HOUSTON – He’s already proven himself this year as the game’s most dangerous hitter, a special blend of power and plate discipline that will likely carry Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez to the American League Most Valuable Player Award on the heels of winning his first batting title.
The postseason is when the game’s biggest stars take center stage, so the challenge now for Alvarez is to see how far he can carry the Astros in the playoffs. All eyes will be on Alvarez when the AL Wild Card Series gets underway Tuesday afternoon at Daikin Park with Game 1 between the Astros and White Sox.
“We couldn’t be in this position without him,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “Just having him in a short postseason series, not only what he can do to help you win, but what he brings to the opponents and working through Yordan and having [Isaac] Paredes behind him having a great season. … The year he had and what he brings to our team and having him on our side, it’s a game-changer.”
The last time the Astros had a player win the AL MVP, they won the World Series. Jose Altuve had a season for the ages in 2017, and opened the postseason that year with three home runs in Game 1 of the 2017 AL Division Series against the Red Sox, cementing his legacy and setting the stage for a dominant playoff run that culminated with Houston’s first championship.
Alvarez’s legacy as one of the greatest Astros players in history is already secure, considering he crushed two of the biggest home runs during Houston’s run to the World Series championship in 2022, including a game-flipping 450-foot shot to center in a Game 6 clincher against the Phillies. But what Alvarez did during the regular season was remarkable.
Alvarez led the AL in batting average (.316), on-base percentage (.432), slugging percentage (.601), OPS (1.033), offensive WAR (7.2), total bases (341), walks (109) and extra-base hits (77), while finishing second in RBIs (106) and tying for second in home runs (42), both of which were career highs. Nothing meant more to him, though, than winning his first batting title.
“That’s something that I’ve always wanted to do,” he said. “I feel very proud to be able to do that. In fact, I even told the guys after we had a talk [postgame Sunday] and they gave me a little present, I told them even though I hit 40 home runs, I think the batting title was something I always wanted and I feel very proud to be able to do that.”
Alvarez will be the focus of opposing managers in the postseason with the debate centering around whether to pitch to him or walk him and take their chances with Paredes, who hit 25 homers and drove in 94 runs. Alvarez was intentionally walked a club-record 33 times this year, which was just three shy of the AL record.
“At first, I felt bad,” Paredes said. “I felt like they were kind of disrespecting me as a hitter, but I felt as the season went on, I stopped taking it personal because Yordan is truly the greatest hitter right now in baseball, so there’s no reason to take it as a lack of respect towards myself.”
The value Alvarez brings to the Astros’ offense was evident last season, when he missed 100 games recovering from a broken bone in his right hand. With the Astros pushing for a playoff spot, Alvarez returned in late August and slashed .369/.462/.569 with three homers and nine RBIs in 19 games before spraining his ankle when he slipped on home plate Sept. 15 against the Rangers.
He missed the rest of the regular season, and the Astros fell one win shy of reaching the postseason for the eighth year in a row. Alvarez played in a career-high 158 games in 2026.
“He makes everyone else that much better,” Espada said. “The confidence he brings when he is in there every day, it just makes us that much better psychologically and physically. So keeping him on the field and getting the Yordan that we all know he’s capable of being, it’s imperative for our success.”
The Astros led the Major Leagues in home runs this year (226), but their offense can be hit-or-miss, especially when Alvarez doesn’t contribute. Houston was 23-14 when Alvarez homered – something that will be on the minds of everyone every time he steps into the box this postseason.
“No doubt, he’s hands-down the best player right now in the league,” Altuve said. “It’s crazy everything he’s doing. He does it over and over. We know he’s going to hit a lot of homers, but when he hits it, we’re still surprised. He’s amazing. He deserves everything that happens to him.”