For the first time in MLB history, one player held his league’s top offensive and defensive honors at once. Pete Crow-Armstrong, the Chicago Cubs center fielder, got there with 45 homers, 41 steals, and a Platinum Glove. Yordan Álvarez, the Houston Astros designated hitter, took the AL Hank Aaron Award.
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The Hank Aaron Award marks the best bat in each league, while the Platinum Glove rewards the top defender regardless of position. Few sluggers also rank as elite glove men, which makes the pairing unprecedented.
The numbers back it up. Crow-Armstrong appeared in all 162 games, posted a .280 batting average and .943 OPS, drove in 107 runs, scored 119 runs, and tied for the National League lead in home runs.
Álvarez’s night ran deeper than one trophy. He earned his first Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award, ending Shohei Ohtani’s run as the Los Angeles Dodgers’ two-way superstar, and added the AL Comeback Player of the Year.
He hit .316 with 42 homers and 106 RBIs, production that backs the DH honor and keeps him among the AL MVP finalists.
Both sluggers also landed on the All-MLB first team, where Crow-Armstrong joined Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio (.291, 25 homers, 23 steals) and San Diego Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. (.289, 25 homers, 38 steals).
The infield brought similar firepower. Gabriel Moreno, the Arizona Diamondbacks catcher, won the NL batting title at .311, while Bobby Witt Jr., the Kansas City Royals shortstop, hit .281 and stole 45 bases.
Pete Alonso, the Baltimore Orioles’ first baseman, added a .363 on-base percentage. Junior Caminero, the Tampa Bay Rays third baseman, and Brice Turang, the Brewers’ second baseman, completed the group.
On the mound, Jacob Misiorowski, the Brewers starter, won the NL Cy Young after going 16-5 with a 1.80 ERA and 252 strikeouts. Cam Schlittler, who pitches for the New York Yankees, won the AL award with an ERA of 1.95 and 239 strikeouts.
Three more arms filled out the rotation. Chris Sale, the Atlanta Braves starter, went 14-9 with a 2.16 ERA and 200 strikeouts; Dylan Cease, the Toronto Blue Jays starter; and Cristopher Sánchez, the Philadelphia Phillies starter.
Mason Miller, the Padres closer, and Louis Varland, the Blue Jays closer, took the bullpen spots. Miller won the NL Reliever of the Year title unanimously, posting a 1.67 ERA and 38 saves.
In the AL, Bryan Baker, the Rays closer, won the Mariano Rivera Award with a 1.44 ERA and 41 saves. He converted 33 straight chances after May, becoming the first Rays pitcher to do so.
Milwaukee’s depth showed up elsewhere too. William Contreras, the Brewers catcher, earned a second-team nod and won World Series MVP after hitting .381 against the Rays in the five-game series.
The rest of the slate covered every corner of the league. Kevin McGonigle, the Detroit Tigers rookie, won AL Rookie of the Year, and Sal Stewart, the Cincinnati Reds rookie, took the NL award. Will Venable, the Chicago White Sox manager, and Pat Murphy, the Brewers manager, won the Manager of the Year award.
Erik Neander, who is from the Rays, won the title of Executive of the Year, while Colton Cowser, the Orioles outfielder, won Premier Play of the Year. MVP winners arrive tonight, with Crow-Armstrong and Álvarez among the finalists.
Among the night’s honors, one return from injury deserves a closer look. Zack Wheeler, the Phillies ace right-hander, was voted NL Comeback Player of the Year by beat reporters, which rounded out the night’s honors.
Zack Wheeler on the road back from rib surgery
Zack Wheeler, the Phillies ace right-hander, began this season on a long road back. His 2025 campaign ended in August after doctors found a blood clot near his right shoulder, and the diagnosis was venous thoracic outlet syndrome, a condition that threatened his career.
Doctors performed decompression surgery that removed his first rib. Wheeler was activated from the injured list on April 25, 2026, and then took every scheduled turn in the rotation through the end of the regular season, never missing a start.
He went 14-5 with a 3.00 ERA over 28 starts, striking out 193 batters over 162 innings and posting a 1.05 WHIP. Those numbers carried the weight of his return.
Thirty MLB.com club beat reporters voted him the winner at the MLB Awards in Las Vegas, adding to his MLBPA Players Choice win. He is the first Phillie to claim it since Brad Lidge, the former closer, in 2008.
Wheeler’s return capped the honors, and MVP winners will be announced later tonight, with Crow-Armstrong and Álvarez as finalists.