Hunter Goodman’s bat put him in the middle of one of the strongest offensive seasons in the National League, but the Rockies catcher still got left off the list when the Hank Aaron Award finalists were announced.
That omission is hard to square with the numbers. Goodman finished with more than 40 home runs, 88 RBI and an .839 OPS, production that should have at least earned him a spot among the 10 NL finalists for the award given to the league’s most outstanding offensive player. Instead, he wasn’t included at all.
The snub stands out even more because Goodman has already dealt with a lack of recognition elsewhere this season. He also never received an invitation to the 2026 Home Run Derby.
Critics can point to Coors Field all they want, but more than half of Goodman’s home runs came on the road. His stat line speaks loudly enough on its own, and it is difficult to ignore the possibility that playing for the worst team in baseball hurt his chances as much as anything else.
There were plenty of strong offensive seasons across the National League, and Pete Crow-Armstrong looks like the clear favorite to win the award. Even so, Goodman’s numbers compare favorably with several of the players who did make the cut. He has more home runs than seven of the finalists, and his OPS is better than that of five others.
Goodman may not have been likely to win the Hank Aaron Award, but being shut out of the finalist pool altogether is a stunning result for one of baseball’s best bats this year.
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