Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong unanimously won the National League MVP Award.
Crow-Armstrong’s election marks the fourth consecutive season that the National League winner is a unanimous selection. Crow-Armstrong follows Shohei Ohtani with the Dodgers in 2025 and 2024 and Ronald Acuna Jr. with the Braves in 2023. Prior to 2023, there had never been back-to-back unanimous winners in the NL.
In the American League, the only back-to-back unanimous winners were Ohtani with the Angels in 2023 and Aaron Judge with the Yankees in 2024.
This is only the third time that the MVP winners in both leagues were unanimous in the same year. It first happened in 2023 with Ohtani and Acuna and again in 2024 with Judge and Ohtani. Since the Cy Young Award was inaugurated in 1956, this is the first time that both MVP winners and both Cy Young Award winners were elected unanimously in the same season.
It is the 11th time in the NL and 25th time overall in MVP voting that the winner was unanimous. In addition to Ohtani twice and Acuna, other unanimous winners in the NL were Bryce Harper (2015), Albert Pujols (2009), Barry Bonds (2002), Ken Caminiti (1996), Jeff Bagwell (1994), Mike Schmidt (1980) and Orlando Cepeda (1967). Ther have been 14 unanimous winners inm the AL, including Yordan Alvarez this year.
Crow-Armstrong is the first Cubs player to be elected unanimously. He is the ninth Cubs player honored overall and the first in 10 years. Ernie Banks was a two-time winner, in 1958 and ’59. The others were Gabby Hartnett in 1935, Phil Cavarretta in 1945, Hank Sauer in 1952, Ryne Sandberg in 1984, Andre Dawson in 1987, Sammy Sosa in 1998 and Kris Bryant in 2016.
This is the seventh time a center fielder has won the MVP Award in the NL. Willie Mays in 1954 and ’65 and Dale Murphy in 1982 and ‘83 each won twice. The other NL center fielders to win were Willie McGee in 1985 and Andrew McCutchen in 2013. A center fielder has won in the AL 15 times.
Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Trout won three times apiece, DiMaggio in 1939, ’41 and ’47; Mantle in 1956, ’57 and ’62; and Trout in 2014, ‘16 and ‘19.. Judge was primarily a center fielder in two of his three winning seasons, 2022 and ‘24. Other center fielders to win in the AL were Fred Lynn in 1975, Robin Yount in 1989, Ken Griffey Jr. in 1997 and Josh Hamilton in 2010. Yount also won in 1982 as a shortstop.
Ohtani has finished first or second in his past six MVP elections, which breaks the record he had shared previously with Bonds and Trout. Ohtani won the AL award in 2021 and ‘23 and the NL trophy in 2024 and ‘25. His other runner-up finish was in 2022 in the AL. Bonds was NL MVP from 2001-04 after having finished second to Giants teammate Jeff Kent in 2000.
Trout won the AL award in 2014 and ‘16 and was the runner-up in 2012, ’13 and ’15. Stan Musial also finished 1-2 in four straight NL elections from 1948-51.
Crow-Armstrong, Ohtani and Brice Turang were named on every ballot.
Ballots, submitted before the start of the postseason, were cast by two writers in each league city. They are tabulated on a system that rewards 14 points for first place, nine for second, eight for third on down to one for 10th.
View individual ballots on separate page.
