LOS ANGELES, CA — As we watch the rollout of the 2026 MLB Awards, I have to wonder whether a player could be clearly better than the eventual winner and still not receive the award.

The Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) have gone through some interesting voting patterns over the years when it comes to the top awards they bestow, or don’t, on some of the greatest to have ever played the game of baseball. Some cases for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and others for a given league’s yearly MVP, Cy Young Award or Rookie of the Year. 

One example: Nolan Ryan was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1999 on his first ballot, receiving 98.79% of the vote (491 out of 497 possible ballots). Ryan is MLB’s all-time leader in no-hitters with seven and strikeouts with 5,714, yet he never won a Cy Young Award and finished his career with 324 wins. 

Which baseball writers voted against him in the Cy Young voting, and who were the six who did not vote for him in the HOF voting, and why?

One man in baseball history has 5,000 strikeouts: Nolan Ryan. pic.twitter.com/rqgGDyJRxr

— MLB Vault (@MLBVault) January 31, 2021

Joe DiMaggio was elected to the Hall in 1955 (his fourth year on the ballot), receiving 88.8% of the vote. Which baseball writers voted no that year and across his first three of eligibility?

They have also enshrined the likes of Bill Mazeroski, a .260 hitter with a good glove and one famous home run. Yes, it was the “old-rules” Veterans Committee, but again, who voted him in, and why? Come on out and identify yourselves.

As for the 2026 MLB Awards, there was no doubt that the Tigers’ Kevin McGonigle was the best rookie in the American League, and National League winner Sal Stewart, of Cuban descent, had an amazing season for Cincinnati. His 32 home runs this year marked the second-most by a Reds rookie all time. Frank Robinson holds the record for the most home runs by a Cincinnati rookie, hitting 38 home runs in 1956.

Kevin McGonigle (AL) and Sal Stewart (NL) are your 2026 Rookies of the Year! pic.twitter.com/wbQ0ey8aLb

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) November 10, 2026

To earn the first AL Reliever of the Year Award while thrust into the closer role for the first time in his career, Toronto’s Louis Varland saved 35 games in 37 opportunities with a 1.27 ERA.

On the NL side, Padres Mason Miller was named the Reliever of the Year. He didn’t allow a run until late April and fanned 129 hitters over just 70 innings with a 1.67 ERA and 38 saves.

Louis Varland (AL) and Mason Miller (NL) are your 2026 Relievers of the Year! pic.twitter.com/O38jD0H0lS

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) November 12, 2026

American League Manager of the Year White Sox Will Venable did an amazing job turning a laughingstock team into a very good playoff club.

And it was a foregone conclusion that Brewers Pat Murphy was the best in baseball, let alone the National League.

The voting breakdown for the 2026 Manager of the Year awards ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/GwxvHCUL2p

— MLB (@MLB) November 11, 2026

Yankees’ Cam Schlittler and Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski were easy choices for the 2026 AL and NL Cy Young, respectively, each garnering all 30 first-place votes after phenomenal seasons. 

Each in their second career MLB season may one add, marking just the second time ever that both Cy Young Award winners accomplished the feat in their sophomore campaigns.

2026 Cy Young Winners Cam Schlittler and Jacob Misiorowski share mutual respect for each other’s season 🔥 pic.twitter.com/4MK3Faqrll

— MLBPA (@MLBPA) November 12, 2026

American League MVP honors went to Astros Yordan Álvarez, the favorite throughout the season, who collected all 30 first-place votes. Rays Junior Caminero, 23, of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic finished as the runner-up with 27 second-place votes. 

The 29-year-old Álvarez from Las Tunas, Cuba, became the fourth-ever Cuban-born player to take home a league MVP Award, joining Zoilo Versalles (1965), José Canseco (1988) and José Abreu (2020). 

Yordan Alvarez's incredible season has resulted in him being named unanimous AL MVP 👏

The @astros superstar shares what this moment means to him and his family and friends in attendance. https://t.co/yVCYoV5AOU pic.twitter.com/W4BVOCc5if

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 13, 2026

Cubs Pete Crow-Armstrong was also a unanimous choice for the National League MVP.

With that, more history was made as 2026 is the first year in MLB history that both MVP winners and both Cy Young winners were elected unanimously in the same season.

Pete Crow-Armstrong’s 2026 resume:

45 HR (t-1st in MLB)
107 RBI
119 R (led MLB)
41 SB
84 XBH (led MLB)
.943 OPS (led NL)
26 OAA (led MLB)
Gold Glove
Platinum Glove
NL Hank Aaron Award

Long story short: PCA = MVP pic.twitter.com/I2FjWxLGcF

— MLB (@MLB) November 13, 2026

I believe the BBWAA writers got it right this year. But now that all of that is done, think about this: we are just about 90 days until pitchers and catchers report around February 9, 2027. 

Obviously this is subject to all the labor negotiations that will hopefully take place and get all wrapped up before then.

Now based in the Los Angeles area, William Coppola, born and raised in New York, is a senior writer for Latino Sports who covers the Dodgers and more trending news in Major League Baseball. You can reach him over email at pnst8dad@me.com. 

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