Thirty writers voted for the National League MVP award. All thirty of them put Pete Crow-Armstrong first.
PCA was named the National League's Most Valuable Player in a unanimous vote. Los Angeles star Shohei Ohtani, who had won the award in each of the last two seasons, finished second. Milwaukee Brewers infielder Brice Turang came in at third, but there was never really any race to be had. The National League only had one MVP this season, and everyone knew it.
One for the history books
The history on this one comes in layers. PCA is the first ever Cubs player to be voted on unanimously, the ninth Cubs player to win the award, and the first since Kris Bryant won it in 2016. PCA is also the fourth in line of unanimous MVP voting, with Ronald Acuña Jr in 2023, and Ohtani sweeping the board the last two seasons.
The season made the voting easy. PCA hit .280 with a .570 slugging percentage, 45 home runs, 107 RBIs, and 41 stolen bases. He led the majors with 119 runs scored as the leadoff hitter for an 89-win team.
PCA recently collected a Platinum glove, leading all fielders with 26 outs above average. He's the first player in history to ever combine a 40-40 season, a gold glove, and an MVP all in the same season.
For all the history, PCA spent part of his MVP night pointing at the one thing still missing. He went hitless in the Wild Card series, and blamed himself before anybody else could.
That's what makes this more than an awards night for the Cubs. A unanimous MVP in center field changes the math for the whole winter. Every decision in front of the office, from the outfield corners to the rotation, now runs through one question: how do the Cubs make sure a season like this one ends with more than individual hardware?
PCA just set a standard for the franchise. The next job is building a team that lives up to it.
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