Alvarez, PCA become 1st-time winners of Hank Aaron Award after career years

The Hank Aaron Award is given each year to the best offensive performers in the American and National Leagues. The 2026 honorees put together seasons worthy of plenty of hardware.

Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez and Cubs superstar Pete Crow-Armstrong were named the 2026 Hank Aaron Award winners on Wednesday during the MLB Awards presented by MGM Rewards. Alvarez and Crow-Armstrong -- also the favorites for their respective MVP Awards to be announced Thursday -- dethroned repeat Hank Aaron Award winners Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani.

Recipients of the Hank Aaron Award, first given out in 1999 -- 25 years after Aaron broke Babe Ruth's career home run record -- are determined by votes from baseball fans as well as from a panel of Hall of Famers and previous winners. Alvarez and Crow-Armstrong both beat out nine other nominees from each league. Here’s what made them deserving of the honor this season.

• All-time Hank Aaron Award winners

AL: Yordan Alvarez, Astros

To illustrate just how good Alvarez was in 2026, perhaps we should start with when he was at his worst. The Houston designated hitter had an .872 OPS with two home runs and 12 RBIs in August, good for a 133 wRC+. That means he was 33% better than league average offensively … during his worst month of the season.

Alvarez only had one month with a lower OPS than August, an .871 mark in May. But he socked eight home runs in 28 games to keep his wRC+ up at 141. Otherwise, Alvarez did not post a single month with an OPS below 1.000.

He finished the 2026 season overall with a .316/.432/.601 slash line, 42 home runs, 106 RBIs and a 181 wRC+. Alvarez was in position to win the Triple Crown, and potentially the MLB Triple Crown, for long stretches of the season before the Orioles’ Pete Alonso took over the AL home run and RBI leads with a red-hot finish. Alvarez, however, still won the MLB batting title and led all hitters in walks (109). He was the only qualified hitter with an OPS over 1.000.

While Alvarez’s talent has never been a question, he played his most games (158) in any season of his career, allowing him to reach his full potential. The Cuban native recorded his first 40-homer season and willed an ailing Astros lineup to their 10th postseason berth in the past 12 years.

NL: Pete Crow-Armstrong, Cubs

After being a first-time All-Star in 2025 but battling through a difficult second half, Crow-Armstrong started slowly again in 2026, raising questions about his offensive profile. He owned a below-average .669 OPS through the end of April.

Then, things changed quickly, and in a big way. Crow-Armstrong adopted a much more selective approach at the plate and began crushing the ball to the pull side, leading to a historic offensive breakout.

From May 1 through the end of the 2026 season, PCA led MLB in home runs (42), runs scored (100), OPS (1.004) and wRC+ (171). He also tied for the MLB lead with 35 stolen bases and was second with 94 RBIs, only trailing Alonso’s 100. Notably, his 11.4% walk rate in 2026 represented a +6.9% jump from 2025, the greatest increase of any hitter who qualified in both seasons.

Crow-Armstrong finished the year tied with Kyle Schwarber for the MLB lead with 45 home runs and compiled an NL-best .942 OPS. Adding 41 total stolen bases, Crow-Armstrong put together just the seventh 40-homer, 40-stolen-base campaign in MLB history. He also became just the 10th MLB player and the first Cubs player to record consecutive 30-30 seasons.

Considering that Crow-Armstrong was arguably baseball’s best defender in 2026, posting a league-leading 26 Fielding Run Value in center field and winning the NL Platinum Glove, it’s no secret why the 24-year-old generated MVP buzz. He led all players with 10.6 fWAR.