NEW YORK, NY — Now that the calendar has officially flipped over to September, with the stretch run already beginning across Major League Baseball, millions of fans are zoned in on their respective team vying to punch their ticket to the postseason.
Locked in on every pitch while scoreboard watching through the day and night.
In a similar fashion to baseball’s world wide audience tuning in to each at-bat of Aaron Judge’s chase in breaking Roger Maris’ American League single-season home run record of 61 HRs in 2022 and Ronald Acuña Jr.’s historic run to becoming the first-ever member of the 70 stolen base-40 home run club in 2023—fans should do the same this month as Astros left-handed Cuban slugger Yordan Álvarez is officially on Triple Crown Watch.
2022 American League LatinoMVP Award winner Yordan Álvarez leads all of MLB in AVG, OBP, and SLG on the season, slashing .316/.433/.603 and is tied for third in MLB for HRs (37) – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
The 29-year-old of Las Tunas, Cuba, a four-time All-Star, one of the intimidating hitters in the batter’s box, and one of 29 Cuban-born players to appear in a MLB game this year, currently leads all of the AL in RBI and batting average this season and is tied for the AL HR lead with Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero.
The Year of Yordan, Now on Triple Crown Watch
2026 Statistics
- 37 home runs, tied for AL’s lead with Junior Caminero of the Rays
- 94 RBI, the next closest in AL is Pete Alonso of the Orioles with 92 RBI
- .316 AVG, the next closest in AL is Chandler Simpson of the Rays with a .311 batting average
Over 137 games in 2026, missing just two, one in May and another in June, Álvarez, posting a MLB-leading 1.036 OPS, would become the first MLB Batting Triple Crown winner of either league (American or National) since Venezuelan legend Miguel Cabrera did so in 2012 (AL) and just the 11th all-time.
- Miguel Cabrera (2012, AL – Detroit Tigers)
- Carl Yastrzemski (1967, AL – Boston Red Sox)
- Frank Robinson (1966, AL – Baltimore Orioles)
- Mickey Mantle (1956, AL – New York Yankees)
- Ted Williams (1942 & 1947, AL – Boston Red Sox)
- Joe Medwick (1937, NL – St. Louis Cardinals)
- Lou Gehrig (1934, AL – New York Yankees)
- Jimmie Foxx (1933, AL – Philadelphia Athletics)
- Chuck Klein (1933, NL – Philadelphia Phillies)
- Rogers Hornsby (1922 & 1925, NL – St. Louis Cardinals)
*RBI became an official statistic in 1920. Before then, six players won a Batting Triple Crown—Heinie Zimmerman (Chicago Cubs, NL, 1912), Ty Cobb (Detroit Tigers, AL and MLB, 1909), Nap Lajoie (Philadelphia Athletics, AL, 1901), Hugh Duffy (Boston Beaneaters, NL, 1894), Tip O’Neill (St. Louis Browns, NL, 1887), & Paul Hines (Providence Grays, NL, 1878).
In addition to the hype building around Yordan’s AL Triple Crown Watch, only focused on helping Houston capture the franchise’s eighth AL West division title since 2017, Álvarez could potentially be on his way to earning his second-career LatinoMVP Award.
Latino Sports founder and president Julio Pabón presents Yordan Álvarez with his 2022 American League LatinoMVP Award at Daikin Park in September of 2023 during Hispanic Heritage Month – Image Credit: Houston Astros/Major League Baseball
If it were to go his way, with the voting process amongst members of the Latino Sports Writers and Broadcasters Association beginning once the 2026 MLB regular season comes to an end—he’d join the likes of David Ortiz, Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera, Juan Soto, and Francisco Lindor as multiple-time LatinoMVP Award winners.
“It feels very good,” Álvarez said through Astros team interpreter Otto Loor of the consideration and having one LatinoMVP already secured. “Every award that I get is a recognition of the work that others and I have put in.”
“And also being amongst those legends, it feels very special just to be among those names.”
Follow us on Social Media for updates and exclusive content
Instagram: @latinosportsoficial
Twitter: @latinosports
TikTok: @latino.sports
Facebook: Latino Sports
