Finalists Announced for the 2026 Players Choice Awards
NEW YORK, Oct. 14 – Yordan Álvarez, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Shohei Ohtani are the finalists for Player of the Year in balloting for the 2026 Players Choice Awards. The winner of this award and seven others will be announced the week of October 26.
Since 1992, the MLBPA’s Players Choice Awards have recognized the outstanding on-and off-field performances of players. These awards are an especially distinguished honor, as they are chosen by a vote of players’ peers. This year, voting was conducted in September with the help of accounting firm KPMG.
Click above to see all the finalists on Instagram
In addition to the Player of the Year award winner, the American and National League Outstanding Player, Pitcher, Rookie and Comeback Player, as well as the Marvin Miller Man of the Year, Philanthropist of the Year and Curt Flood Awards, will be announced.
The Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award is given to the player “whose leadership most inspires others to higher levels of achievement.” The award is named in honor of the Major League Baseball Players Association’s first full-time executive director, who served with distinction from 1966-1982. Marvin Miller was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2021. This year’s finalists are Chris Bassitt, Nico Hoerner and Pablo López.
The Philanthropist of the Year Award goes to the player who “best demonstrates an altruistic spirit and positive social impact beyond the diamond.” The Philanthropist of the Year will also receive a $25,000 grant from the Players Trust to the charity or cause of his choice. This year’s finalists are Matthew Boyd, Jake Burger and Christian Yelich. The two runners-up will receive $5,000 grants to their chosen nonprofit.
The Curt Flood Award is given to a living or deceased former player “who in the image of Flood demonstrated a selfless, longtime devotion to the Players Association and advancement of players’ rights.” This year’s distinguished nominees are David Cone and Ted Simmons.
Below are all the finalists:
Player of the Year
Yordan Álvarez, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Shohei Ohtani
Outstanding Player Award
American League: Yordan Álvarez, Junior Caminero and Bobby Witt Jr.
National League: Pete Crow-Armstrong, Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Schwarber
Outstanding Pitcher Award
American League: Dylan Cease, Sonny Gray and Cam Schlittler
National League: Mason Miller, Jacob Misiorowski and Chris Sale
Outstanding Rookie Award
American League: Kevin McGonigle, Parker Messick and Munetaka Murakami
National League: TJ Rumfield, Sal Stewart and JJ Wetherholt
Comeback Player Award
American League: Yordan Álvarez, Gerrit Cole and Mike Trout
National League: Sandy Alcántara, Martín Pérez and Zack Wheeler
Marvin Miller Man of the Year
Chris Bassitt, Nico Hoerner and Pablo López
Curt Flood Award
David Cone and Ted Simmons
Philanthropist of the Year
Matthew Boyd, Jake Burger and Christian Yelich
To learn more about the awards, please visit https://www.mlbplayers.com/player-choice-awards.
