Altuve’s yips have Rays a game away from World Series
Every baseball player fears the affliction, the sudden mental block that prevents them from making a routine throw. It goes by a funny name — the yips —cbut it is invisible and terrifying. You would not wish it on your worst enemy, even if he is Jose Altuve, the best player for the notorious 2017 Houston Astros.
“I don’t wish cancer on people who wrong me in some form or fashion,” Brandon McCarthy, a former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher, wrote on Twitter late Tuesday. “This is baseball cancer.”
McCarthy experienced the yips late in his career, before recovering to pitch for the Dodgers in the 2017 World Series, when the Astros were stealing signs on their way to a championship. Now, after a 5-2 loss Tuesday, Houston has dropped the first three games of the American League Championship Series to the Tampa Bay Rays, and Altuve’s sudden throwing problems are a big reason.
Altuve, a second baseman, made two throwing errors in Game 2 on Monday, the first with two outs in the first inning. Manuel Margot followed with a three-run homer, and the Rays won by one run.
In Game 3 on Tuesday, with the Astros leading by 1-0 in the sixth inning, Altuve tried to start a double play but bounced his throw to second, well in front of shortstop Carlos Correa. Instead of having two outs and the bases empty, the Rays had no outs and two runners on. They went on to score five runs in the inning.
There is no way to tell if the throwing problems will linger into Game 4, let alone into next season and beyond. One All-Star second baseman, Steve Sax, conquered the yips. Another, Chuck Knoblauch, never did.
Altuve did not speak with reporters after Tuesday’s game. His teammate, left fielder Michael Brantley, said, “It’s a team effort; we win or lose together.”
The Astros are 4-for-24 with runners in scoring position in this series, and none of those hits have brought in runs. They have scored only five runs in three games, two on solo homers by Altuve, and have stranded 31 runners in all. Altuve hit another homer in the first inning of Wednesday’s late Game 4. Altuve has 18 career postseason home runs, surpassing teammate George Springer’s 17 for the most in franchise history.
Altuve handled 194 chances in the regular season without a single throwing error. Houston manager Dusty Baker is sticking with Altuve.
Altuve, who has won a Gold Glove, a Most Valuable Player Award and three batting titles, had the worst offensive numbers of his career this season: a .219 average. He has played for the Astros for 10 seasons, longer than any teammate, and was given a $163.5 million seven-year contract that runs through 2024.
“It’s tough to see this happening to such a great player and such a great guy,” Houston manager Dusty Baker said.
ELSEWHERE
Rays: Kevin Kiermaier, a three-time Gold Glove winner in center field, who saved multiple runs for Tampa with two outstanding catches, didn’t start
Wednesday after getting hit on the left wrist by a 99-mph fastball from Enoli Paredes. Rays manager Dave Cash said he could’ve played but wanted to get him more treatment in case the series was extended. Cash also rested slumping second baseman Brandon Lowe, who is 3-for-39 with 15 strikeouts in the playoffs.
White Sox: Chicago has received permission from the Los Angeles Angels to interview Tony La Russa for their managerial vacancy, according to sources. La Russa is a senior adviser of baseball operations for the Angels.The Sox parted ways with original Marlin Rick Renteria after four seasons. La Russa, 76, won the World Series as manager of the 1989 Oakland Athletics and then in 2006 and 2011 for the St. Louis Cardinals. He last managed in 2011. La Russa was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014.