Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani are now co-favorites for the National League MVP award, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. The two players dueled at Wrigley Field on Wednesday, with both hitting two home runs and combining for seven runs batted in during the Cubs' 7-6 victory.
The recent performance has intensified the MVP discussion surrounding Crow-Armstrong, who has made significant contributions both offensively and in center field throughout the season. However, he emphasized that winning the award is not his primary focus.
"I would be crazy to say that I don't want to win an MVP, but if we're talking about having priorities straight, I think mine are pretty straight," Crow-Armstrong said, as reported by ESPN. "It's not on the forefront of my mind. It's fun to joke about it, and it's fun to acknowledge. And I think it's absolutely OK to pay attention to, but it's not like following me up to the plate."
Crow-Armstrong also acknowledged that Ohtani is not currently at full strength. Ohtani, who has a 1.79 ERA this season, has not pitched since July 3 due to left knee soreness. Crow-Armstrong humorously suggested that if Ohtani were pitching regularly, the MVP debate would be less relevant.
"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. I really should," Crow-Armstrong joked.
As of Thursday morning, both Ohtani and Crow-Armstrong have hit 26 home runs. Ohtani holds a slight edge in runs batted in with 70 compared to Crow-Armstrong's 69, and leads in OPS with a .953 clip versus Crow-Armstrong's .938.
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