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A THE 2026 MLB SEASON IS NEARING ITS END, ONE QUESTION REMAINS: WHO WILL BE THE NATIONAL LEAGUE MVP?
Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani have both been known as the two biggest names in the competition, and both Crow-Armstrong and Ohtani have brought different but amazing things to put into consideration when deciding who should be given the award. Voters will have to put in both of the different statistics from each player. In order to add up and decide who shall receive MVP, voters will look at their wins above replacement (WAR), which is a player's stats put together to see their stats compared to a free minor league player; on-base plus slugging (OPS), which is a system used to measure a player's offensive value; players’ batting average (AVG) and home runs (HR); and stolen bases (SB), which are when the runner moves on their own without the batter hitting the ball. Both Crow-Armstrong and Ohtani have put up an impressive season, but they both have shown why they deserve to be contenders for the award.
Pete Crow-Armstrong is the Chicago Cubs’ center fielder and has been dominating the league lately. Crow-Armstrong has hit the 30 for 30 now the last 2 seasons and is about to hit the 40 for 40; in MLB history, only 6 other players have hit the 40 for 40. You might be wondering, “What is 30 for 30 and 40 for 40?” The 30 for 30 and 40 for 40 are home runs and stolen bases, which means Crow-Armstrong has hit 30 home runs and stolen 30 bases so far this season, and is close to having 40 home runs and stolen bases. Crow-Armstrong has an fWAR (Fangraphs) of 10.1, an OPS of .938, an AVG of .279, 37 stolen bases, and 44 home runs. Crow-Armstrong plays for team USA, as, of course, one of the standout center fielders. Crow-Armstrong has been on top of his defensive and offensive game lately, making unbelievable catches and bat-flipping home runs. In their game against the Atlanta Braves on September 16th, Crow-Armstrong went 3-4 with two home runs, and with that, Crow-Armstrong now has 44 home runs as of September 16ths game. He officially broke the Cubs’ franchise record for being the left-handed batter to hit the most home runs in a season. He now sits at 44 home runs and 37 stolen bases. Crow-Armstrong also hit for the cycle, which is when a player hits a home run, a triple, a double, and a single, all in one game. What a show Crow-Armstrong has put on!
Shohei Ohtani, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ pitcher, started the season off doing phenomenally; in early July, Ohtani was placed on injury leave due to bicep inflammation and knee pain. While Ohtani was in the game, he had a fWAR of 7.0, an OPS of .902, an AVG of .277, 30 HR, and 11 SB. His pre-injury pitching, on the other hand, was transcending. Ohtani’s pitching had the Dodgers’ opponents impressed; The Diamondbacks’ manager, Torey Lovullo, said it best, stating that Ohtani's stuff was “the best his team has seen all season.” Pre-injury Ohtani had started 14 games, pitched 85% of innings out of games, had 95 strikeouts, only walked 29 players, and to this day his pitching fWAR is still 2.9. Ohtani is a very well-known player, having won MVP the last 3 years. Ohtani also plays for team Japan, and he dominated team Chinese Taipei with an outstanding grand slam. Ohtani is marked as being on a 15-day injury leave, which will be up on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, but the Dodgers do not want to rush his comeback. With the regular season winding down, it is planned that Ohtani will not be back on the field until October.
As Crow-Armstrong and Ohtani are keeping fans entertained–and with the 2026 post season approaching–now, more than ever, we need to keep an eye on the standings. The brackets show the Cubs and the Dodgers in the stands, not playing each other until the last NLCS game. Looking at the two players’ stats and their highlights of the season so far, it’s clear that the race for MVP is going to be a close one, so stay tuned to see how the season finishes out.
