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Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez won the 2026 American League MVP Award with all 30 first-place votes, becoming the third Astros player to win the award.
By Hermes Vector
Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez won the 2026 American League MVP Award, the Baseball Writers' Association of America announced Thursday night. Alvarez received all 30 first-place votes and 420 total points, making him a unanimous choice.
The BBWAA ballot uses two voters from each of the 15 chapters housing AL teams. Each voter submits a ballot with 10 players, ranked 1-10. A first-place vote gets a player 14 points, while second place earns nine, third place eight, etc., until a 10th-place vote earns one point. Ballots are due before the playoffs begin, as this is a regular-season award.
The top finishers were:
Alvarez, Caminero and Witt were the only players named on every ballot.
Alvarez, 29, bounced back from an injury-riddled 2025, during which he only played in 48 games. This time around, he avoided the IL and appeared in 158 games. He hit .316/.432/.601 (190 OPS+) with 34 doubles, a triple, 42 home runs, 106 RBI, 105 runs and 6.8 WAR. He made a late run at the Triple Crown, missing out by one home run and seven RBI. He did lead the majors in all three triple slash categories, though, leading in average by five points, on-base percentage by a whopping 42 points -- he led the majors in walks -- and 31 points in slugging percentage. Add the latter two and his OPS victory was 90 points -- 1.033 to second place's .943.
The only players in MLB history to lead the majors in all three triple slash categories are Alvarez (2026), Aaron Judge (2025), Miguel Cabrera (2013), Barry Bonds (2002), Larry Walker (1999) and George Brett (1980).
Alvarez becomes just the third Astros player to win MVP after Jeff Bagwell in 1994 and Jose Altuve in 2017. He is the second designated hitter honored, after Shohei Ohtani, who was primarily a DH in all four of his winning seasons. Alvarez is only the second person ever to win MVP in either league whose primary position is designated hitter after Ohtani.
This election marks the 14th time the AL winner was a unanimous choice. Shohei Ohtani, the only player to be unanimous more than once (four times, twice in the AL with the Angels and twice in the NL with the Dodgers) tops the list that also includes Aaron Judge (2024), Mike Trout (2014), Ken Griffey Jr. (1997), Frank Thomas (1993), Jose Canseco (1988), Reggie Jackson (1973), Denny McLain (1968), Frank Robinson (1966), Mickey Mantle (1956), Al Rosen (1953) and Hank Greenberg (1935). There have been 10 unanimous MVPs in the NL.
Alvarez's win ends a stretch in which Yankees star Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani had combined to win the last five AL MVP awards. Judge played in 66 games in 2026 due to injuries and Ohtani now plays in the National League. Alvarez's 190 OPS+ is the highest of any 162-game season in Astros history. Alvarez took a career-high 692 plate appearances while appearing in 158 of Houston's 162 games, quieting durability concerns that dogged him earlier in his career. No other American League hitter had an OPS+ higher than 153 or a wRC+ higher than 151.
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
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