Pete Alonso Unanimously Voted 2026 Most Valuable Oriole After Historic First Season in Baltimore
By Brian Hradsky | Maryland Sports Blog
Pete Alonso’s first season with the Baltimore Orioles has featured 40 home runs, an American League-leading 108 RBI, his 300th career homer and one of the most productive debut seasons by a free-agent acquisition in franchise history. Now, the Orioles’ first baseman has another honor to add to the list.
The Orioles announced Wednesday that Alonso was unanimously voted the 2026 Most Valuable Oriole, earning the Louis M. Hatter Most Valuable Oriole Award in voting conducted by members of the local media who cover the team regularly. Alonso will be recognized in an on-field ceremony before Wednesday night’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays.
The selection comes as little surprise after Alonso emerged as Baltimore’s most consistent offensive force throughout a difficult season. His performance has also reinforced why the Orioles made one of the biggest investments in franchise history to bring the longtime New York Mets slugger to Baltimore.
Alonso delivers in first season with Orioles
Through 157 games, Alonso is batting .265 with a .359 on-base percentage and .510 slugging percentage, producing an .869 OPS. He has collected 156 hits, 24 doubles, 40 home runs, 94 runs, 108 RBI and 78 walks while starting every game for Baltimore this season.
Alonso entered Wednesday leading the American League with 108 RBI. His 40 home runs rank third in the AL, while he also ranks near the top of the league in total bases, slugging percentage and OPS.
The durability might be just as impressive. Alonso has played all 157 Orioles games this season, continuing a streak of 573 consecutive games played. According to the Orioles’ release, that is the second-longest active streak in the majors behind Atlanta’s Matt Olson.
Alonso has also provided substantially more than home-run power. He has walked 78 times, stolen five bases and supplied a consistent middle-of-the-order presence for a Baltimore lineup that has dealt with injuries and stretches of inconsistency throughout the season.
Advanced metrics further illustrate his value. The Orioles’ release credits Alonso with 4.6 Baseball Reference WAR, while FanGraphs has him at 4.5 WAR. His FanGraphs total ranks first among MLB first basemen, and his Baseball Reference mark represents the best season by an Orioles first baseman since Chris Davis produced 4.9 bWAR in 2015.
Reaching 40 home runs in dramatic fashion
Alonso essentially put an exclamation point on his MVO case Monday night at Camden Yards.
With Baltimore trailing Toronto 3-2 in the eighth inning, Alonso blasted a two-run homer that gave the Orioles a 4-3 lead. It was his second homer of the night and his 40th of the season, providing the decisive runs in Baltimore’s comeback victory.
The performance gave Alonso three RBI and pushed him to 108 for the season. No other American League hitter had more than 99 following the game.
Reaching 40 also placed Alonso alongside some prominent names in Orioles history. His total tied Nelson Cruz’s 40 in 2014 for ninth on the franchise’s single-season home-run list.
More significantly, Alonso became the first player in MLB history to hit at least 40 home runs in his first season in both leagues. He blasted a rookie-record 53 homers for the Mets in 2019 before reaching 40 in his first American League season with Baltimore.
It is the fourth 40-homer season of Alonso’s eight-year major league career.
Joining a select group of Orioles newcomers
Alonso’s 40-home-run season also puts him in rare company among players spending their first year in Baltimore.
According to the Orioles, he became just the sixth player to hit at least 30 homers during his first season with the organization, joining Frank Robinson, Mark Trumbo, Nelson Cruz, Mark Reynolds and Albert Belle.
Only Trumbo hit more among that group, launching 47 homers in 2016.
Alonso has accomplished something even rarer over the larger arc of his career. This is the fifth time in his first eight major league seasons that he has hit at least 30 home runs. The other players to accomplish that feat include Mark Teixeira, Albert Pujols, Eddie Mathews and Ralph Kiner.
For Baltimore, that consistency was a major reason to pursue Alonso during the offseason.
The Orioles signed him to a five-year, $155 million contract after he spent his first seven seasons with the Mets. Instead of experiencing a significant decline while changing leagues and organizations, Alonso has immediately become the centerpiece of Baltimore’s offense.
