Caleb Williams Endorses Pete Crow-Armstrong for NL MVP After Cubs’ Dodgers Sweep
Pete Crow-Armstrong just picked up an endorsement from another corner of Chicago sports. After the Cubs completed a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Bears quarterback Caleb Williams shared a Cubs Instagram Story of Crow-Armstrong’s home run with the caption “#MVPCA.” Bears History reposted the moment on X, writing “Caleb votes PCA for MVP” alongside the clip —
Caleb votes PCA for MVP. pic.twitter.com/EIFJXtfrdT
— Bears History (@ChiBearsHistory) August 6, 2026
Williams didn’t need much convincing. Crow-Armstrong spent the Dodgers series making his own case for the National League MVP award, and he saved his best for last.
Crow-Armstrong’s Series-Closing Explosion
In the finale Wednesday at Wrigley Field, Crow-Armstrong led off the bottom of the first with a solo homer to center off Dodgers starter Eric Lauer, answering a leadoff shot from Shohei Ohtani just moments earlier. He added an RBI double in the second and a two-run homer in the fourth, finishing 3-for-5 with two home runs and four RBIs as the Cubs held on for a 7-6 win, according to NBC Sports.
Across the full series, Crow-Armstrong’s line was even more eye-popping. According to ClutchPoints, he went 6-for-13 with a double, two home runs and five RBIs over the three games. That performance came on the same afternoon Ohtani hit his own leadoff homer, setting up a head-to-head moment both teams’ fans noticed — a matchup ClutchPoints flagged as a snapshot of the MVP race itself.
Wrigley Field was rocking by the fourth inning, with the crowd erupting each time Crow-Armstrong came to the plate as Chicago pulled away from a Dodgers team that had won 106 games a year ago. The Dodgers put together a five-run eighth-inning rally to make it interesting, but it wasn’t enough — the sweep stood.
Where the MVP Race Stands
On the season, Crow-Armstrong is hitting .288 with 26 home runs and 69 RBIs, and his .938 OPS ranks near the top of the National League. Ohtani is hitting .297 with the same 26 home runs but one more RBI. The two stars are close enough statistically that the race has become one of the tightest in recent memory.
| Category | Pete Crow-Armstrong | Shohei Ohtani |
|---|---|---|
| Batting Average | .288 | .297 |
| Home Runs | 26 | 26 |
| OPS | .938 | — |
| bWAR | 7.3 | — |
Crow-Armstrong currently holds an edge in batting WAR at 7.3. Ohtani’s case has traditionally leaned on his two-way value, but that part of his game has stalled. He hasn’t pitched since July 3 due to lingering knee and biceps issues, and Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts has given no timeline for his return to the mound.
The Dodgers’ trade-deadline addition of Tarik Skubal, the two-time reigning AL Cy Young winner, only complicates things further for Ohtani’s pitching workload. With Skubal, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow already anchoring a deep rotation, there’s little urgency for Los Angeles to rush Ohtani back to the mound down the stretch. Some analysts believe that reality could shift MVP voters toward valuing Crow-Armstrong’s two-way defensive impact over Ohtani’s now-limited role as a hitter-only threat for long stretches of the summer.
Voter Fatigue Could Be a Factor
There’s also the matter of recent history. Ohtani has won the NL MVP in each of the last two seasons and has four MVP awards overall, including one in the American League in 2023. Some voters have shown a pattern of gravitating toward new faces once a player has dominated the award for several years running — a dynamic that could work in Crow-Armstrong’s favor as he authors a breakout, All-Star-caliber season in center field.
None of that is confirmed as a factor in how any specific voter will approach this year’s ballot. It’s speculation based on how MVP voting has trended historically, not a stated position from any BBWAA voter.
What’s Next for the Cubs
The Cubs improved to 66-49 on the season, putting them second in the NL Central, according to Yahoo Sports. Chicago is back in action with a make-up game against the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday at Wrigley Field.
Whether Crow-Armstrong can sustain this pace into September will likely determine how close the MVP race actually gets. For now, he’s got at least one very visible fan in Caleb Williams’ corner — and a growing share of a fan base that’s starting to believe.
