{"id":433845,"date":"2025-11-15T16:18:15","date_gmt":"2025-11-15T16:18:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/433845\/"},"modified":"2025-11-15T16:18:15","modified_gmt":"2025-11-15T16:18:15","slug":"pete-crow-armstrong-finishes-9th-in-nl-mvp-one-of-four-cubs-to-receive-votes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/433845\/","title":{"rendered":"Pete Crow-Armstrong finishes 9th in NL MVP, one of four Cubs to receive votes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pete Crow-Armstrong\u2019s<\/a> breakout campaign sparked the Cubs back into the playoffs in 2025.<\/p>\n

It also caught the attention of voters for baseball\u2019s most prestigious individual award.<\/p>\n

The Cubs\u2019 center fielder finished ninth in NL MVP voting, as selected by the Baseball Writers\u2019 Association of America<\/a>. Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani unanimously won his second straight NL MVP award, third straight overall \u2013 he won the AL MVP with the Los Angeles Angels in 2023 \u2013 and fourth MVP title of his career.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/WatchMarquee\/status\/1989138335315681427<\/p>\n

Crow-Armstrong was one of four Cubs who received down ballot votes \u2013 Michael Busch<\/a> finished 16th, Nico Hoerner<\/a> was 19th and Seiya Suzuki<\/a> was 20th. It\u2019s the highest number of Cubs players to receive MVP ballots since Kris Bryant<\/a> (first), Anthony Rizzo<\/a> (fourth), Addison Russell<\/a> (19th) and Kyle Hendricks<\/a> (23rd) all placed in the 2016 voting<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[MORE:\u00a0Cubs president Jed Hoyer reacts to Kyle Hendricks retirement<\/a>\u00a0news<\/a>]<\/p>\n

For large chunks of the 2025 season, it looked like Crow-Armstrong would have a shot of snapping Ohtani\u2019s hold on the MVP crown.<\/p>\n

Crow-Armstrong led the NL in fWAR (4.6) in the first half, had 25 home runs and 27 stolen bases, threatened a 40-40 season and coupled that offensive prowess with elite defense. But he cooled off in the second half, hitting just six home runs with eight stolen bases and finishing with a 5.4 fWAR season, which ranked eighth in baseball.<\/p>\n

[READ: How Cubs are viewing rookie Mois\u00e9s Ballesteros\u2019 breakout September]<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cJust [a] 30-30 season, a Gold Glove, an elite performance by him on the whole,\u201d Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins told Bruce Levine on Tuesday in an interview<\/a> at the GM Meetings in Las Vegas. \u201cYes, there were some peaks and some valleys on that, but we\u2019ll take that year, year over year for a long time here. Just thrilled about his progress, thrilled about his ability to fight through adjustments.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe gets punched in the face a little bit on some of those valleys and I\u2019m just so happy that he\u2019s a leader on this team and somebody that we have for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Busch paced the Cubs with 34 home runs, drove in 90 runs and posted a 3.5 fWAR season. He received a fifth-place vote from Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune and a sixth-place vote from Santos A. Perez, a Miami-based freelance baseball writer.<\/p>\n

Hoerner had arguably the best year of his seven seasons in the big-leagues. He had a career-high in fWAR (4.8), batting average (.297) and OPS (.739). He had a higher average and OPS in 2021, but injuries and starting the year in the minors led him to appear in just 44 games. He received a sixth-place vote from Mark Sheldon of MLB.com.<\/p>\n

Suzuki was the team leader in RBI, driving in 103 runs, the only Cub to eclipse the century mark. He posted a 2.6 fWAR season serving primarily as the team\u2019s designated hitter. The 31-year-old received an eighth-place vote from Thomas Harding of MLB.com.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Submit your questions below for inclusion in the next Cubs mailbag!!\u00a0\ud83d\udc47<\/p>\n