Pete Crow-Armstrong Nears Historic 40-40 Season as MVP Chants Rock Wrigley Field

The stakes are peaking in the National League Wild Card race, but the loudest noise at Wrigley Field on Wednesday night had nothing to do with the out-of-town scoreboard. As Pete Crow-Armstrong stepped to the plate with the bases loaded in the eighth inning against the Atlanta Braves, the sellout crowd delivered a deafening, unified verdict: "M-V-Pete! M-V-Pete!"

The 24-year-old center fielder had already launched two towering home runs and ripped an RBI triple into the gap during the 8-4 victory, cementing a breakout 2026 campaign that is rapidly rewriting the Chicago Cubs' record books and upending the league's awards race.[1][2][5]

Crow-Armstrong's seventh multi-homer game of the season pushed his home run total to a staggering 44, placing him just one behind Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber for the major league lead.

Combined with his 37 stolen bases, the young superstar is now exactly three steals away from recording the first 40-40 season in the 150-year history of the Cubs franchise. Only six players in Major League Baseball history have ever reached that statistical threshold, and none have done it while simultaneously playing Gold Glove-caliber defense in center field on a nightly basis.[1][4]

Wednesday's power surge shattered long-standing milestones on the North Side. His 43rd blast broke Hall of Famer Billy Williams' single-season franchise record for left-handed hitters. An inning later, his 44th tied Ernie Banks' legendary 1955 mark for the most home runs by a Cubs player aged 24 or younger. He is currently slashing a robust .283 with 105 RBIs and 29 doubles, pacing the entire National League in both slugging percentage and OPS while serving as the primary offensive engine for a team fighting for its postseason life.[1][2][3]

The sheer volume of his nightly production has left the Chicago dugout actively searching for new superlatives. "You're shaking your head in amazement, sometimes," Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters after the win. "In amazement. You know, you don't get to see this. That's what I told Alex Bregman: 'We don't get to see things like this.' You spend your whole life in baseball, and you just don't see this happen on a baseball field."

Starting pitcher Shota Imanaga, who picked up the crucial victory on Wednesday, echoed that sentiment. "We can always say he's great, or he's excellent, but really there's no words to describe him," Imanaga said through his interpreter. "So I'll think of a new word in English for that."[1][2]

The MVP chants echoing through Wrigley Field reflect a dramatic, late-season shift in the National League awards race. For most of the summer, Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani was the presumptive, unquestioned favorite to take home the hardware.

But Ohtani has been sidelined from pitching since July 3 due to right biceps inflammation and a lingering left knee injury, limiting his 2026 contributions strictly to the batter's box. While Ohtani remains a lethal offensive force, his absence from the mound has fundamentally changed the calculus for voters weighing total overall value.[2][4]

With Ohtani's two-way dominance paused, Crow-Armstrong's elite two-way value—pairing a 1.000+ OPS with run-saving outfield defense—has pushed him to the front of the pack. Advanced metrics heavily favor the Cubs phenom in this head-to-head comparison. Crow-Armstrong is currently pacing the majors in Wins Above Replacement (WAR), tracking toward a monumental 10.0-WAR season.

The last time a Chicago position player reached that statistical stratosphere was Rogers Hornsby in 1929, when he posted 10.6 bWAR en route to winning the MVP award. Crow-Armstrong's combination of power, speed, and elite glove work gives him a distinct analytical edge over pure designated hitters.[3][4][5]

This historic, franchise-altering trajectory seemed highly unlikely just a year ago. During the 2025 season, Crow-Armstrong hit a brutal wall after the All-Star break, batting a dismal .216 with just six home runs in the entire second half.

He opened 2026 with a similarly sluggish April that had some analysts questioning his ceiling. But a mechanical adjustment at the plate in late May flipped a switch. Since May 30, he has batted an absurd .316/.412/.707, transforming overnight from a defensive specialist into the most feared left-handed bat in the National League.[4]

Despite the mounting, suffocating pressure of a playoff chase and the blinding spotlight of a national MVP campaign, Crow-Armstrong has maintained a distinctly low pulse inside the clubhouse. He routinely deflects praise back onto the pitching staff and the lineup around him. "I keep it pretty simple," he said following Wednesday's two-homer performance, completely unfazed by the historic company he is keeping. "I enjoy just kind of laying low, as I always do and always will. I've got a really nice support system."[1][2]

With roughly two weeks remaining in the regular season, the stakes for Chicago are twofold. The Cubs are desperately trying to lock down a National League Wild Card berth, needing every ounce of Crow-Armstrong's run production to hold off the surging San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks in a crowded bracket. Every game is a must-win scenario, and the center fielder has embraced the weight of those expectations, delivering his best performances when the leverage is at its absolute highest.[1]

Simultaneously, the entire baseball world will be closely watching Crow-Armstrong's stolen base tally down the final stretch of the schedule. He needs just three more bags to join Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Alfonso Soriano, Ronald Acuña Jr., and Ohtani in the highly exclusive 40-40 club. Whether he reaches that final milestone or falls just short, his 2026 campaign has already secured its permanent place in baseball lore—and it has likely secured the National League MVP trophy for the North Side of Chicago.[1][4]