Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez were named unanimous Most Valuable Player award winners on Thursday, Nov. 12.[1] Each received all 30 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America in his league.[2][3] Willson Contreras of the Boston Red Sox finished 10th in the American League vote with 67 points, the highest placing by a Red Sox player.[2]
Related: Walpole’s Cam Schlittler Wins Unanimous AL Cy Young as Misiorowski Sweeps the NL Vote.
A first for the awards
It was the third time both MVP winners were unanimous in the same year, after 2023 and 2024.[3] New York Yankees right-hander Cam Schlittler and Milwaukee Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski won unanimous Cy Young awards on Wednesday.[1] This is the first season since the Cy Young Award began in 1956 in which both MVPs and both Cy Young winners were unanimous.[3]
Writers submitted their ballots before the postseason began.[2] Two writers in each league city voted, and a first-place vote was worth 14 points.[2]
Crow-Armstrong’s 45-homer, 41-steal season
Crow-Armstrong, 24, hit .280 with 45 home runs and 41 stolen bases in his fourth major league season.[1] He also won the Gold Glove and Platinum Glove awards.[1] He drew 83 walks, up from 29 the previous year.[1]
He began the season near the bottom of the Cubs’ lineup and moved to the leadoff spot by mid-May.[1] He hit .300 with a .398 on-base percentage as the leadoff hitter.[1]
Crow-Armstrong is the first Cubs player to win the award unanimously and the club’s first MVP since Kris Bryant in 2016.[3] His win marked the fourth straight season with a unanimous National League MVP.[3]
“I’m just blessed to have the ability that I do,” Crow-Armstrong said.[1]
Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, a four-time MVP, finished second with 264 points.[1][3] Milwaukee second baseman Brice Turang was third with 190.[3]
Alvarez wins a year after playing 48 games
Alvarez, 29, won the AL batting title with a .316 average.[1] He finished second in the league with 42 home runs and 106 RBIs.[1] He drew a major league-high 109 walks and posted a .432 on-base percentage.[1]
A wrist fracture and a sprained ankle limited him to 48 games in 2025.[1] He played 158 games this season and was named AL Comeback Player of the Year on Wednesday.[1]
“When I heard my name, that’s when the emotion came out,” Alvarez said through an interpreter.[1]
Alvarez is the third Astros player to win an MVP award, after Jeff Bagwell in 1994 and Jose Altuve in 2017.[2] He is the second designated hitter to win, after Ohtani.[2]
Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero finished second with 267 points, the highest finish by a Rays player.[2] Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. was third with 188 points, and Schlittler was fourth with 181.[2]
Where the Red Sox finished
Three Red Sox players received votes.[2] Contreras was named on 17 of the 30 ballots, with three fourth-place votes as his highest.[2] Wilyer Abreu finished 12th with 17 points.[2] Ceddanne Rafaela received four points on two ballots.[2]
For more on Boston’s offseason, see The Boston Report’s Red Sox page and the Boston Sports hub.
Sources
- ESPN: Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong, Astros’ Yordan Alvarez unanimous MVP winners
- BBWAA: Astros’ Yordan Alvarez unanimously wins AL MVP
- BBWAA: Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong unanimously wins NL MVP
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