Yordan Álvarez and Pete Crow-Armstrong led Major League Baseball’s 2026 awards night, headlining the All-MLB first team and winning the Hank Aaron Award in their respective leagues. The honors were announced Wednesday at the MLB Awards show in Las Vegas, capping a week in which the game’s top individual prizes were handed out.
Álvarez, the Houston Astros designated hitter, also won the American League Comeback Player of the Year award and the Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award, breaking a five-year streak held by Shohei Ohtani. Crow-Armstrong, the Chicago Cubs outfielder, paired the Hank Aaron Award with the NL Platinum Glove, becoming the first player in MLB history to win the top offensive and defensive awards in the same season.
For fans, the awards settle the arguments that defined the season’s two most productive hitters. Álvarez drove the Astros’ offense while returning from injuries that limited him to 48 games in 2025. Crow-Armstrong delivered an MVP-caliber all-around year for a Cubs team that counted on him in every phase of the game.
The All-MLB teams
The All-MLB first team, introduced in 2019, featured five starting pitchers and two relievers. Alongside Álvarez and Crow-Armstrong, the first team included catcher Gabriel Moreno of the Arizona Diamondbacks, first baseman Pete Alonso of the Baltimore Orioles, second baseman Brice Turang of the Milwaukee Brewers, third baseman Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays, shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals, outfielders Fernando Tatis Jr. of the San Diego Padres and Jackson Chourio of the Brewers, and pitchers Jacob Misiorowski and Cam Schlittler, Chris Sale, Dylan Cease, Cristopher Sánchez, Mason Miller and Louis Varland.
The second team included catcher William Contreras of the Brewers, first baseman Willson Contreras of the Boston Red Sox, second baseman Brandon Lowe of the Pittsburgh Pirates, third baseman Alex Bregman of the Cubs, shortstop Elly De La Cruz of the Cincinnati Reds, outfielders James Wood of the Washington Nationals, Randy Arozarena of the Seattle Mariners and Jordan Walker of the St. Louis Cardinals, and pitchers Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Sonny Gray, Tarik Skubal, Drew Rasmussen, Jesús Luzardo, Bryan Baker and Cade Smith.
Hank Aaron Awards and Comeback honors
Álvarez put together an MVP-caliber season, hitting 42 home runs with 106 RBIs and a 1.033 OPS. He became the second player in Astros history to win the Hank Aaron Award, according to theScore. Crow-Armstrong hit 45 home runs with 107 RBIs and a .942 OPS while posting an MLB-best 10.6 fWAR, becoming the fourth Cubs player to take the award.
The Comeback Player of the Year awards went to Álvarez in the AL and Zack Wheeler of the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL. Álvarez appeared in 158 games after a fractured hand and sprained ankle limited him to 48 in 2025. Wheeler underwent thoracic outlet decompression surgery in September 2025 and returned to pitch 162 innings, win 14 games and post a 3.00 ERA with 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings.
Relievers, designated hitter and executive honors
The Reliever of the Year awards went to Bryan Baker of the Rays in the AL and Mason Miller of the Padres in the NL. Baker tied for the major-league lead with 41 saves and posted a 1.44 ERA in an All-Star season. Miller struck out 47.4% of the hitters he faced and tied for the NL lead with 38 saves.
Álvarez also won the Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award, becoming the first player not named Ohtani to win it since 2020. The Executive of the Year award went to Erik Neander of the Rays, whose team won 98 games and captured the AL pennant in its first season back at Tropicana Field after Hurricane Milton destroyed the stadium’s roof in October 2024.
Play of the Year
The Premier Play of the Year went to Colton Cowser of the Baltimore Orioles, who stole a home run with a game-ending catch against the Colorado Rockies on Aug. 31.
Who won the 2026 Hank Aaron Awards? Yordan Álvarez of the Houston Astros won the AL award, and Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Chicago Cubs won the NL award. Both were also named to the All-MLB first team as the top offensive players in their leagues.
The bottom line
The awards closed the book on the 2026 season and turned attention to the winter. The Cy Young winners were announced earlier this week, with Jacob Misiorowski and Cam Schlittler taking the honors. Now the focus shifts to free agency, where a new salary cap structure will reshape how teams spend.
