Pete Crow-Armstrong won the NL MVP award unanimously on Thursday after the center fielder starred for the Chicago Cubs in a majestic all-around season.
Crow-Armstrong joined Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez as first-time MVPs. Alvarez was the unanimous AL winner after making a run at the Triple Crown, hitting a career-high .316 with 42 homers and 106 RBIs for the AL West champions.
Click to Gallery
FILE - Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong (4) is congratulated by manager Craig Counsell after hitting a two-run home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves in Chicago, Sept. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)
FILE - Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong rounds third base on his way to scoring during the first inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Sept. 20, 2026, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Kareem Elgazzar, File)
FILE - Houston Astros' Yordan Alvarez (44) bats against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Aug. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn, File)
FILE - Houston Astros' Yordan Alvarez celebrates after hitting a grand slam against the Minnesota Twins during the fourth inning of a baseball game on June 30, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)
FILE - Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez, center, celebrates after his grand slam against the Athletics during the second inning of a baseball game, June 6, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith, File)
Crow-Armstrong set career highs by batting .280 with 45 homers, 107 RBIs and 41 steals in 162 games. He tied Kyle Schwarber for the major league lead in home runs, and he led the NL in runs (119), slugging percentage (.570) and OPS (.942).
He also was one of the majors’ premier defensive players. The Southern California native won his second Gold Glove, and he led the majors with 26 Outs Above Average and 23 Runs Prevented, according to Baseball Savant.
“You spend your whole life in baseball and you just don’t see this happen on a baseball field,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said after Crow-Armstrong homered twice in an 8-4 win over Atlanta on Sept. 16. “You’re grateful to be a part of it. You’re grateful to see things like this and then you’re grateful that the fans get to see a season like this.”
Crow-Armstrong received all 30 first-place votes in balloting from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers finished second, and Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Brice Turang was third.
Alvarez led the majors in batting average and finished in a tie for second in the AL in homers and second by himself in RBIs, trailing Pete Alonso’s 43 homers and 113 RBIs for Baltimore.
Alvarez was Houston’s primary designated hitter, but his offensive brilliance was enough to overcome his limited contributions on defense. The four-time All-Star also led the majors in walks (109), on-base percentage (.432) and slugging percentage (.601).
The 29-year-old Alvarez became the first AL MVP from Houston since Jose Altuve in 2017. Third baseman Junior Caminero, who batted .276 with 42 homers and 101 RBIs for Tampa Bay, was second in the AL balloting. Kansas City shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. finished third.
Alvarez broke into the majors with Houston in 2019. He hit .313 with 27 homers and 78 RBIs in just 87 games, earning the AL Rookie of the Year award.
Alvarez was the ALCS MVP in 2021 and helped the Astros to the 2022 World Series championship. He is a .300 hitter with 212 homers and 599 RBIs in eight big league seasons.
The 24-year-old Crow-Armstrong, who agreed to a $115 million, six-year contract in March, is the first NL MVP from the Cubs since Kris Bryant in 2016.
Crow-Armstrong was selected by the New York Mets in the first round of the 2020 amateur draft. He was traded to Chicago in the Javier Báez deal in July 2021.
Crow-Armstrong had a breakout season last year, helping the Cubs qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2020. He hit .247 with 31 homers, 95 RBIs and 35 steals in 157 games.
The left-handed batter made significant strides at the plate in his fourth season, namely against lefties. He hit .280 against southpaws in 2026 after that number was .188 last year.
“I would say, like, what contributed to making myself a consistent quality at-bat and all that stuff is just, like, getting to know the strike zone just that much better,” Crow-Armstrong said before the start of the playoffs. “I definitely missed less pitches in the zone, in the heart of the zone, that I should be hitting this year.”
See AP’s full MLB coverage here
FILE - Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong (4) is congratulated by manager Craig Counsell after hitting a two-run home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves in Chicago, Sept. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)
FILE - Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong rounds third base on his way to scoring during the first inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Sept. 20, 2026, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Kareem Elgazzar, File)
FILE - Houston Astros' Yordan Alvarez (44) bats against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Aug. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn, File)
FILE - Houston Astros' Yordan Alvarez celebrates after hitting a grand slam against the Minnesota Twins during the fourth inning of a baseball game on June 30, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)
FILE - Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez, center, celebrates after his grand slam against the Athletics during the second inning of a baseball game, June 6, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — A man in a long-running dispute over the conditions of his penthouse condo gunned down the building manager in a busy gym Thursday before fleeing and shooting four more people from his patio in just minutes, shocking a popular capital neighborhood and attracting a swarm of police officers.
