2026 MLB MVP Results: Yordan Alvarez and Pete Crow-Armstrong Win Unanimously

The Baseball Writers’ Association of America unanimously selected a pair of first-time honorees for the 2026 Most Valuable Player Awards: Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez in the American League and Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong in the National League.

Results revealed on Thursday night on MLB Network showed both players taking home the honor by unanimous vote. This marks the third straight year the NL MVP has been awarded unanimously, but only the third time in history that voting for both the AL and NL MVP Awards was unanimous.

Dating back to the inception of the pitching award in 956, this season also marks the first time that both MVP winners and both Cy Young winners were all elected unanimously.

Displaying extraordinary contact skills and immense might, Alvarez put together a stellar campaign that brought him nearly within reach of the AL Triple Crown. He led MLB in each of the triple-slash categories with a .316 average, .432 on-base percentage, and .607 slugging percentage, joining Barry Bonds in 2002, Miguel Cabrera in 2013, and Aaron Judge in 2025 as the only players this century to achieve the feat.

“I just wanted a chance,” Alvarez said through an interpreter about his baseball dreams while growing up. “I wanted a chance to play professional baseball years ago. Winning the MVP, winning the World Series, none of this was in my mind. So to be here now … look at me now.”

Following Alvarez in the American League voting results revealed by MLB were emerging Rays superstar Junior Caminero with 267 total points and perennial MVP candidate Bobby Witt Jr. with 188 points. On the National League side, Shohei Ohtani finished behind Crow-Armstrong with 264 total points, followed by World Series winner Brice Turang of the Brewers with 190 points.

Following a rare October absence in 2025, Alvarez spearheaded the Astros’ return to the postseason through the Wild Card. Meanwhile, Crow-Armstrong played a massive part in propelling the Wild Card-bound Cubs to the top of the Majors in both runs scored and defensive runs saved.

“You don’t really know what it takes to be successful until you get into the season … but I think it’s just the fact that I want to be better than I was the day before,” Crow-Armstrong said.

Crow-Armstrong came out of the gate slowly in 2026 after breaking through with an All-Star campaign in 2025. At the mathematical midpoint of the season, his .673 OPS was the lowest ever by a player who went on to a 10-WAR campaign.

“I think my coaching staff was very patient with me throughout my struggles early in the year, and they definitely gave me a chance to turn it around,” Crow-Armstrong said. “… We were always just willing to make the necessary adjustment. And whether it was a little funky and scary or not, we kind of just kept working towards something that really accomplished everything, from power but also just getting on base a lot.”

He finished the season with 45 homers and 41 steals, becoming the first 40-40 club member since Ohtani in 2024. His 10.6 FanGraphs Wins Above Replacement led MLB and finished 3.6 wins higher than the next-closest competition.