Relievers and sluggers share baseball's awards night as the MVP race waits
Baker and Miller took Reliever of the Year honors, Alvarez and Crow-Armstrong won the Hank Aaron Award, and Varland added a first on the writers' ballot.
- Baker and Miller were named Relievers of the Year at the 2026 MLB Award, with Baker taking the American League honor and Miller taking the National League honor. m:…9667 m:…2119
- Baker recorded 41 saves in his first season as a full-time closer, pitching to a 1.44 ERA in 65 appearances. Miller led all qualified National League relievers with a 1.67 ERA and all qualified pitchers with a 47.4% strikeout rate. m:…9667
- Louis Varland was the first recipient of the AL Reliever of the Year Award from the BBWAA, receiving 16 of 30 first-place votes and 146 points. He finished the 2026 season with a 1.27 ERA and 35 saves. m:…9336
- Alvarez and Pete Crow-Armstrong were named the 2026 Hank Aaron Award winners. Alvarez hit .316 with 42 home runs and 106 RBIs, and Crow-Armstrong hit 45 home runs with 41 stolen bases. m:…2728
- The 2026 AL MVP finalists are Yordan Alvarez, Junior Caminero, and Bobby Witt Jr. Alvarez and Crow-Armstrong are favorites for their respective MVP Awards. m:…3038 m:…2728
Relievers of the Year
Baker and Miller were named Relievers of the Year at the 2026 MLB Award, with Baker taking the American League honor and Miller taking the National League honor. m:…9667 m:…2119
Baker recorded 41 saves in his first season as a full-time closer, pitching to a 1.44 ERA in 65 appearances. Miller led all qualified National League relievers with a 1.67 ERA, recorded 129 strikeouts in 70 innings, and led all qualified pitchers with a 47.4% strikeout rate and a 101.4 mph average fastball velocity. m:…9667 m:…2119
The writers added another layer to the same story. Louis Varland was named the AL Reliever of the Year by the BBWAA, the first recipient of the award, after taking over the closer's job from Jeff Hoffman. Varland received 16 of 30 first-place votes and 146 points, while Cade Smith earned 133 points. Varland finished the 2026 season with a 1.27 ERA and 35 saves in 78 innings, and Cade Smith and Bryan Baker each recorded 41 saves during the 2026 season. m:…9667 m:…9336 m:…2119
The Hank Aaron Award
Alvarez and Pete Crow-Armstrong were named the 2026 Hank Aaron Award winners. The Hank Aaron Award is determined by votes from baseball fans, Hall of Famers, and previous winners m:…2728
Alvarez finished the 2026 season with a .316/.432/.601 slash line, 42 home runs and 106 RBIs, and won the 2026 MLB batting title. Crow-Armstrong hit 45 home runs, recorded 41 stolen bases, compiled an NL-best .942 OPS and led all players with 10.6 fWAR, and won the 2026 NL Platinum Glove. m:…2728
The MVP finalists
The 2026 AL MVP finalists are Yordan Alvarez, Junior Caminero, and Bobby Witt Jr. Caminero played 162 games at third base in 2026, and Bobby Witt Jr. led all Major League shortstops with +24 outs above average in 2026. Alvarez won the 2026 AL batting title with a .316 average m:…3038
Crow-Armstrong led MLB with 10.6 fWAR in 2026, the same season in which he hit 45 home runs and recorded 41 stolen bases. The reports also note that Shohei Ohtani did not pitch in a game after July 3, 2026. Alvarez and Crow-Armstrong are favorites for their respective MVP Awards. m:…3038 m:…2728
The reliever vote in detail
Varland's vote was clear but not unanimous. He received 16 of 30 first-place votes from BBWAA voters and earned 146 total points in the AL Reliever of the Year voting, while Cade Smith earned 133 points. Varland recorded 35 saves during the 2026 season and 97 strikeouts in 78 innings, and finished the 2026 season with a 1.27 ERA. m:…9336
The vote also set Varland against the club's own history. Duane Ward holds the Toronto Blue Jays' all-time single-season save record with 45 saves, and Duane Ward is the only Blue Jays closer to reach 40 saves in a season. Varland spent the first month of the 2026 season in a setup role before taking over the closer's job from Jeff Hoffman, so his 35 saves came in a season that did not start with him closing games. m:…9336
What the night did not settle
The awards answered the reliever and slugger questions and left the MVP Awards open. The reports name Alvarez and Crow-Armstrong as favorites for their respective MVP Awards, but the winners are not named in these reports. m:…2728
Varland's path also underlines how quickly the reliever picture changed. He spent the first month of the 2026 season in a setup role before taking over the closer's job from Jeff Hoffman, and finished with 35 saves, 97 strikeouts in 78 innings and a 1.27 ERA. A pitcher who began the season setting up games ended it as the writers' choice for the best reliever in the American League. m:…9336
What is still unresolved
- The MVP Award winners are not named in these reports.
- Whether the writers' reliever vote and the league reliever honors will point the same way in future seasons.
- How the voting split beyond the points totals reported for Varland and Smith.
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