David Schoenfield, ESPN MLB, Sep 14, 2026.

Baseball's Triple Crown is one of the hardest feats in sports. In 2026, Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez was on a historic path. On Aug. 2, he went 4-for-5 with three doubles and two RBIs, lifting his average to .330, leading the AL by 29 points over Tampa Bay's Yandy Diaz. He also topped the league with 35 home runs and 84 RBIs. His 1.092 OPS was 145 points higher than Juan Soto's NL-leading mark.

Since Aug. 2, Alvarez has hit .242/.380/.383 with only three home runs and 12 RBIs in 35 games. His batting lead is down to five points over Tampa Bay's Chandler Simpson. He now trails Simpson's teammate, Junior Caminero, in home runs (40-38) and Baltimore's Pete Alonso in RBIs (100-96).

His OPS remains over 1.000 at 1.016, while Willson Contreras ranks second in the AL around .900. The last time a player led his league with an OPS over 1.000 and no other hitter was over .900 was 1946, when Stan Musial posted a 1.021 OPS to lead the NL with Whitey Kurowski second at .853.