PRESS RELEASE
The Orioles announced Wednesday that first baseman PETE ALONSO has been unanimously voted the winner of the 2026 Louis M. Hatter Most Valuable Oriole Award by members of the local media who cover the team on a regular basis. He will be recognized for his accomplishments during an on-field ceremony prior to tonight’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Alonso is the eighth first baseman (18th instance) in franchise history to be named Most Valuable Oriole, joining JIM GENTILE (1961), BOOG POWELL (1969-1970), LEE MAY (1976), EDDIE MURRAY (1978, 1981-1985, and 1988), RAFAEL PALMEIRO (1995-1996 and 1998), JEFF CONINE (2001), and CHRIS DAVIS (2013 and 2015). He is also the first to be named the unanimous winner of the award since CEDRIC MULLINS in 2021.
The right-handed slugger is slashing .265/.359/.510 (156-for-588) with 24 doubles, 40 home runs, 94 runs, 108 RBI, 78 walks (5 IBB), 11 hit-by-pitches, and five stolen bases, starting all 157 games for the Orioles this season. He enters play today leading the American League in RBI while ranking third in homers, third in total bases (300), fifth in slugging percentage, fifth in OPS (.869), sixth in extra-base hits (64), seventh in hits, and eighth in runs. He paces all Orioles hitters in hits, homers, runs, RBI, total bases, and extra-base hits. Alonso has played in 573 consecutive games, the second-longest active streak in the majors behind Atlanta’s Matt Olson (939 G).
The 31-year-old leads the Orioles with 4.6 Baseball Reference Wins Above Replacement (bWAR) and 4.5 Fangraphs Wins Above Replacement (fWAR), ranking first among all MLB first basemen in fWAR. His 4.6 bWAR is the highest by an Orioles first baseman since CHRIS DAVIS (4.9 bWAR) in 2015.
Alonso earned AL Player of the Week honors for the week of August 10-16 when he slashed .545/.630/.864 (12-for-22) with one double, two home runs, five runs, five RBI, and four walks in six games played. He was the first Oriole to earn the honor since GUNNAR HENDERSON on September 7, 2024, and the first Orioles first baseman since RYAN MOUNTCASTLE on June 5, 2021.
This season, he became the eighth Oriole to hit at least 30 home runs in his first season with the team, joining FRANK ROBINSON (49 in 1966), MARK TRUMBO (47 in 2016), NELSON CRUZ (40 in 2014), MARK REYNOLDS (37 in 2011), ALBERT BELLE (37 in 1999), MIGUEL TEJADA(34 in 2004), and J.J. HARDY (30 in 2011). He also became the fifth player in MLB history to hit 30+ home runs in at least seven of his first eight seasons, joining Mark Teixeira, Albert Pujols, Eddie Mathews, and Ralph Kiner. On September 21, he became the ninth Oriole (10th occurrence) with a 40-homer season, joining CHRIS DAVIS (53 in 2013 and 47 in 2015), BRADY ANDERSON (50 in 1996), FRANK ROBINSON (49 in 1966), MARK TRUMBO (47 in 2016), JIM GENTILE (46 in 1961), ANTHONY SANTANDER (44 in 2024), RAFAEL PALMEIRO (43 in 1998), andNELSON CRUZ (40 in 2014).
The Most Valuable Oriole Award is named in honor of the late LOU HATTER, a former sportswriter for The Baltimore Sun who covered the Orioles for 27 years. Balloting for the Most Valuable Oriole Award concluded last week, with voting on a 5-3-1 basis. Ten other players received a second or third-place vote: BLAZE ALEXANDER, SAMUEL BASALLO, SHANE BAZ, KYLE BRADISH, CHRISTIAN ENCARNACION-STRAND, RICO GARCIA, GUNNAR HENDERSON, COBY MAYO, TREVOR ROGERS, and BRANDON YOUNG.
