Yordan Álvarez, Randy Arozarena, Yandy Díaz, and Miguel Vargas were named this Monday among the finalists for the 2026 Hank Aaron Award, the accolade awarded by Major League Baseball to the best offensive hitter of the regular season in each league. The four players, all born in Cuba, hold four of the ten available positions in the American League, marking an unprecedented presence of Cuban baseball in this recognition.
Álvarez, with the Houston Astros, finished the season as the most dominant hitter in the American League: he led the league with a .316 batting average and an OPS of 1.033, in addition to hitting 42 home runs and driving in 106 runs in 158 games.
Vargas, on his part, starred in the most outstanding individual season of the four with the Chicago White Sox. The third baseman recorded .250/.363/.474, 33 home runs, 93 RBIs, 106 runs scored, 22 stolen bases, and 101 walks, becoming the fourth player at his position in MLB history to achieve 30 doubles, 30 home runs, 20 steals, and 100 walks in a single season.
The historic season of Miguel Vargas also made him the first player in White Sox history to combine 30 doubles, 30 home runs, 20 steals, and 100 runs scored in a single season.
Arozarena, with the Seattle Mariners, contributed a .281 batting average, 26 home runs, 79 runs batted in, 26 stolen bases, and an OPS of .865 in 154 games, maintaining the power and speed profile that has defined him since his emergence in the majors.
Díaz completed the Cuban quartet from the Tampa Bay Rays with a .293 batting average, 22 home runs, 85 RBIs, and .805 OPS in 614 at-bats, providing offensive consistency throughout the entire season.
Among the other finalists of the American League is Shohei Ohtani, a three-time consecutive winner of the award from 2023 to 2025, who is vying for a fourth title. The panel of voters that will determine the winner includes legends such as Derek Jeter, David Ortiz, Albert Pujols, Ken Griffey Jr., and Pedro Martínez, among other former recipients of the award.
Fans can also participate in the selection through the MLB online voting, open from this Monday until October 12 at 11:59 a.m. ET.
The only Cuban born on the island who has won the Hank Aaron Award to date is José Abreu, who received it in 2020 with the White Sox in the American League. If any of the four Cuban finalists this year wins, they would become only the second compatriot to etch their name in the history of the award, which will celebrate its 27th edition in 2026.
The winners will be announced on November 11 at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, during the MLB Awards ceremony broadcast live on MLB Network.
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