Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez won the 2026 American League Most Valuable Player Award unanimously Thursday, following a batting-title season in which he nearly captured the Triple Crown.

The Baseball Writers' Association of America gave Alvarez all 30 first-place votes. Junior Caminero, the Tampa Bay Rays third baseman, took second with 267 points, while Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. placed third with 188.

Alvarez is the third Astros MVP, joining Jeff Bagwell, who won in the National League in 1994, and Jose Altuve, the AL winner in 2017.

Bagwell, a Hall of Famer who won his MVP unanimously 32 years ago, joined Alvarez, Alvarez's wife and Astros owner Jim Crane at Wednesday's MLB Awards in Las Vegas. He called Alvarez a humble kid.

"To get the unanimous MVP, it’s a special year," Bagwell said. "Every player wants to do well for the ballclub first and you can only do what you can do, and Yordan did it better than everybody."

Alvarez, a four-time All-Star at 29, secured his first batting title with a .316 average. He topped the league in OPS as well as on-base and slugging percentages.

His lead in batting average and both rate categories extended across the majors, a feat no player had achieved since Aaron Judge in 2025. Miguel Cabrera did it in 2013 and Barry Bonds in 2002, and each of those three players won his league's MVP award.

Alvarez established personal bests with 106 RBIs and 42 homers. He finished second in the AL in RBIs and tied for second in homers.

Baltimore's Pete Alonso stood between Alvarez and the Triple Crown, finishing with 43 homers and 113 RBIs.

Alvarez hit a two-run homer and a grand slam during Houston's nine-run first inning in Kansas City on June 12. His six RBIs that inning established a franchise record.

He homered twice against the Rays at Daikin Park on July 4, completing a comeback win over the eventual AL champions with a two-run walk-off shot.

Opponents intentionally walked Alvarez 33 times, surpassing Bagwell's Houston record of 27. Judge is the only AL player with more in one season, having received 36 in 2025.

Alvarez collected 420 voting points, while his 190 OPS+ led the majors, according to ESPN. Shohei Ohtani in 2024 was the only other primarily designated hitter to win an MVP award.

ESPN's Bradford Doolittle likened Alvarez to David Ortiz and noted that Ortiz never won the MVP award Alvarez now holds. The Associated Press reported that Alvarez's offensive production outweighed his limited contributions on defense.

Alvarez appeared in a career-high 158 games in 2026 after a right-hand fracture restricted him to 48 the previous year. He also suffered a left ankle sprain in September 2025.

In Las Vegas on Wednesday, Alvarez received the AL Comeback Player of the Year, AL Hank Aaron Award and Edgar Martinez Outstanding DH Award and made the All-MLB First Team. He became Houston's first DH award winner, bringing Ohtani's run of five straight to an end.

Houston captured the AL West. The Chicago White Sox then swept the Astros in the wild-card series, Yahoo Sports reported.

Alvarez reached the majors with Houston in 2019, when he won AL Rookie of the Year. He earned ALCS MVP honors in 2021 and helped Houston win the 2022 World Series.

Across eight big league seasons, Alvarez has hit .300 with 212 homers.