Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong is the heavy favorite to win the National League Most Valuable Player award this season, putting together one of the greatest years in baseball history – particularly for his position.
Crow-Armstrong enters Wednesday, Sept. 16 with 9.2 Wins Above Replacement (WAR), one of just 22 seasons by a center fielder with 9+ WAR season since the integration of MLB in 1947. The 24-year-old is in rarified air, with all of those other campaigns being put together by Hall of Famers, and future Hall of Famer Mike Trout.
Of the 18 other seasons for a center fielder with at least a 9.2 WAR, Mickey Mantle accounts for four, Willie Mays for eight, Mike Trout four and one each for Ken Griffey Jr. (1996) and Rickey Henderson
(1985).
Crow-Armstrong has 42 home runs, 102 RBIs and 37 steals in 152 games this season and could become just the seventh member of the 40-40 club if he steals three more bases before the end of the regular season. He's been arguably the best defender in baseball as well, ranking first in fielding run value at 27, the only outfielder in the top five.
Crow-Armstrong, acquired from the New York Mets as a prospect for Javy Baez in 2021, signed a six-year, $115 million extension with the Cubs in March.
Here's a look at where Crow-Armstrong's season ranks in history:
Best center field seasons ranked by WAR
(Since 1947, minimum 70% of games played in center field)
- Mickey Mantle (1957) – 11.3 bWAR
- Mickey Mantle (1956) – 11.3
- Willie Mays (1965) – 11.2
- Willie Mays (1964) – 11.0
- Willie Mays (1963) – 10.6
- Mike Trout (2012) – 10.5
- Willie Mays (1962) – 10.5
- Mickey Mantle (1961) – 10.5
- Willie Mays (1954) – 10.5
- Mike Trout (2016) – 10.4
- Willie Mays (1958) – 10.2
- Rickey Henderson (1985) – 9.9
- Mike Trout (2018) – 9.9
- Ken Griffey Jr. (1996) – 9.7
- Mickey Mantle (1955) – 9.5
- Willie Mays (1960) – 9.5
- Mike Trout (2015) – 9.5
- Willie Mays (1955) – 9.2
- Pete Crow-Armstrong (2026) – 9.2
- Duke Snider (1953) – 9.1
- Ken Griffey Jr. (1997) – 9.1
- Willie Mays (1966) – 9.0
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MVP-to-be Pete Crow-Armstrong having one of the best CF seasons in MLB history
