No slowing humble Altuve
AL MVP candidate’s approach to game is all about winning.
They won’t win this one. A 3-1 lead has suddenly become 5-3 Rays, and fans waiting to see the Astros’ 70th win in early August are streaming out of Minute Maid Park and heading out into the hot Houston night.
The bullpen is shaky. Carlos Correa and George Springer are missing. It’s the aftermath of the trade deadline and everyone’s focusing on what the Astros didn’t add, instead of what the owner of the American League West has.
Jose Altuve answers it all by studying. It has been a while since he faced Sergio Romo. He knows the 10th-year right-hander relies on a slider.
But how large is the sweep and how often is Romo turning to the pitch in 2017? Video rolls and Altuve’s eyes lock in before the bottom of the seventh arrives.
“I can see what he was doing,” Altuve said. “His slider is big. So I was like, ‘OK, if you pull this guy, you’re not going to be able to get a hit.’ So I was trying to hit the ball to right field.”
I stand near the top of Minute Maid and watch Altuve walk to the plate. A.J. Reed has struck out. Jake Marisnick just grounded out. The stadium’s half empty and Twitter is still picking apart the Astros’ pen.
Romo goes up 0-1 on an 85 mph fastball. He misses on a low-and-away slider. The third pitch is almost the same. Still out of the strike zone, but a little closer to the plate and within Altuve’s zone. He stretches his body outward, extends his hands and arms, and makes smooth contact.
Romo’s 75 mph slider becomes a soft liner that ends up in the outfield.
“I was trying to hit the ball to right field and I still hit it to center field because of the good spin he has on the slider,” Altuve said.
His 151st hit of the season soon has him standing on third base after Alex Bregman singles and Altuve steals third. The best player on the best AL team is waiting for his teammates to drive him in, lighting up the scoreboard and bringing the Astros closer to win No. 70.
It doesn’t happen this night. But it’s classic Altuve — beautiful baseball, gorgeous hit — and a trademark of the five-time AllStar, who has become one of the greatest overall players in the majors.
“It’s the mindset of getting on base. It doesn’t matter how I get it . ... It’s always going to feel good,” said Altuve, who entered Saturday leading the sport in batting average (.365) and hits, topping the AL in total bases (238) and ranking fifth among all hitters in OPS (1.000).
Rising to the top
At first, he was a good but limited player on a horrible team. In 2014, he won his first batting title (.341) on the 70-92 Astros and began to display the all-around evolution that dominates his game. Three seasons later, Altuve rivals Yankees rookie Aaron Judge as the leading candidate for AL MVP and is the Astros’ version of James Harden and J.J. Watt.
He’s an absolute mustsee, worth paying big money to sit as close as possible for. He’s also an absolute joy, playing the sport with childlike joy and taking pride in being covered in dirt.
“Altuve! Altuve! Altuve!!!” kids called out Thursday, begging for simple recognition and a lasting autograph.
Altuve regularly made eye contact with his young admirers — behind the batting cage, walking from the dugout to the infield — and engaged in three separate, extended signing sessions.
Baseball players aren’t like they used to be in the good ol’ days? Watch Altuve. “He feels like he can get better every year,” Astros veteran Carlos Beltran said. “That’s a great mentality to have in this game. This game, you’ve got to stay humble. No matter how well you do, you’ve got to be humble.”
The past month marked one of the highest points of Altuve’s seven-year career and the peak of the Astros’ rebuild thus far.
A year ago, I wrote Altuve was underrated nationally and locally. On July 11, he was the AL’s starting second baseman on an international stage and one of MLB’s top vote-getters in the annual All-Star Game. With the Astros second to only the Dodgers in World Series predictions, Altuve put up huge July numbers: .485 average, 48 hits, 22 runs, 21 RBIs, 1.251 OPS, four home runs, eight steals and 72 total bases in 99 at-bats.
“The thing about him that’s so impressive is that he won the batting title last year and he told Beltran when they (first) went out to eat, ‘How do I get better?’ ” Springer said. “It’s hard to tell somebody who just led all of (the league) in hitting how you get better.
“His desire to get better and his desire to improve in all aspects of his game ... he’s a team player. He wants to be successful for the team and it’s not ever about him. It’s impressive and it’s very, very honorable and very admirable as a teammate to see him do what he does.”
Altuve watches three modern hitters the most: Miguel Cabrera, Mike Trout and Robinson Cano. As his plate approach has evolved in recent years, Altuve has added aspects of Cabrera’s inside-out attack.
Approach to hitting
When he makes his way to the plate, Altuve’s adamant that his primary thought each time is finding some way to get on base. But how much of his success — daily, weekly, monthly, annually — can be attributed to preparation and what part comes down to innate, pure instinct?
“It’s a combination,” Altuve said. “Sometimes you have to believe in your instincts and what you think they’re going to do to you. But sometimes you really have to follow what the coaches say. It’s really hard to pick: Should I go with my instincts or should I go with them? I don’t know if it’s 50-50, but it just depends.”
Technically, he was never even supposed to make the majors. When did one of the biggest bargains in modern baseball — Altuve is making a base salary of $4.5 million this season, which is less than everyone from Yuli Gurriel and Beltran to Dallas Keuchel and Josh Reddick — realize he could do what no one expected him to?
“It’s going to sound crazy. But since I signed with the Astros, I knew that I just needed an opportunity to be up here,” said Altuve, who signed with the franchise in 2007 as an undrafted free agent out of Venezuela for a $15,000 bonus. “I didn’t know that I was going to be hitting .365 ... and I got a couple batting titles. But I always knew that I was going to be able to play hard. And I’m a firm believer that when you play hard, good things are going to be happening.”