Altuve, Stanton are contrasting MVPs
Jose Altuve and the Houston Astros have grown together, enduring an arduous rebuild and coming out the other side among baseball’s best.
These days, nobody is standing taller.
Altuve won the American League MVP award Thursday, towering over New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge by a wide margin and capping Houston’s championship season with another piece of hardware.
Giancarlo Stanton won the NL MVP, edging Joey Votto of the Cincinnati Reds in the closest vote since 1979.
Stanton got 10 first-place votes and 302 points. Votto, who led the majors with a .454 on-base percentage, also got 10 firsts and had 300 points. Arizona’s Paul Goldschmidt was third.
Altuve, only 5 feet 6, drew 27 of the 30 first-place votes in balloting by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. “I was surprised that I won it,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting this.”
Yankees
Former Yankees player Hensley Meulens is the third candidate to interview to be New York’s new manager after Rob Thomson and Eric Wedge. Meulens, 50, spent five of his seven major league seasons with the Yankees. He has been a coach with the San Francisco Giants for the past eight seasons.
Elsewhere
Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer, third baseman Mike Moustakas and outfielder Lorenzo Cain were among nine free agents who turned down $17.4 million qualifying offers. Chicago Cubs pitchers Jake Arrieta and Wade Davis also said no to the offers, as did Tampa Bay pitcher Alex Cobb, Colorado closer Greg Holland, St. Louis pitcher Lance Lynn and Cleveland first baseman Carlos Santana.