Yordan Alvarez earns first career Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award
Major League Baseball announced this evening that Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros has been voted the winner of the 2026 Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award. The winner was unveiled earlier tonight at the 2026 MLB Awards presented by MGM Rewards from The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. It marks the first career Outstanding DH Award for Alvarez, as well as the first for an Astros player. Overall, Alvarez was the recipient of five awards tonight, also claiming the 2026 American League Hank Aaron Award, the Rod Carew AL Batting Title, All-MLB First Team Designated Hitter honors and the AL Comeback Player of the Year Award.
The four-time All-Star hit .305 with 34 home runs, 83 RBI, 26 doubles, one triple, 91 walks, 88 runs scored and a .997 OPS across 134 regular season games as a designated hitter while leading the Astros to their 10th Postseason appearance in the last 12 seasons, including their eighth AL West division crown in the last 10 seasons. Among designated hitters, Alvarez led the Majors in batting average, total bases (277) and on-base percentage (.422); tied for first in doubles; ranked second in hits (147), slugging percentage (.575), walks and home runs; tied for third in runs; and was fourth in RBI. Overall, the 29-year-old spent much of the 2026 season in contention for the Triple Crown, ultimately finishing just shy with an AL-best .316 batting average, ranking second with 106 RBI, and tied for second with 42 home runs. The Las Tunas, Cuba native became the third different Astros hitter to win a batting title (fifth time overall), joining teammate Jose Altuve (3x: 2014, 2016-17) and former teammate Yuli Gurriel (2021). Alvarez also became just the fourth player in franchise history (sixth season) to post overall totals of at least 40 homers, 100 RBI, 100 walks and 100 runs scored, joining Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell (1997, 1999, 2000); Lance Berkman (2002); and former teammate Alex Bregman (2019).
Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies finished second in voting for the second consecutive season. In 147 games as a designated hitter, the four-time All-Star hit .227 with 41 home runs, 87 RBI, 17 doubles, one triple, 88 runs scored, 98 walks and a .834 OPS. Schwarber finished tied for first in the Majors with 45 home runs overall, matching Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, and marking the third time in his career leading Baseball in homers. The 12-year veteran now has 232 home runs since joining the Phillies. It marks the second-highest total in a player’s first five seasons with a club in Major League history behind only Hall of Famer Babe Ruth’s 235 with the New York Yankees.
Other players receiving votes for the Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award included Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Shohei Ohtani (.276, 30 HR, 81 RBI, 26 2B, 4 3B, 89 R, .890 OPS), who won the award in each of the last five seasons; Ben Rice of the Yankees (.262, 24 HR, 60 RBI, 14 2B, 3 3B, 65 R, .875 OPS); and Yandy Díaz of the AL Champion Tampa Bay Rays (.293, 22 HR, 85 RBI, 26 2B, 1 3B, 93 R, .805 OPS). Note that all stats reflect performance as a designated hitter.
Now in its 53rd season, the Outstanding Designated Hitter Award was renamed by Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig in a September 2004 ceremony in Seattle in honor of the retiring Martinez. Ballots are cast by club beat writers, broadcasters and public relations departments with nominees including all players with a minimum of 100 at-bats as a designated hitter.