Yordan Alvarez might be your American League MVP for 2026, but brace yourselves, baseball fans, because ESPN’s Bradford Doolittle just dropped a bomb: Alvarez is going to completely whiff on the Triple Crown, and get this, he won’t even lead the league in *any* of those three categories by season’s end. This is a brutal call on a guy who has been an absolute offensive force, and it would be a heartbreaking turn for the Astros and for Alvarez himself.
Imagine leading the AL in home runs, runs batted in, and batting average. That’s the Triple Crown, one of the rarest feats in all of baseball. Miguel Cabrera pulled it off over a decade ago, showing just how legendary an accomplishment it is. Alvarez has had a real, legitimate shot at making incredible history this season, a major positive in an otherwise not-to-plan year for Houston. Doolittle, while still picking Alvarez for AL MVP, isn’t holding back, stating that Yordan has been “moving toward the pack in the Triple Crown categories for several weeks.” It’s a tough pill to swallow when you’ve been so close to baseball immortality.
So, where’s the danger lurking for Alvarez? Let’s break down these categories. His batting average lead, hitting .314 on the season, seems like the most secure one, even if Doolittle says he’ll still lose it. Chandler Simpson of the Tampa Bay Rays is right there at .308, and while Simpson’s been on fire lately and Alvarez hasn’t, that .006 gap feels like the safest of the bunch.
Then there are the RBIs. Alvarez leads the AL with 95, but Pete Alonso of the Baltimore Orioles is breathing down his neck at 94. Junior Caminero, another Ray, is also right there with 92. If the guys in front of Alvarez aren’t getting on base, those RBIs just aren’t going to pile up. It’s a team effort for that stat, and Alonso and Caminero are clearly getting their chances.
But the home run leaderboard? That’s the riskiest, folks. Alvarez isn’t even in sole possession of first place here. He’s tied with Junior Caminero, both sitting at 38 homers. It’s a dead heat! To snag that Triple Crown, Alvarez needs to out-homer Caminero, drive in more runs than Alonso, and somehow maintain his batting average lead over Simpson. Doolittle’s prediction isn’t just that he’ll lose one, or two, but that he’ll fall behind in ALL THREE categories.
The stakes are absolutely sky-high for Alvarez right now. Can he dig deep, find that offensive force Doolittle himself still believes in, and prove everyone, especially Doolittle, dead wrong? Missing out on the Triple Crown, especially when he’s had such a strong chance at accomplishing it, would be a huge disappointment for him and the team, even if he still clinches that AL MVP. The race to the finish line just got a whole lot more intense, and every single at-bat is going to matter.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by The Sporting News.
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