Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong and Astros' Yordan Alvarez win unanimous 2026 MLB MVP awards in historic BBWAA sweep
Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez each captured all 30 first-place BBWAA votes on November 12 to win their first career National League and American League MVP awards, completing the first season in MLB history with unanimous MVP and Cy Young winners.
NEW YORK — Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez each swept all 30 first-place ballots from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America on Thursday night to win unanimous 2026 National League and American League Most Valuable Player awards.
Combined with unanimous Cy Young Award winners Jacob Misiorowski of the Milwaukee Brewers and Cam Schlittler of the New York Yankees earlier this week, 2026 stands as the first season in Major League Baseball history in which both MVPs and both Cy Young winners were elected unanimously.
Crow-Armstrong joins the 40-40 club and leads baseball in WAR
Six months after signing a six-year, $115 million contract extension with Chicago in March, the 24-year-old Crow-Armstrong delivered one of the finest two-way center-field seasons in modern baseball history to become the Cubs’ first NL MVP since Kris Bryant in 2016.
Acquired from the New York Mets in the July 2021 Javier Báez trade, Crow-Armstrong batted .280 with 45 home runs—tied with Kyle Schwarber for the major-league lead—alongside 41 stolen bases and 119 runs scored to become only the seventh 40-40 player in MLB history. After moving into Chicago’s leadoff spot in mid-May, he hit .300 with a .398 on-base percentage, nearly tripled his walk total from 29 to 83, and paired Gold Glove defense (26 Outs Above Average) with a major-league-best 10.6 FanGraphs WAR.
Alvarez captures the batting crown in a dominant Houston rebound
Limited to 48 games by injuries in 2025, the 29-year-old Alvarez bounced back across 158 games to claim Houston’s first AL MVP trophy since José Altuve in 2017 while also earning AL Comeback Player of the Year honors.
Alvarez led all major-league hitters with a career-best .316 batting average while posting 42 home runs, 106 RBIs, 109 walks, a .432 on-base percentage, and a 1.033 OPS, finishing just one home run and seven RBIs shy of Baltimore’s Pete Alonso for the American League Triple Crown. He joins Aaron Judge (2025) and Miguel Cabrera (2012) as the only AL players since 1970 to win a batting title in a 40-homer season—matching the awards sweep headline pace across Thursday night’s major North American sports slate.