Yordan Alvarez wins his first career AL MVP as unanimous choice

Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez took home the biggest honor of his career on Thursday, winning his first American League Most Valuable Player Award as a unanimous selection.

The MVP voting, conducted by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, made Alvarez the third Astro to earn the franchise’s MVP mantle in the AL era. Houston previously had Jeff Bagwell win NL MVP (1994) and Jose Altuve win AL MVP (2017).

Alvarez’s case was built around a 2026 American League batting title and an efficiency-heavy offensive profile. He hit.316 while posting a.432 on-base percentage,.601 slugging percentage and a 1.033 OPS. He also led the league in offensive WAR (7.2), total bases (341), walks (109) and extra-base hits (77).

He also finished near the top of several traditional power-count categories, coming second in RBIs (106) and tying for second in home runs (42). Both marks were listed as career highs.

The season included a documented run of major-impact moments and record-setting subtleties. The Astros release noted Alvarez tied a franchise record in intentional walks in a way that broke Bagwell’s club mark, and it also highlighted multiple high-leverage games, including a June 12 stretch in Kansas City and a July 4 game at Daikin Park.

Alvarez’s MVP also followed a busy awards run at the MLB Awards Show in Las Vegas, where the Astros’ first baseman-DH hybrid was reported to have won four awards Wednesday and received additional recognition on the awards stage before the MVP decision was finalized.