Crow-Armstrong, 24, became the first player ever to win an MVP, earn a Gold Glove, and record at least 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in the same season. He finished the year with 45 home runs and 41 stolen bases, joining the exclusive 40-40 club as its seventh member and only the second to also win a Gold Glove, alongside Barry Bonds, who did so in 1996. No player had previously combined those achievements with an MVP.

He beat out Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani and Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Brice Turang for the honor. Crow-Armstrong celebrated in Chicago with family and friends, saying he tried to invite everyone who helped him reach this point.

"It tends to be hard for me to process things right after they happen, especially something like this where I'm really just feeling lucky," Crow-Armstrong said shortly after receiving the award. "This sounds silly, but I'm just blessed to have the ability that I do. Absolutely it brings me joy to be able to affect the game; a lot of times on a daily basis, a lot of times not, you know? I'm definitely feeling lucky that I was able to impact as much as I did this year."

His 10.6 wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs, led all of Major League Baseball and ranked second among Cubs position players all time, trailing only Rogers Hornsby's 11.0 in 1929. He tied Kyle Schwarber for the major league lead in home runs (45) and paced the majors in runs scored (119), total bases (357), and extra-base hits (84). He ranked second in slugging percentage (.570) and OPS (.942), fourth in RBI (107), tied for fourth in stolen bases (41), fifth in triples (8), and tied for sixth in hits (175). His 45 home runs set a Cubs record for a left-handed hitter, surpassing Billy Williams' 42 in 1970.

Crow-Armstrong posted a .280/.372/.570 slash line while his defense was worth an MLB-best +23 runs, according to FanGraphs' defensive runs metric. He also led the majors in Statcast's Outs Above Average (26) and Fielding Run Value (26). He was awarded the National League Platinum Glove as the league's best overall defensive player, along with the NL Hank Aaron Award as the top offensive player, and was voted Sporting News Player of the Year and Players Choice Awards Player of the Year and NL Outstanding Player. He was an NL All-Star for the second straight year and an All-MLB First Team selection, and is a finalist for the Silver Slugger at his position.

"I always loved playing defense. The outfielder's glove got stuck in my hand at a very early age, and I never left center field," Crow-Armstrong told MLB Network before the award was announced. "I think it is, as far as baseball goes, it is a part of me, and I think there's always ways to change the game with the glove on your hand if I'm not able to swing it like I want to."

After signing a six-year, $115 million contract extension in the offseason, Crow-Armstrong overcame a slow start. He hit just 7 home runs with 26 RBI across March, April, and May before breaking out in June with 11 home runs and 20 RBI. He caught fire again in August, adding 14 home runs and 28 RBI, and earned NL Player of the Month honors in both June and August.

He credited the coaching staff for its patience during his early-season struggles.

"I'm always willing to do whatever it takes to win," he said. "We were always just willing to make the necessary adjustment, whether it was a little funky and scary or not. We just kind of kept working towards something that was repeatable, and something that really accomplished everything from power, but also just getting on base a lot."

Crow-Armstrong is the first Cubs player to win NL MVP since Kris Bryant in 2016, during the team's World Series run. He joins a franchise list that includes Ernie Banks (1958, 1959), Sammy Sosa (1998), Andre Dawson (1987), Ryne Sandberg (1984), Hank Sauer (1952), Phil Cavarretta (1945), Gabby Hartnett (1935), Hack Wilson (1930), Rogers Hornsby (1929), and Frank Schulte (1911).

Anticipating the honor, the Cubs posted a video on social media celebrating Crow-Armstrong's MVP award, showing him writing "Love you Chicago! Pete" on a baseball before hitting it out of Wrigley Field. The ball sails over the city and crashes into the windshield of a car driven by Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, who uses a Sharpie to edit the signature to read "MVPete 2026."

The award caps a season in which Crow-Armstrong's combination of power, speed, and elite defense made him the most valuable player in the National League by a unanimous margin.