Pete Crow-Armstrong vs. Shohei Ohtani MVP race is now effectively over

On Saturday evening, the Chicago Cubs continued their winning ways with a resounding 17-5 home win over the Cincinnati Reds, pushing their record to 77-59 in the process. As has often been the case this year, superstar leadoff hitter Pete Crow-Armstrong was the hero of this one, launching three home runs, and four hits overall, including six RBIs in his six at-bats.

It’s just the latest demonstration of PCA’s legit MVP candidacy in the NL this year, having led the Cubs to perform well above expectations and single-handedly dragging the team to numerous victories this year, although he had plenty of help on Saturday against the Reds.

Meanwhile, Crow-Armstrong’s biggest competition in the NL MVP race seems to be Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani, whose prowess as both a hitter and a pitcher gives him a significant leg up on the competition in the eyes of most MVP voters. However, Ohtani’s starts as a pitcher this year have been few and far between due to the star’s lingering knee issue, and recently, the team once again delayed his return to the mound due to the ailment.

With this being the case, and with Ohtani and the Dodgers having cooled off a bit over the last month or so of the schedule, it should be increasingly obvious to most voters that Crow-Armstrong deserves to win this year’s NL MVP award. PCA is having arguably the greatest season in Cubs history, rescuing the team on numerous occasions, including hitting both a leadoff and walk-off home run in the same game a couple of weeks ago.

It’s hard to imagine where Chicago would be in the standings if the superstar wasn’t on their team. The Cubs have the misfortune of playing in the same division as the red-hot Milwaukee Brewers, but the team is still in a good position to cruise into the playoffs, thanks in large part to PCA’s brilliance.

It’s also worth considering whether voter fatigue might work against Ohtani this year, considering the numerous MVP awards that he’s already collected thus far in his career.

In any case, PCA will look to continue to cement his case as the league’s MVP when the Cubs next take the field on Sunday afternoon to wrap up their series against the Reds at home.

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