Major League Baseball has set the field for the 2026 Hank Aaron Award, with 20 hitters—10 from each league—still in the running for the sport’s annual honor recognizing regular-season offensive excellence. Shohei Ohtani, who has claimed the award in each of the last three seasons, returns as a finalist while chasing a fourth straight selection.
The winners will be revealed Wednesday, Nov. 11, during the MLB Awards program at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. The presentation begins at 9 p.m. ET, 6 p.m. PT, and MLB Network will carry the show live for the fourth consecutive year.
A deep group in both leagues
The American League finalists are Pete Alonso of the Baltimore Orioles, CJ Abrams of the Washington Nationals, Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros, Randy Arozarena of the Seattle Mariners, Junior Caminero and Yandy Díaz of the Tampa Bay Rays, Willson Contreras of the Boston Red Sox, Riley Greene of the Detroit Tigers, Ben Rice of the New York Yankees, Miguel Vargas of the Chicago White Sox, and Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals.
The National League group includes Jake Bauers of the Milwaukee Brewers, Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Chicago Cubs, Elly De La Cruz and Sal Stewart of the Cincinnati Reds, Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Matt Olson of the Atlanta Braves, Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies, Fernando Tatis Jr. of the San Diego Padres, and Jordan Walker of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Witt and Walker bring a player-development thread to the ballot. Witt took part in the States Play program in 2018, while Walker appeared at both the DREAM Series and Breakthrough Series in 2019.
MLB.com journalists selected the finalists after weighing the season’s offensive production, accomplishments and standout performances. The final vote will be handled by a panel that includes former award winners Derek Jeter, David Ortiz and Albert Pujols, along with Ken Griffey Jr., Chipper Jones, Pedro Martínez, John Smoltz, Johnny Bench, Craig Biggio and Eddie Murray. Jeter won the honor in 2006 and 2009; Ortiz received it in 2005 and 2016; Pujols earned it in 2003 and 2009.
Fans can also weigh in through MLB.com/aaron. Voting opened Monday at noon ET and remains available until 11:59 a.m. ET on Monday, Oct. 12.
The award arrived in 1999, timed to the 25th anniversary of Aaron passing Babe Ruth atop the all-time home run list. It was MLB’s first major new award in more than a quarter-century, and this season marks its 27th anniversary. Aaron’s legacy was also front and center at last year’s All-Star Game in Atlanta, where MLB staged an in-game tribute to the 51st anniversary of his 715th homer—the swing that moved him past Ruth.
