MLB awards week ended the way the Cy Young night did: with two unanimous winners. Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez won the AL MVP and Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong won the NL MVP. Both got all 30 first-place votes, and both are first-time winners. Crow-Armstrong’s win also ends Shohei Ohtani’s run of three straight MVP awards.
AL: Yordan Alvarez, Astros
Alvarez hit .316 with 42 home runs and 106 RBIs, career highs in average and home runs. He led the majors in batting average, on-base percentage (.432), slugging and walks (109), and he made a real run at the Triple Crown. He finished one home run and seven RBIs behind Baltimore’s Pete Alonso.
Some of the history he made:
- He is the fourth player this century to lead the majors in all three slash-line categories, after Barry Bonds (2002), Miguel Cabrera (2013) and Aaron Judge (2025).
- His 33 intentional walks set an Astros record and are the second-most in AL history.
- He is the first Astro to win AL MVP since Jose Altuve in 2017.
Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero finished second (.276, 42 HR, 101 RBIs) with 27 of the 30 second-place votes, and Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr. was third.
Alvarez, 29, was the AL Rookie of the Year in 2019 and the ALCS MVP in 2021, and he helped Houston win the 2022 World Series. If you want to see where he hits, here is my Minute Maid Park post. The ballpark is now called Daikin Park.
NL: Pete Crow-Armstrong, Cubs
Crow-Armstrong, 24, played all 162 games and led the NL in runs (119), home runs (45), slugging (.570), OPS (.943) and WAR. He also stole 41 bases, making him the seventh player in MLB history with a 40-40 season, and he won the Gold Glove in center field.
He is the ninth Cub to win MVP and the first since Kris Bryant in 2016. The others are Gabby Hartnett, Phil Cavarretta, Hank Sauer, Ernie Banks (twice), Ryne Sandberg, Andre Dawson and Sammy Sosa.
Ohtani finished second after hitting 30 home runs and going 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA on the mound. Brewers second baseman Brice Turang was third, with career highs of 21 home runs and 100 RBIs and a Gold Glove at second base.
Alvarez and Crow-Armstrong also shared the Hank Aaron Award this year.
My Take
Neither vote was close, and neither should have been. Alvarez had the best offensive season in the American League by almost every measure, and he came within a few swings of the first Triple Crown since Cabrera. Crow-Armstrong did it all: power, speed, defense, and he never missed a game. Beating out Ohtani in a season where Ohtani had a 1.79 ERA tells you how good that year was.
Awards Week Recap
That’s a wrap on the 2026 BBWAA awards. Here is everything in one place:
- Rookies of the Year: Kevin McGonigle (AL) and Sal Stewart (NL)
- Managers of the Year: Will Venable (AL) and Pat Murphy (NL)
- Cy Young Awards: Cam Schlittler (AL) and Jacob Misiorowski (NL)
- MVPs: Yordan Alvarez (AL) and Pete Crow-Armstrong (NL)
Next up on the MLB calendar: qualifying offer decisions are due Monday, Nov. 17.
Photos: Pete Crow-Armstrong, Sept. 22, 2026, by Archieship, CC BY 4.0; Yordan Alvarez by thatlostdog, CC BY 2.0; both via Wikimedia Commons.
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