Shohei Ohtani has won three straight Most Valuable Player Awards, including two in the National League in his first two seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Ohtani is now on track to win his fourth MVP Award in a row, given his status as an elite player in both the batter’s box and on the mound.
However, Chicago Cubs All-Star Pete Crow-Armstrong is having an excellent season and could find himself as the runner-up, or the potential favorite if Ohtani were to miss any time.
Crow-Armstrong said he would love to take down Ohtani as the reigning MVP, but also recognizes he has an uphill battle as he doesn’t provide any value as a pitcher, via Jesse Rogers of ESPN.
PCA was asked about winning the MVP over Ohtani: "I was telling a few of the guys earlier, 'man, I would love to dethrone him,' but I don't know how you do it unless I go to a pitching lab in the off-season. I'll go be a closer or something and see how that helps my odds."
— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) July 14, 2026
Ohtani is currently hitting .289/.400/.543 with 22 home runs, 65 runs scored, 58 RBI and six stolen bases with a 154 wRC+ and 3.1 WAR produced as a designated hitter.
On the mound, Ohtani has added another 3.0 WAR over 85.2 innings pitched while posting a 1.79 ERA, 2.61 FIP and 0.95 WHIP while striking out nearly 28% of hitters and walking just shy of 8%.
Crow-Armstrong has also had an excellent season, and if not for Ohtani, would likely be the NL MVP frontrunner at the moment. The Southern California native is hitting .284/.380/.519 with 21 home runs, 64 runs scored, 53 RBI and 25 stolen bases with a 148 wRC+ and 5.9 WAR.
Crow-Armstrong doesn’t provide the pitching value, but he may be the game’s best defensive player at one of the most important positions, center field.
The 24-year-old has recorded 16 outs above average, which ranks in the 100th percentile of defenders in baseball. His arm strength is also in the 91st percentile, and his arm value ranks at the top of the league as well.
Crow-Armstrong’s average speed of 29.5 feet per second allows him to track down balls that most center fielders won’t get to, and he combines that with elite reaction times and burst to get a jump that covers five more feet than the average center fielder.
Given his skills on both sides of the ball, Crow-Armstrong only trails Ohtani by 0.2 WAR so far this season, but he’ll need to take another step in his offensive production to have a real case at overtaking Ohtani as the MVP.
Pete Crow-Armstrong picked fight with Dodgers fans
Crow-Armstrong made himself a villain at Dodger Stadium after he implied Dodgers fans only care about the team when they are winning, and then later doubled down on those remarks.
Crow-Armstrong continued to push that narrative and said Dodger fans are more concerned with how they look at the stadium than with the game itself. He also said the city is more consumed with the Los Angeles Lakers.
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