Chicago Cubs MVP candidate Pete Crow-Armstrong set yet another milestone in a historic season, stealing the 100th base of his MLB career Tuesday. Crow-Armstrong, 24, is the best player in baseball at the moment, and isn't showing any signs of slowing down as the 2026 regular season approaches its close. The center fielder is having another electric season on the base paths, stealing his career-high 36th base against the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday.
He stole 35 bases in 2025, 27 in 2024 and two in his first season in MLB, during which he played in just 13 games. Heading into the season, Crow-Armstrong profiled as a plus bat with elite defense, and he's shown off his glove all season long. His plus-27 fielding run value and plus-25 outs above average lead all of MLB, and his arm value and arm strength both rank among MLB elite.
Crow-Armstrong is one of the league's most valuable bats as well as its best defender, as he has a career-high 41 homers and 97 RBIs on the year. He has a .281/.375/.574 slash line for a .949 OPS this season, which is all the more impressive when considering his slow start to the year, posting a sub-.700 OPS through April. In addition to his career highs in homers, steals and RBIs, his 108 runs, 158 hits and seven triples also rank as career bests.
He is rapidly approaching a 40-homer and 40-steal season, last accomplished by Shohei Ohtani during his MVP campaign in 2024, during which he eventually reached 50 in each category. 40/40 seasons are incredibly rare in baseball, as only six players have accomplished the feat in MLB's history. Prior to Ohtani, the Atlanta Braves' Ronald Acuña Jr. reached the milestone in 2023, Alfonso Soriano did it with the Washington Nationals in 2006, Alex Rodriguez accomplished the feat with the Seattle Mariners in 1998, Barry Bonds came close several times but only reached those marks with the San Francisco Giants in 1996 and Jose Canseco became the inaugural member of the 40/40 club with the Oakland Athletics in the 1988 season. Crow-Armstrong needs four more steals to reach that goal, and he is more than on pace to do so after stealing three bags in his last two games.
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