Yordan Alvarez turned awards night into a personal showcase.
The Houston Astros designated hitter walked away from the MLB Awards in Las Vegas on Wednesday night with four honors, a haul that made him one of the biggest winners of the evening and stamped his place in franchise history.
Alvarez was named the American League Hank Aaron Award winner for the first time, taking home the trophy for the league’s top offensive performer and knocking off repeat winner Aaron Judge. He became just the second Astros player to win it, joining Jose Altuve, who earned the award in 2017.
The numbers behind the win were loud. Alvarez led MLB with a .316 batting average and captured his first batting title.
He also finished first in OPS (1.033), OBP (.432), SLG (.601), walks (109), extra base hits (77) and total bases (341). He added 42 home runs and 106 RBI, both career highs, and both good for second in the American League.
His 33 intentional walks also stood out. That total led baseball by a wide margin, broke Jeff Bagwell’s franchise record of 27, and left Alvarez just three shy of the all-time mark of 36 set by Judge in 2025.
The Las Tunas, Cuba native also joined rare company with his power-production blend. He became the third player since 1970 to win the AL batting title while hitting at least 40 home runs, alongside Judge in 2025 and Miguel Cabrera in 2012-13. It was the first time Alvarez had topped 40 homers in a season, and he did it while playing a career-high 158 games.
That production also earned him the 2026 Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award, another first for Alvarez. He became the first Astros player to ever win the award and snapped Shohei Ohtani’s run of five straight victories. Alvarez is the first DH not named Ohtani to take the honor since 2020.
What a night for Yordan Alvarez! He claimed 4 awards:⭐️2026 American League Hank Aaron Award⭐️2026 Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award⭐️All-MLB First Team Designated Hitter⭐️AL Comeback Player of the Year Award pic.twitter.com/S98aJgeyqU
Alvarez’s season was just as dominant in the advanced metrics. The four-time All-Star led baseball in offensive WAR at 7.2 and posted a 181 WRC+, the best mark in the sport. He was the only hitter in baseball to finish with an OPS above 1.000, and for much of the year he was on pace for the AL and MLB Triple Crown.
He also earned All-MLB First Team honors at designated hitter, his second time being named to the First Team. That made him the first player to earn an All-MLB spot in six seasons.
Ohtani has eight selections, the most all-time, though those came over five seasons with three coming as a starting pitcher. Alvarez now has the second-most All-MLB selections.
After a 2025 season in which he played only 48 games because of a right-hand fracture and also dealt with a left ankle sprain in September, Alvarez came back in 2026 and won the AL Comeback Player of the Year Award. He became the second Astros player to win that award, following Justin Verlander in 2022.
And there may still be one more trophy coming. Alvarez is now set to win his first MVP award as well.
In Other News...
Yordan Is Back In The Astros Spotlight For An Even Bigger Prize
Yordan Alvarezs return to the spotlight added another layer to an already notable MLB Awards night, with the Astros slugger earning Comeback Player of the Year honors in the American League. The award, voted on by MLB.com club beat reporters, recognizes players who re-emerged over the course of the season, and Alvarez was joined by Phillies right-hander Zack Wheeler as the National League winner.
For Houston, it was another reminder of how quickly Alvarez reestablished himself after a season interrupted by injury and how central he remains to the clubs plans moving forward. The award itself is a nice marker of the turnaround, but it also serves as a setup for the bigger question around Alvarez now, one that goes beyond simply getting back to form. [Read more 🡒]
Yordan Alvarez Just Added Another Milestone To His Dominant Astros Run
Yordan Alvarez keeps stacking honors in a run that has already made him one of the most feared hitters in the game, and the latest recognition only adds to the sense that his 2026 season stood among the best in the league. The Astros slugger was among the players celebrated for elite offensive production, with his bat carrying the kind of impact that has become familiar in Houston.
Pete Crow-Armstrong also earned a share of the spotlight for the Cubs, but the focus in Houston is on what Alvarez continues to mean to the lineup and the standard he has set. For the Astros, the award is another reminder of how consistently he has delivered at the center of their offense, and how much his presence still shapes the conversation around the club's future. [Read more 🡒]
Astros Just Sent A Strong Message About Yordan Alvarez
The Astros are making it clear they have no interest in entertaining the idea of moving Yordan Alvarez, even with rival clubs surely circling a player of his caliber. General manager Randy Flores pointed to Alvarezs standing as one of the games premier hitters and noted that he still has two years left on his contract, a combination that gives Houston both control and confidence as the slugger continues to anchor the middle of the lineup.
Flores also didnt leave much room for interpretation when asked about trade inquiries, treating the subject more like a joke than a serious possibility. That kind of response says plenty about how Houston views Alvarez, especially with the star outfielder also sitting among the leading candidates for American League MVP honors and reinforcing why the Astros would rather build around him than even entertain offers. [Read more 🡒]