Matt Lambert, a 55-year-old doctor, fatally shot himself while holed up in his apartment, where he had been speaking by phone with police negotiators, said Jeffery Carroll, interim chief with the Metropolitan Police Department.
Lambert was locked in rancorous litigation with management over mold and moisture problems in his seventh-floor unit, court records show.
Mayor Muriel Bowser said she was “devastated” at the loss of life in a “senseless act of gun violence.”
The shootings occurred around 8 a.m. in Logan Circle, about a mile (1.6 kilometers) north of the White House. Much of the block on 15th Street Northwest was cordoned off as police urged people to avoid the area, which includes a VIDA Fitness center, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, residences and a Whole Foods store. Schools were locked down.
Law enforcement SWAT teams and other officers had their guns drawn on the roof of a building and on the ground below. Carroll said Lambert, armed with three guns, shot four people from his condo patio; one remained in critical condition by late afternoon.
“This whole incident took place in less than five minutes. ... I can only imagine being in that area and hearing the gunshots or being inside the gym," he said.
The man killed at VIDA gym on the ground floor was identified as James Stuart, 46, the building manager, the police chief said.
“There has been an ongoing dispute between the suspect in this case” and management “regarding maintenance issues, mold and the like. We believe it's related to that," Carroll said.
Lambert had filed a lawsuit, alleging that he hadn’t been able to enjoy his penthouse since 2024 because of mold, moisture and water problems, records show. He claimed the problems began after a contractor had worked on the building’s exterior.
The litigation was ongoing, according to court filings. Lambert appeared to share his condo woes, including photos and an engineering report, on an X site titled OfMiceandMold. The report was described online as “my manifesto.”
Speaking to reporters, Lambert's lawyer, Joel Braithwaite, said he was “deeply shaken and saddened” by the violence. He said the condo resembled a “war zone” because of its conditions and said Lambert had spent more than $300,000 in pressing the lawsuit.
“I don’t think there’s any sense to be made," Braithwaite said of the shootings. “I can’t give you that closure.”
James Spellman, who was at the gym, said there were about 50 people there when the shootings began.
“Within seconds there was a man who fell to the ground, and a pool of blood came out,” he said. “One gym member rushed to help him. He was instantly dead. He had been shot in the neck.”
Anthony Mirones was in the gym’s cardio area when he heard a loud bang and thought something fell off the wall. He said someone was trying to help the wounded man but then a fire alarm went off and many people ran.
“The people in cardio had to step over the body,” Mirones said.
Another witness, Ryan Dubicki, said he was in his nearby apartment around the same time when he “heard about five bangs.”
“They were really spread out so I thought it was construction,” said Dubicki, an AP employee on the elections team. A short time later “there were cops everywhere.”
While inside his condo, Lambert also cut a natural gas line to the fireplace and started a fire, triggering the sprinkler system, which contained the flames, Carroll said.
The Washington Sun posted an online story by Michael Brice-Saddler, who said he had interviewed Lambert last year about his condo problems. Lambert had told another resident that he knew Stuart's morning routine at the VIDA gym.
“If you want to see the building manager," Brice-Saddler quoted Lambert as saying, “he comes in the gym about 8 o’clock.”
This story has been corrected to show the interim police chief’s name is Jeffery, not Jeffrey.
Associated Press writers Ed White in Detroit, Rebecca Santana and Gary Fields in Washington, Dave Collins in Hartford, Conn., and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
CORRECTS VICTIM OF SHOOTING - Members of the Chief Medical Examiners Office wheel a gurney with a body of a man who was fatally shot at a gym, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Members of the Chief Medical Examiners Office wheel a gurney with the body of a man who fatally shot himself while holed up in his penthouse apartment, where he had been speaking by phone with police negotiators following reports of an active shooting, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
A bullet hole is seen following reports of an active shooting, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner)
Metropolitan Police Department interim Chief Jeffery W. Carroll, stands in the doorway of the VIDA fitness center, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Local and federal law enforcement and emergency medical services respond to reports of an active shooting, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Locals look on as law enforcement respond to reports of an active shooting, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner)
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, left, speaks alongside Metropolitan Police Department interim Chief Jeffery W. Carroll during a news conference in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Local and Federal law enforcement and emergency responders, are seen responding to reports of an active shooting investigation, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner)
Local law enforcement respond to reports of an active shooting, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Local law enforcement respond to reports of an active shooting investigation, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner)
Local law enforcement and National Guard, are seen responding to reports of an active shooting investigation, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Local law enforcement respond to reports of an active shooting investigation, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Local law enforcement respond to reports of an active shooting investigation, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner)
Local law enforcement respond to reports of an active shooting investigation, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
