The 40–40 season was only half the case

Crow-Armstrong’s 45 home runs and 41 steals made him the first 40–40 player in Cubs history and the seventh in MLB history. Add a National League-leading .942 OPS and it’s easy to understand why the award conversation started with his bat. But the best reason to look beyond the home-run total is that he was also making plays most hitters never get a chance to make.

Statcast credited him with 26 outs above average, which tied Byron Buxton’s 2017 mark for an outfielder. A stolen base changes what the pitcher and catcher have to think about. An extra out in center can end the inning before the opposing lineup gets another chance. The two skills don’t make the same kind of highlight, but in 2026 they belonged to the same player. He won the NL Platinum Glove and the NL Hank Aaron Award as well as the MVP.

“I feel like I’ve spent the last five years of professional baseball trying to prove to people that I was more than a glove-first player.” Pete Crow-Armstrong, speaking to MLB.com

That’s what makes the quote more interesting than another victory lap. In 2021, the Cubs acquired him from the Mets as a prospect in the trade that sent Javier Báez to New York. The glove helped make him worth following. Five years later, the same fans who knew to watch him track a ball into the gap had reason to stay on their feet when he came to the plate.

How MLB turned the result into a galaxy graphic

The ballot makes “unanimous” a precise word. MLB’s artwork makes it the biggest thing on the page. Crow-Armstrong is smiling in Cubs pinstripes, his batting glove raised near his face. Two rings cut across the composition, and the red headline sits against a field of stars. It’s an award image built around a home-run celebration instead of a posed portrait with a trophy.