Baseball’s David vs. Goliath for MVP

Until a few weeks ago it looked like Major League Baseball’s 2017 American League Most Valuable Player would be one of the tallest in history.

Now it appears the MVP may be one of the shortest.

Aaron Judge, the six-foot-seven New York Yankees rookie who hit 30 home runs and looked unstoppable in the first half, has gone into a slump since his memorable Home Run Derby-winning performance at the all-star game, hitting .175 with just five homers since.

The new favourite may be Jose Altuve, the five-foot-six Astros second baseman, whose 6.3 WAR is tops among position players, and whose major-league leading .365 average is a whopping 45 points higher than the .320 average of the AL’s second-ranked hitter, teammate Carlos Correa.

That’s the beauty of baseball, a sport where size doesn’t always matter.

“This is a guy who always has been dismissed coming up through the minor leagues and early in his career, for whatever reason,” Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said. “And he always has proved himself one of the better players on every team he has been on.”

Altuve, whose first-place Houston Astros are in Chicago for a three-game series against the White Sox, pointed out it’s way too early to think about the MVP race.

That’s true, of course, but the physical contrast between the two leading candidates is too delicious to ignore.

“A lot of things can happen, but just to have a lot of people talking about me as an MVP candidate has made my season,” Altuve said. “You’re playing to win a World Series, not the MVP. But the fact that people are thinking about you as a possible MVP, I’m very grateful. It encourages me to keep playing hard.”

Judge still may have an edge. He leads the AL in home runs, slugging percentage (.622), OPS (1.046) and runs (85), and ranks second to Altuve in on-base percentage (.426-.424). Altuve leads the league in average, OBP, hits (156) and total bases (246), and ranks fourth in slugging percentage (.576) despite his relatively diminutive stature.

There may be more candidates by the end of September, but for now Judge, 25, and Altuve, 27, stand out among the crowd.

“There are other guys who have really good numbers,” Altuve said. “Judge obviously is having a really huge year, and I feel happy for him. He’s a great guy.”

Playing on a dominant team usually helps in MVP voting, though Mike Trout won again last year with a mediocre team in Anaheim. The Astros have been the best team in the AL since the start of the season and have been running away with the AL West since April.

The Yankees are battling for the AL East title or a wild-card spot, but also could be shut out of the playoffs.

“There’s a lot of baseball left, and he’s certainly getting a lot of the national attention, which he deserves,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said of Altuve.

“He’s very much our MVP when it comes to how exceptional he has been,” he added.

“But, honestly, these guys have a really good way of worrying about our games, worrying about winning the division. And to do that we need all of our guys to play well, and nobody has played better than Jose.

“It’ll be exciting if things progress that way, but it’s not a topic that’s really talked about.”

Altuve is a five-time all-star with a .337 combined average since 2014, and is a virtual shoo-in for his third batting title in four years. He began his Astros career drawing comparisons to Freddie Patek, a five-foot-five shortstop who gained fame with the Royals in the 1970s and played 14 years. But in reality, Altuve is more comparable to Rod Carew, the seven-time batting champion with the Twins and Angels in the 1970s and ’80s.

The story of Altuve going to an Astros tryout camp in Venezuela as a 16-year-old in 2007 and being rejected is legendary. Altuve persisted, believing he could convince them otherwise. “They cut me off, but I went back the next day,” he said. “I think they liked that, because the attitude was ‘OK, we’re going to let you do what you have to do again.’ I played a couple of simulated games and I guess I did pretty good, because they gave me that $15,000 as a signing bonus a week later.”

That was the best $15,000 the Astros ever have spent, but they will have to come up with a bit more to keep him around a while.

Altuve earns only $4.5 million this season, and his contract includes two club options at $6 million and $6.5 million the next two seasons. He should cash in bigtime when he becomes a free agent after 2019, but hopes to stay in Houston.

“I was here when we lost 100 games three years in a row,” he said. “I wanted to be part of the Houston Astros when they become a good team. That was my motivation . ... I never had in my mind the idea of playing with any other teams.

“Of course I have two more years, and you know what’s going to happen. But I like to keep my head where my feet are, and I’m going to do everything I can for this team.”

Luhnow first saw Altuve while scouting an Appalachian League game, and later inherited him when he came to the Astros as GM in 2011.

“I didn’t notice him at first, but then when the game was over I thought ‘That small second baseman was the best player on the team,’” Luhnow said. “Kept an eye on him, and was fortunate to have him in the organization when I got over here. He has been the heartbeat of this organization since I got here.

“One thing about Jose is every season he has done something to improve his output on the field. Even when you think it’s not possible, he figures out a way to become an even more valuable player.

“I don’t know how long that can continue, but it really doesn’t need to continue too much longer. He’s one of the best in the game. He’s going to be one of the best in the game for a long time to come. All his doubters have long since disappeared.”

Altuve knew he never would escape all his doubters along the way, but he also realized he would have to perform at a very high level to get an opportunity to play in the big leagues.

After spending his entire minor league career trying to overcome the stigma of being an undersized player, he hopes he can serve as an inspiration to other athletes overlooked because of their size. “As soon as I got to the big leagues, I wanted to stay with that mentality — keep proving people wrong every single day,” he said.

“This is my seventh year in the league, and I still have the same mentality. I want to open doors for short guys. I don’t know if I do (encourage) other players, but I hope I can help them become big-league players. Thank God for the journey.”