Pete Crow-Armstrong is the 2026 Players Choice Player of the Year and National League Outstanding Player, the MLBPA announced on 28 October. The Chicago Cubs player received both honours in a ballot decided by fellow major leaguers.
Fellow players choose Crow-Armstrong
Crow-Armstrong won the overall award ahead of fellow finalists Yordan Álvarez and Shohei Ohtani. His National League Outstanding Player honour is a separate category, giving him both the top cross-league prize and the league award. The MLBPA says the winners were chosen exclusively by active players, with ballots cast across clubhouses. That makes this an assessment from the players who competed alongside and against the candidates.
The MLBPA's 2026 release credits Crow-Armstrong with 45 home runs, tied with Kyle Schwarber for the major league lead, and a season of at least 40 homers and 40 steals. The union says he was the seventh player to achieve that combination. It also lists major league leads in runs scored and WAR, as well as career highs in OPS, slugging percentage, triples, runs batted in, walks and total bases.
Crow-Armstrong helped Chicago reach the postseason and made another All-Star Game, according to the MLBPA. Those details place the peer vote in the setting of a full season, covering team results as well as his hitting, running and broader contribution. The award names his regular-season work; it does not settle the separate writers' MVP ballot.
The vote came before October's results
SportsRivo confirmed the order of events with MLBPA’s 2026 release: MLB players voted in September, and the Crow-Armstrong awards were announced on October 28. According to MLBPA, KPMG assisted with the clubhouse voting, so the balloting was done during the regular season. However, the results were released during the postseason. Since 1992, the MLB Players Association’s Player’s Choice Awards have acknowledged the best on- and off-the-field performance of MLB players. Crow-Armstrong’s awards are in addition to other awards for leadership and community service. Chris Bassitt won the Miller Award and Jake Burger won the Trust’s Philanthropist Award.
What the peer awards decide
- Chicago has the winner of both the overall Players Choice honour and the National League Outstanding Player award. Álvarez and Ohtani were the other overall finalists, the MLBPA confirms.
- Álvarez won American League Outstanding Player and Comeback Player of the Year. The league awards therefore recognise different players in each league.
- The same ballot named Jacob Misiorowski National League Outstanding Pitcher and Sal Stewart Outstanding Rookie, extending the recognition beyond the overall player prize.
Writers' MVP announcement still ahead
MLB's 2026 awards calendar schedules the BBWAA MVP announcements for 12 November. That is a separate set of honours from the player ballot. Crow-Armstrong's Players Choice win is confirmed; the writers' award remains undecided in the published schedule.
Source: MLBPA