Cubs star wins player voted honor
Pete Crow-Armstrong was named Player of the Year and National League Outstanding Player by his peers in the 2026 Players Choice Awards.
By Rebecca Caldwell ·
The 2026 MLB season is ending with a strong showing for the Chicago Cubs. Their center fielder, Pete Crow-Armstrong, has begun collecting individual honors as the award season opens. On Wednesday, the Major League Baseball Players Association announced the winners of the Players Choice Awards. Crow-Armstrong won two of the top categories in that vote.
The players' union selected him as the Player of the Year. He also received the National League Outstanding Player award. These awards are unique because they are voted on exclusively by fellow players. This differs from other end-of-season honors that may involve media or fan votes. The announcement confirmed that his teammates recognized his performance as the best in baseball.
Crow-Armstrong's statistics support the high praise from his peers. He led all of Major League Baseball in fielding independent runs added weighted value, finishing with 10.8 fWAR. He also ranked first in the league with 45 home runs and 119 runs scored. He tied for third in stolen bases with 41 and placed fourth in runs batted in with 107. His season included the seventh 40-40 campaign in baseball history.
He is expected to win more awards during the offseason. Crow-Armstrong was a finalist for the Hank Aaron Award, which goes to the best hitter in each league. He was also a finalist for a Gold Glove award. Many observers anticipate he will win the National League Most Valuable Player award. The hardware is likely to continue arriving as the evaluation of the 2026 season concludes.
During the regular season, Crow-Armstrong focused more on team success than individual records. He helped the Cubs reach the postseason for the second consecutive year. However, the team's run ended quickly in the playoffs. The Cubs were swept by the San Diego Padres in the wild-card round. Crow-Armstrong went 0-for-7 with four strikeouts in that two-game series.
The post-season elimination did not diminish his regular-season achievements. He rewrote several franchise records for the Cubs. The Players Choice Awards serve as the first official recognition of his campaign. The award season is just beginning, and more announcements are expected in the coming weeks.
Source: Chicago Sun-Times
