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Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong was named the unanimous winner of the National League Most Valuable Player award on Thursday evening. The 24-year-old outfielder earned the honor following an exceptional regular season that has placed him alongside some of the greatest young outfielders in Major League Baseball history.
Historic Regular Season Numbers
Crow-Armstrong took home the Baseball Writers’ Association of America award after posting a .280/.372/.570 batting line, backed by elite defensive play in center field. He tied Kyle Schwarber for the National League home run lead while significantly improving his on-base performance. After recording a 30-home run and 30-stolen base campaign in 2025, Crow-Armstrong reached the 40-40 milestone during his MVP season.
His 9.8 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) performance stands as one of the highest single-season totals for a young center fielder in modern baseball history. According to CBS Sports, only Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, and Mike Trout have posted higher single-season WAR figures among post-integration center fielders aged 25 or younger. Prior to integration, only Tris Speaker and Ty Cobb achieved higher marks at that age.
Historical Comparisons and Career Trajectories
In analyzing how Crow-Armstrong’s career might unfold, CBS Sports examined several historical precedents set by past stars who achieved early success:
- The Willie Davis Pattern: Early career brilliance driven by speed and high-level defense. Davis posted an 8.4 WAR season in 1964 with 23 doubles, seven triples, 12 home runs, and 42 stolen bases, but averaged 3.1 WAR per season over the remainder of his career without reaching the 6.0 WAR threshold again.
- The Andruw Jones and César Cedeño Path: High-level production throughout their 20s followed by sudden drop-offs around age 30. Cedeño generated 49.4 WAR through age 29 but added just 3.6 WAR over his final six seasons. Similarly, Jones accumulated 368 home runs and 61 WAR during 12 seasons with the Atlanta Braves before compiling only 1.7 WAR over his final five years in the majors.
- The Mantle, Trout, and Griffey Standard: All-time great trajectories that were eventually curtailed by injuries in their 30s. Mantle logged 90.7 WAR through his age-30 season, Griffey compiled 76.2 WAR through age 30, and Trout accumulated 72.1 WAR through age 27.
Projecting Long-Term Outcomes
Reaching the career heights of Willie Mays remains an extraordinary standard. Mays compiled 156.2 career WAR—ranking third among position players behind Barry Bonds (162.8) and Babe Ruth (162.3)—while leading the majors in WAR eight times between his age-23 and age-35 seasons.
CBS Sports noted that a realistic long-term career trajectory for Crow-Armstrong falls somewhere between the outcomes of Cedeño and Mantle as the young center fielder enters the next phase of his career with Chicago.
