There’s no highlight reel for the 33 times opponents intentionally walked Yordan Alvarez in 2026. The hitter puts down his bat, takes first base and the game moves on. But those trips down the line explain something the home run clips can’t: how often an opposing dugout thought a free baserunner was a better outcome than letting him swing. He broke Jeff Bagwell’s Houston record of 27. MLB’s breakdown of Alvarez’s season.

On November 12, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America named Alvarez the 2026 American League MVP. He took all 30 first-place votes for 420 points. Junior Caminero finished second with 267, and Bobby Witt Jr. was third with 188. It was Alvarez’s first MVP and the first unanimous AL MVP in Astros history. Official ballot and voting rules.

For Houston fans, there are two versions of the same season. One is easy to print: a left-handed slugger and an award. The other is the anticipation every time the lineup turned over. Both fit into the Houston Astros collection, but the ballot graphic captures the part nobody had to argue about afterward.

What 33 intentional walks tell you about 42 home runs

Alvarez hit .316 to win the AL batting title, went deep 42 times and drove in 106 runs. His .432 on-base percentage tells a different part of the story. He drew 109 walks overall, so even after you take away the intentional passes, that still leaves 76 walks earned without a manager waving him to first. A pitcher couldn’t simply stay out of his power zone and count on him to chase. MLB’s season recap.

That combination mattered because Alvarez made most of his case as a designated hitter. He didn’t have a season’s worth of defensive highlights to round out his candidacy. Instead, the numbers show how much he could do in one trip to the plate: reach base, drive an extra-base hit or make the other team decide it would rather deal with the next batter. The BBWAA notes that he was only the second primary DH to win an MVP, after Shohei Ohtani. BBWAA’s award history.

“For him to get all the praise he deserves, tonight is the culmination of the hard work.” Jeff Bagwell on Alvarez, in MLB’s Astros coverage

The Houston record that changed hands twice

Bagwell is the link between the two headline numbers. Alvarez passed his intentional-walk mark during the season and joined him as a unanimous MVP in November. The distinction is the league: Bagwell won the NL award in 1994, before Houston moved to the AL. José Altuve won the AL award in 2017. Alvarez is the third Astros MVP overall and the first Houston player to sweep the American League ballot.

Why “Unanimous” is the headline on this design

The navy shirt reads from top to bottom like an awards edition. White italic capitals give “UNANIMOUS” the first line. An orange-outline “’26 MVP” takes up the middle, with a small figure of Alvarez layered over the type. His name closes the stack in white. The type is doing the storytelling here: the result comes first, the player’s name is the last thing you read, and there’s no need to attach the graphic to a particular swing.

Yordan Alvarez Unanimous ’26 MVP ShirtSee the ballot-inspired graphic →

The cleanest way to tell this story is still the contrast: 33 times opponents chose not to pitch to him, and 30 times writers chose to put him first. Find more Yordan Alvarez designs or see how other fan bases put their own seasons into print in the MLB collection.

Yordan Alvarez’s 2026 AL MVP FAQ

How many MVP votes did Yordan Alvarez receive in 2026?

Alvarez received all 30 first-place votes and earned 420 points in the 2026 American League MVP vote.

How many intentional walks did Yordan Alvarez draw in 2026?

He drew 33 intentional walks, breaking Jeff Bagwell’s Houston Astros record of 27.

Was Yordan Alvarez the first unanimous Astros MVP?

He was the first unanimous Astros MVP in the American League. Jeff Bagwell won the National League award unanimously for Houston in 1994.