designated hitter, led the majors in batting average at .316 and finished with 42 home runs and 106 RBIs for the AL West champions. He also led the majors in walks (109), on-base percentage (.432) and slugging percentage (.601). The 29-year-old became the first AL MVP from Houston since José Altuve in 2017. Tampa Bay third baseman Junior Caminero finished second, and Kansas City shortstop Bobby Witt Jr finished third.S1S2

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 Báez deal in July 2021. The Brewers' Brice Turang finished third in the NL vote, becoming the first Brewers infielder to finish in the top three since Prince Fielder in 2011.S1S2