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Pete Crow-Armstrong to earn another mind-blowing accolade
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The Chicago Cubs are playing their last game of the 2026 regular season on Sunday and find themselves heading into a tougher than tough postseason task as the No. 2 National League Wild Card seed.
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But despite the ups and downs of an up-and-down year, this season may ultimately be remembered as the season of Pete Crow-Armstrong.
The 24-year-old Cubs center fielder is, arguably, finishing up the single greatest season in Chicago Cubs history. And if it’s not THE greatest season, it’s definitely among the very top.
Greatest Cubs season ever?
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On the year, “PCA” is slashing .278/.372/.570 with 45 home runs and 107 RBIs. His 41 stolen bases make him just the seventh player in baseball history to hit 40+ home runs and steal 40+ bases in a single season. Aside from setting a multitude of Cubs records, he also holds the distinction of being the first center fielder in all of baseball to register 40+ home runs, 30+ stolen bases, and 30+ doubles in a year.
And he’s doing all this brilliant bat work while playing elite defense in center, topping FanGraphs’ Fielding Run Value and Outs Above Average rankings.
Coming into the last game of the regular season, Crow-Armstrong has a WAR of 10.7—something which places him well above anyone else in baseball when it comes to that stat. As such, that would appear to make him a shoo-in for the MVP award.
Expected to be a clear-cut selection, PCA’s honor could be the first time, ever, that a Cub wins that award via unanimous vote.
First unanimous Cubs MVP?
Jake Misener of Cubbies Crib recently brought up this likelihood and also put it into Cubs history perspective:
“In its 150-year history, the Cubs organization has had 10 (soon to be 11) players win MVP. Frank Schulte, Rogers Hornsby, Gabby Hartnett, Phil Cavarretta, Hank Sauer, Ernie Banks (x2), Ryne Sandberg, Andre Dawson, Sammy Sosa and Kris Bryant. Each of their respective MVP seasons were special, but none of them were selected unanimously…
Crow-Armstrong has been so much better than the field that it’s almost laughable. The next-closest player in terms of fWAR? Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals – and he hasn’t even cracked 7.0 fWAR on the season (6.8 fWAR). Fangraphs has Ohtani at 6.8 fWAR, but that’s combining his batting and pitching performance. So, even doing that, there’s still a 4.0-win gap between him and PCA.”
Although always considered a top-tier talent, PCA’s climb into elite-level production is credited to a sudden development of patience at the plate and a newfound discerning eye. No longer a free-swinging whirlwind hacking at everything, he started taking more pitches. accepting more walks.
Ultimately, he also started getting more good pitches to hit because of his unwillingness to chase. The results from his sudden shift in mindset and execution have been on full display this season.
Whatever the case, Crow-Armstrong and the Cubs are hoping that this MVP season extends into the playoffs where the team will be facing an uphill climb in their pursuit of a championship.
The post Pete Crow-Armstrong to earn another mind-blowing accolade appeared first on ChiCitySports.
