Major League Baseball named its 2026 Hank Aaron Award finalists on Oct. 5: ten hitters from each league, with fan voting running at MLB.com through Oct. 12 at 11:59 a.m. ET.
Shohei Ohtani headlines the National League group as a three-time winner of the award. Pete Alonso leads an American League slate that is heavy on new addresses.
The American League Ballot
Pete Alonso (Orioles), Yordan Alvarez (Astros), Randy Arozarena (Mariners), Junior Caminero (Rays), Willson Contreras (Red Sox), Yandy Diaz (Rays), Riley Greene (Tigers), Ben Rice (Yankees), Miguel Vargas (White Sox), Bobby Witt Jr. (Royals).
Two things jump off that list. Alonso is a Baltimore Oriole and Arozarena is a Seattle Mariner, both different from where they finished 2025. And Tampa Bay put two hitters on it in Caminero and Diaz, which is not a coincidence for a team currently up 2-0 on the Yankees in the Division Series.
Ben Rice making the list is its own small story. He hit both New York home runs in Game 2 of that series.
The National League Ballot
CJ Abrams (Nationals), Jake Bauers (Brewers), Pete Crow-Armstrong (Cubs), Elly De La Cruz (Reds), Shohei Ohtani (Dodgers), Matt Olson (Braves), Kyle Schwarber (Phillies), Sal Stewart (Reds), Fernando Tatis Jr. (Padres), Jordan Walker (Cardinals).
Cincinnati is the only NL team with two finalists, in De La Cruz and Stewart, which says something about a Reds offense that did not make the postseason.
Who Actually Decides
The award goes to the most outstanding offensive performer in each league. Fan voting opened Oct. 5 at noon ET and closes Oct. 12.
The panel alongside the fans is a who’s who: Derek Jeter, David Ortiz, Albert Pujols, Ken Griffey Jr., Chipper Jones, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz, Johnny Bench, Craig Biggio and Eddie Murray.
Winners get announced Nov. 11 at 9 p.m. ET at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, airing on MLB Network.
A Little History
The award was created in 1999 to mark the 25th anniversary of Aaron breaking Babe Ruth’s home run record. This is its 27th year. Jordan Walker and Bobby Witt Jr. are both alumni of MLB’s development programs, which is the kind of detail the league likes to highlight and which happens to be true.
My Picks
In the National League, betting against Ohtani in a fan vote is a losing proposition regardless of what the numbers say, and he has won it three times already.
The American League is the better race. Bobby Witt Jr. is the most complete player on that list and Alonso changing leagues gives the voters a narrative. Caminero is the one I would watch, because he is currently doubling in the middle of a playoff series millions of people are watching while the ballot is open.
Timing matters in fan votes. Always has.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
