Yordan Alvarez and Pete Crow-Armstrong Win Baseball's MVP Awards Without a Single Dissenting Vote

Baseball's two Most Valuable Player races were not close on Thursday night. Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez won the American League award with every first-place vote, and Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong was a unanimous choice in the National League ^[1][4].

Alvarez collected all 30 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers' Association of America and finished with 420 points, according to USA Today ^[1]. Tampa Bay's Junior Caminero placed second with 267 points, and Kansas City's Bobby Witt Jr. was third with 188 ^[1]. In the National League, Crow-Armstrong beat out the other finalists, Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers and Brice Turang of the Brewers ^[5].

Alvarez Finally Gets His Trophy

For years Alvarez has been one of the most feared hitters in the game without an MVP award to show for it. That changed after a season in which he hit .316 with a .432 on-base percentage and a .601 slugging percentage, leading the major leagues in all three, USA Today reported ^[1]. He added a career-high 42 home runs and 106 RBI ^[1].

He made a real run at the Triple Crown before Baltimore's Pete Alonso passed him with 43 homers and 113 RBI ^[1]. Even so, Alvarez joined Aaron Judge and Miguel Cabrera as the only American League players since 1970 to win a batting title while hitting 40 or more home runs, according to USA Today ^[1]. Bleacher Report noted that he also drew 109 walks and posted a 181 wRC+, an all-in-one measure of run production, which was 24 points better than any other hitter in baseball ^[2]. He is only the second player who spent most of his season as a designated hitter to win the award, following Ohtani ^[2].

The 29-year-old had finished in the top 10 twice before, most recently placing third in 2022, the year Houston won the World Series ^[1]. He is a four-time All-Star and a former Rookie of the Year ^[3]. Alvarez is now the third MVP in Astros history, joining Jeff Bagwell in 1994 and Jose Altuve in 2017 ^[1][2].

It was a lesson in perseverance for the whole club, too. The Astros opened 16-27 and fought back to finish 81-81 in the AL West, and USA Today noted they became the first playoff team in a full season without a winning record ^[1]. Judge, the reigning winner, was held to 66 games by injury ^[1].

Crow-Armstrong's Season for the Ages

In the National League, Crow-Armstrong put together one of the most complete seasons the sport has seen. The 24-year-old hit 45 home runs, tying Kyle Schwarber for the major league lead, and stole 41 bases in 48 tries, according to MLB Trade Rumors ^[5]. He batted .280 with a .372 on-base percentage and a .570 slugging mark, led the majors with 119 runs scored and drove in 107 ^[5].

He was the only player in baseball to reach 40 homers and 40 steals this year, and his season is one of just seven 40-40 campaigns in history ^[5]. He did it while playing elite defense in center field, winning his second straight Gold Glove and the NL Platinum Glove as the league's best defender ^[5]. MLB Trade Rumors reported that his 25 outs above average tied Byron Buxton's 2017 mark for the best by an outfielder since the statistic was introduced in 2016 ^[5].

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The growth at the plate was dramatic. The Chicago Sun-Times reported that his on-base percentage jumped from .287 to .372 and that his walk rate more than doubled, from 4.5 percent to 11.4 percent ^[4]. His teammates saw it every day. "Man, we're witnessing one of the all-time seasons in baseball history," pitcher Matthew Boyd said in September, according to the Sun-Times ^[4].

Crow-Armstrong is the first Cub to win the award since Kris Bryant in 2016, the year Chicago won the World Series, and the 12th MVP in franchise history ^[4][5]. The Cubs had already committed to him for the long haul with a $115 million extension this spring, MLB Trade Rumors reported ^[5]. Ohtani, a four-time winner, saw his run of three straight MVP awards end after injuries kept him off the mound after early July, though he still hit 30 home runs ^[5].

Why It Matters

What stands out about both winners is not just the numbers but how they got them. Alvarez's best weapon this year was patience: more than a hundred walks from a man pitchers feared all season, the willingness to take what the game gave him rather than force it. Crow-Armstrong grew from a free swinger into a complete hitter by doing the unglamorous work of learning the strike zone.

There is character in that, too. The Sun-Times reported that Crow-Armstrong spent the summer playing down his own accomplishments and talking about team goals, goals the Cubs fell short of after an early postseason exit ^[4]. In an era of highlight-reel self-promotion, a young star who keeps pointing at the team is an example worth holding up to the kids in the backyard.

What Comes Next

With the MVP awards handed out, baseball's honors season is nearly done; the Silver Slugger awards are scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 17 ^[6]. Now the focus turns to the hot stove, and to whether the Cubs can turn a historic individual season into the October run that escaped them.