Congratulations to both Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Chicago Cubs and Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros for winning the National League and American League Most Valuable Player Awards. It's hard to believe that the Mets and Dodgers traded then 19-year-old prospects not realizing that one day, that these two superstars would become their respective league's MVPs.
After a slow start that seemingly began during the second half of last season, PCA caught fire offensively, hitting for a historic 40 HR-40 SB season (hitting a NL league leading 45 homers and stealing 41 bases), becoming the seventh player in MLB to accomplish the feat. In 162 games, PCA led the NL in runs (119), slugging percentage (0.570), OPS (.943), and hit for a .280 batting average. But not only did he have a great year at the plate. He was already a defensive wunderkind. In the 157 games played at centerfield, he recorded a league high 393 putouts, many of them incredibly impossible plays (check any highlight videos from 2026), for a fielding percentage of .985. Not only did he win the Gold Glove (second consecutive year), but he was awarded the Platinum Glove Award, baseball's highest honor for defense. He was also named the NL's Hank Aaron Award winner for his offensive numbers. Sports radio in Chicago compared this all-around performance to a certain GOAT in another sport...someone who won multiple offensive AND defensive awards in the 1990's.
The other finalists, which were announced just to give some suspense, were Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers (264 points, 26 second-place votes) and Brice Turang of the Brewers (190, 1). Others who received votes include: Elly De La Cruz of the Reds (173), Cy Young winner Jacob Misiorowski of the Brewers (158, 2), Gabriel Moreno of the Diamondbacks (132), Fernando Tatis, Jr. (121), Cristopher Sánchez of the Phillies (68), Alex Bregman of the Cubs (63), Matt Olson of the Braves (40), Kyle Schwarber of the Phillies (31, 1), Chris Sale of the Braves (22), Otto Lopez of the Marlins (17), CJ Abrams of the Nationals (12), Bryce Harper of the Phillies (12), James Wood of the Nationals (9), Brandon Lowe of the Pirates (6), Andy Pages of the Dodgers (5), Jordan Walker of the Cardinals (5), Ozzie Albies of the Braves (5), Michael Harris II of the Braves (5), NL Rookie of the Year Sal Stewart of the Reds (4), Jackson Chourio of the Brewers (2), Alec Burleson of the Cardinals (2), Jake Bauers of the Brewers (2), Hunter Goodman of the Rockies (1), and Ty France of the Padres (1).
On the American League side, Yordan (who apparently is on a first name basis with baseball fans everywhere) was a triple crown contender for most of the 2026 campaign. The 2019 AL Rookie of the Year and 4-time All-Star did finish with an AL high .316 average, along with league leading slash line of .432/.601/1.033. He hit 42 home runs, drove in 106 rbi's, drew a league leading 109 walks, including more intentional walks (33) then most full teams (the Dodgers as a team drew 31 IBB's). He won the AL's Hank Aaron Award for 2026. He is also the most recent member of the Topps All-Star Rookie Team to become a league MVP.
The other AL finalists were Junior Caminero of the Rays (267 points, 27 second-place votes) and Bobby Witt, Jr. of the Royals (188, 2). The rest of the AL field included AL Cy Young winner Cam Schlittler of the Yankees (181, 1), Pete Alonso of the Orioles (144), Miguel Vargas of the White Sox (129), AL Rookie of the Year Kevin McGonigle of the Tigers (109), Randy Arozarena of the Mariners (95), Ben Rice of the Yankees (92), Willson Contreras of the Red Sox (67), Dylan Cease of the Blue Jays (20), Wilyer Abreu of the Red Sox (17), Parker Messick of the Guardians (10), Dillon Dingler of the Tigers (7), Munetaka Murakami of the White Sox (5), Steven Kwan of the Guardians (5), Ceddanne Rafaela of the Red Sox (4), Drew Rasmussen of the Rays (3), Ezequiel Durán of the Ranger s(3), Isaac Parades of the Astros (2), and Cade Smith of the Guardians (2).
This is the third time an Astro was named MVP and the ninth time a Cubbie has done the same. Too bad they didn't make cards for the managers (congratulations to both Will Venable of the White Sox and Pat Murphy of the Brewers of the Brewers by the way).
With everything all said and done, did your guy win?
Sincerely,
JayBee Anama











