A BIG-LITTLE BATTLE
Tiny Astros second baseman Jose Altuve is after Josh Donaldson’s MVP title,
HOUSTON— Colby Rasmus, the former Blue Jays outfielder who since last season has been with the Houston Astros, has just four hits since the beginning of July. So it’s not without some envy that he marvels at the success of his tiny teammate, Jose Altuve.
“You know, myself, I feel like these pitchers are ridiculous and they’re throwing all this crazy stuff,” Rasmus said Wednesday inside the Astros clubhouse. “It’s kind of a joke in here. We’re all struggling to get hits — blasting balls into the shift or whatever — and it’s like he’s got this innate ability to get three hits a night against the best pitching in the world.”
Houston’s five-foot-six second baseman, the shortest player in the majors, is arguably the greatest threat to unseat Josh Donaldson as the Amer- ican League MVP this season. Altuve, who won his first batting title in 2014, leads the majors with a .360 batting average, while his 1.000 OPS trails only David Ortiz. He has 19 homers and 25 stolen bases.
Donaldson is making a strong case to hold onto the crown, while perennial MVP candidate Mike Trout is, as usual, also part of the conversation.
But as far as Rasmus is concerned, there’s no question. Altuve is the man. “No doubt Donaldson’s a baller, and Trout, just to name a few — there’s a lot of great players in this league — but (Altuve) is a different kind of special, man. He’s a special kind of talent with some special kind of mojo inside him.”
The 26-year-old Venezuelan, who is already playing in his sixth bigleague season, finished 10th in MVP voting last year when he led the American League with 200 hits and 38 stolen bases. But this season he has elevated his game to another level by hitting for more power without sacrificing any of his remarkable batto-ball skills. He’s slugging nearly 150 points higher than his career mark, while also hitting for a higher average.
“He’s one of my favourite players to watch in this game,” says Devon Travis, the Jays’ similarly undersized second baseman. “He plays the game the way I try to play.”
Travis, who is listed at five-foot-nine, said he has long looked to Altuve’s career for inspiration, particularly when he was in the minor leagues and struggling to make his mark while facing long odds as a shorter player. “I’ve always kept a big eye on him.”
Since joining Altuve in the big leagues last year, Travis says he takes every opportunity to pick his former idol’s brain whenever they happen to cross paths at second base, bending his ear in search of hitting tips. “Be- ing littler guys, we don’t have the God-given blessings of being able to hit a bad pitch out like some other guys, so we’ve got to look for good pitches to hit,” Travis said. “If you watch him play, man, he builds on each one of his at-bats and he does a good job of looking for pitches that he wants to hit.”
Rasmus, who in Houston is afforded the veteran luxury of a doublewide locker (he has an American flag draped in front of his second stall), doesn’t seek advice from Altuve. He just watches him in awe.
“He just has a crazy ability to find holes,” Rasmus said, “He don’t hit gloves. It’s crazy, especially today when it seems that whenever you start doing good they’ve got a whole staff of super-nerds trying to come up with ways to get you out. They got their super nerds and we got ours, crunching the numbers trying to figure it out. So for him to stay on top of his game and being just five-foot-six, 160 pounds, he’s one in the world. I don’t think there’ll be another one like him.”