Astros' Yordan Alvarez supplants Aaron Judge as AL MVP after eerily similar season

After nearly a decade as one of baseball's most powerful and productive hitters, Yordan Alvarez is finally getting his due. Alvarez was named the unanimous 2026 American League Most Valuable Player by the Baseball Writers' Association in polling released Thursday, Nov. 12, as the Houston Astros slug

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After nearly a decade as one of baseball's most powerful and productive hitters, Yordan Alvarez is finally getting his due.

Alvarez was named the unanimous 2026 American League Most Valuable Player by the Baseball Writers' Association in polling released Thursday, Nov. 12, as the Houston Astros slugger earned a just reward for a season in which he dominated the circuit.

Alvarez, 29, earned his first MVP after two previous spots in the top 10, most recently a third-place finish in 2022, when he led the Astros to a World Series title. Since his 2019 debut, only Aaron Judge's 1.037 OPS outranks Alvarez's .975 mark in that span.

And with Judge felled by injury for all but 66 games this season, Alvarez more than ably filled the void left by the New

York Yankees' three-time MVP.

Alvarez duplicated Judge's 2025 feat in winning AL MVP, leading the major leagues in all three slash categories - a .316 batting average, a .432 on-base percentage and a .601 slugging percentage. All the while, he slammed 42 home runs and drove in 106, threatening for the traditional Triple Crown before Baltimore's Pete Alonso eclipsed him with 43 homers and 113 RBIs.

Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero, who equaled Alvarez's 42 home runs, finished second with 267 points, while Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. was third with 188 - after finishing second and fourth in 2024 and 2025.

Alvarez joins Judge and former Detroit Tigers great Miguel Cabrera as the lone AL players since 1970 to win a batting title and hit at least 40 home runs. He's the third Houston Astro to earn MVP honors, joining Jose Altuve (2017) and Jeff Bagwell, who was honored in the National League in 1994.

All the while, Alvarez kept the Astros afloat during a year in which they got off to a 16-27 start. Ultimately, they made history of a dubious sort, winning the AL West at 81-81 but becoming the first playoff participant in a full season with a non-winning record. His 6.8 WAR trailed only Tigers rookie Kevin McGonigle (7.1) among position players.