Yordan Alvarez Claimed the American League Most Valuable Player Award on Thursday

Yordan Alvarez claimed the American League Most Valuable Player award on Thursday, securing all 30 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, Yahoo Sports reported.

The Houston Astros designated hitter joins Jose Altuve in 2017 and Jeff Bagwell in 1994 as the only players in franchise history to win the honor. He outpaced finalists Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays and Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals.

Caminero finished second in the voting, pulling in 27 second-place votes.

Witt and Cy Young Award winner Cam Schlittler collected the remaining three second-place votes.

Alvarez bounced back from an injury-affected 2025 campaign to post career-best numbers in batting average, on-base percentage, home runs, runs batted in, and runs scored. His .319/.432/.601 slash line led the league in batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage.

Beyond the MVP trophy, Alvarez swept several major honors. He collected the AL Hank Aaron Award as the league’s top hitter, the AL Comeback Player of the Year award, and the Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award. He also earned All-MLB and Silver Slugger recognition.

Alvarez held a strong position in the Triple Crown race for much of the season by leading the league in batting average, home runs, and RBIs.

A slow August output of just two home runs derailed his bid for the historic offensive triple.

That August slump opened the door for Caminero to narrow the gap in the voting. Caminero finished the year with a .276/.360/.524 slash line.

Defensive shortcomings ultimately hurt Caminero’s candidacy despite his offensive production. The third baseman struggled defensively, which lowered his overall WAR value.

Defense defined the campaign for Witt as well. Witt batted .281/.359/.441 over 143 games, numbers that fell short of Alvarez and Caminero.

The Kansas City infielder established himself as the premier defensive player in the American League at a demanding position.

That defensive excellence secured his spot as the third finalist in the voting.

The absence of New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge also influenced the race. Judge won the AL MVP in three of the prior four seasons but appeared in only 66 games during 2026 due to injuries.

On the National League side, Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong also secured a unanimous MVP victory. This marks the third time in four seasons that both league MVPs were chosen unanimously, following 2023 with Shohei Ohtani and Ronald Acuña Jr., and 2024 with Ohtani and Aaron Judge.

No unanimous MVPs occurred in both leagues simultaneously before 2023 since the BBWAA began issuing the awards in 1931. Judge is expected to return next season to challenge for the award again, but Alvarez solidified his status as a permanent fixture among the league’s elite hitters.