His season did not begin at this pace. Alonso hit only three home runs through his first 28 games while adjusting to a new organization and balancing baseball with becoming a father. He eventually settled into his routine and began producing at the level that has defined his career.
No. 300 comes back in New York
One of Alonso’s defining moments as an Oriole came against the organization where his career began.
On Sept. 15 at Citi Field, Alonso entered the ninth inning with Baltimore trailing the Mets 3-2. He then crushed the 300th home run of his major league career, tying the game against his former club.
Baltimore ultimately won 7-5 in 11 innings.
The circumstances made the milestone especially memorable. Alonso spent his first seven seasons with New York and became one of the franchise’s most recognizable players before joining Baltimore. Mets fans acknowledged their former star after the historic homer, with Alonso receiving a curtain call despite wearing an Orioles uniform.
That home run was Alonso’s 36th of the season. He has added four more since, including two Monday against Toronto.
August surge earns weekly honor
Alonso’s season included an American League Player of the Week award for Aug. 10-16.
During that six-game stretch, Alonso batted .545 with a .630 on-base percentage and .864 slugging percentage. He went 12-for-22 with a double, two homers, five runs, five RBI and four walks.
According to the Orioles’ announcement, Alonso became Baltimore’s first AL Player of the Week since Gunnar Henderson earned the award in September 2024 and the first Orioles first baseman to receive it since Ryan Mountcastle in 2021.
It was another example of Alonso’s ability to carry the lineup when he gets hot.
Alonso joins Orioles history
Alonso becomes the eighth first baseman — and the 18th instance overall — to win the Most Valuable Oriole Award.
The group includes some of the most accomplished hitters in Orioles history.
Jim Gentile won in 1961. Boog Powell earned the award in 1969 and 1970, while Lee May won in 1976. Eddie Murray received the honor in 1978, 1981-85 and 1988.
Rafael Palmeiro won in 1995-96 and again in 1998. Jeff Conine earned it in 2001, and Chris Davis became the most recent first baseman before Alonso to win the award when he received it in 2013 and 2015.
Alonso’s selection puts him alongside that group after only one season in an Orioles uniform.
A bright spot in an uneven Orioles season
The individual honor comes against the backdrop of a Baltimore season that has fallen short of expectations.
The Orioles entered Wednesday at 76-81 and faced the possibility of being mathematically eliminated from postseason contention. Their elimination number had fallen to one entering Wednesday’s doubleheader against Toronto.
That makes Alonso’s production stand out even more.
While Baltimore has battled injuries, offensive droughts and inconsistent stretches, Alonso has remained in the lineup every day and delivered middle-of-the-order production. His 40 homers and 108 RBI have given Baltimore one of baseball’s premier power threats.
The Orioles acquired Alonso to add established power and a veteran presence to a young offensive core. One season into the partnership, the production has been there.
About the Most Valuable Oriole Award
The Most Valuable Oriole Award is named in honor of Louis M. Hatter, a former sportswriter for The Baltimore Sun who covered the Orioles for 27 years.
Baltimore’s local media has voted on the award annually since 1954.
Gunnar Henderson won the previous two awards in 2024 and 2025. Other recent winners include Félix Bautista in 2023, Adley Rutschman in 2022, Cedric Mullins in 2021 and Anthony Santander in 2020.
Alonso now adds his name to a list that spans generations of Orioles baseball.
MSB Take
The Orioles did not get the season they envisioned as a team, but Pete Alonso gave them almost exactly what they hoped for when they made a major commitment to him last offseason.
Forty home runs and 108 RBI are impressive enough, but Alonso’s availability has been equally important. He has answered the bell every day, produced in the middle of the order and given Baltimore an established power hitter capable of changing a game with one swing. His go-ahead 40th homer Monday and his dramatic 300th career homer against the Mets are two moments that will stand out from his first season in Baltimore.
The unanimous Most Valuable Oriole vote is fitting. Alonso was not simply Baltimore’s biggest power hitter in 2026; he was its most consistent offensive presence.
Now the bigger question turns toward 2027. Alonso is under contract for the long term, and Baltimore still possesses a talented core around him. If the Orioles can address the shortcomings that prevented this season from becoming a playoff run, Alonso has demonstrated that they already have a legitimate middle-of-the-order anchor around whom they can build.
