After going toe to toe with fellow NL MVP candidate Shohei Ohtani on Wednesday, Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong said he'd love to beat out the two-way sensation for the award, although it's not his main focus.
"I would be crazy to say that I don't want to win an MVP," Crow-Armstrong said after hitting two home runs during a 7-6 win over Ohtani's Los Angeles Dodgers, according to ESPN's Jesse Rogers.
He continued, "But if we're talking about having priorities straight, I think mine are pretty straight. It's not on the forefront of my mind. It's fun to joke about and it's fun to acknowledge. And I think it's absolutely OK to pay attention to, but again, it's not, like, following me up to the plate."
Crow-Armstrong is having an exceptional season and looks primed to dethrone Ohtani as NL MVP. Ohtani has won the NL award each of the past two seasons after being named AL MVP in 2021 and 2023.
The 24-year-old Crow-Armstrong is slashing .288/.386/.552 with 26 homers, 69 RBIs, and 28 steals in addition to having 14 defensive runs saved. His 7.5 fWAR leads the majors and sits ahead of Ohtani, who's accrued 6.4 fWAR when combining his hitting and pitching.
Despite his success, Crow-Armstrong thinks there's one area of his game that needs improvement if he's going to take the crown from Ohtani.
"I think if you guys want to talk about all this back and forth, I really should go get in the lab and start pitching," Crow-Armstrong joked.
