Yordan Alvarez wins AL MVP award after the Astros slugger made a run at the Triple Crown

Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez won the AL MVP award in a unanimous vote on Thursday night after making a run at the Triple Crown.

Alvarez hit a career-best .316 with 42 homers and 106 RBIs for the AL West champions. He led the majors in batting average and finished in a tie for second in the AL in homers and second by himself in RBIs, trailing Pete Alonso’s 43 homers and 113 RBIs for Baltimore.

Alvarez was Houston’s primary designated hitter, but his offensive brilliance was enough to overcome his limited contributions on defense. The four-time All-Star also led the majors in walks (109), on-base percentage (.432) and slugging percentage (.601).

The 29-year-old Alvarez became the first AL MVP from Houston since Jose Altuve in 2017. He received all 30 first-place votes in balloting from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Third baseman Junior Caminero, who batted .276 with 42 homers and 101 RBIs for Tampa Bay, was second, receiving 27 of 30 second-place votes. Kansas City shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. finished third.

The NL award also is being announced on Thursday night. Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani and Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Brice Turang are the finalists.

Alvarez broke into the majors with Houston in 2019. He hit .313 with 27 homers and 78 RBIs in just 87 games, earning the AL Rookie of the Year award.

Alvarez was the ALCS MVP in 2021 and helped the Astros to the 2022 World Series championship. He is a .300 hitter with 212 homers and 599 RBIs in eight big league seasons.

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Jay Cohen, The Associated Press