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. 

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. Established in 1996, the Major League Baseball Players Trust is the charitable arm of the Major League Baseball Players Association. This year’s finalists are Matthew Boyd, Jake Burger and Christian Yelich. 

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.  

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Contact: Silvia Alvarez, MLBPA, salvarez@mlbpa.org, 646-285-1819 

    Pablo Ocariz, MLBPA, pocariz@mlbpa.org, 646-581-5778