Small-guy Altuve has huge year
HOUSTON — Jose Altuve led the Houston Astros to their first World Series title with a victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in November, then picked up the franchise’s first MVP trophy in more than two decades a couple of weeks later.
And as his huge 2017 is coming to a close, the diminutive second baseman already is looking for more.
“Winning the World Series, winning the MVP, you feel like you have everything,” Altuve said. “But my perspective is to try and get better every year and if we win one World
Series, why not win another one?
Just keep playing for the team and keep playing for my city.”
Altuve, who was one of only a handful of players who endured the Astros’ painful rebuilding process en route to this year’s championship, was chosen as The Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year.
Results of voting by U.S. editors and news directors were announced Wednesday. The 5-6 dynamo got 715 points, beating out New England quarterback Tom Brady, who had 646, and third-place finisher and Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James, with 626.
Altuve is a five-time All-Star who led the majors with a career-high .346 batting average, and his 204 hits topped the American League. He is the first player in MLB history to lead his league in hits in four consecutive seasons. He tied a career-best with 24 home runs and had 81 RBI. He was second in the AL by scoring 112 runs, his on-base percentage of .410 ranked third, he was third with 32 steals, and his .547 slugging percentage ranked sixth.
The only other Astro to win an MVP was Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell, who picked up the National League’s honors in 1994.
Altuve carried his stellar regular season into the postseason, where he paced the Astros in their Division Series victory over the Boston Red Sox by hitting .533 with a 1.133 slugging percentage.
Altuve spent his early years with the Astros toiling in relative obscurity as Houston lost 100-plus games in each of his first three major league seasons from 20112013. There was no denying his superstar status this season as the Astros won 101 games, and he became one of the best stories early in the postseason when he hit three home runs in their Game 1 victory over Boston.
As one of the smallest players in the majors, Altuve certainly isn’t known as a slugger, but that performance made him just the 10th player in major league history and first since 2012 to hit three home runs in a playoff game.
Altuve’s story of once being sent home from a tryout because he was too short has been well documented as he has risen to fame. But on the day his huge game led the Astros to that playoff victory, he summed up the mindset he’s carried since that setback.
“As soon as I cross the white line, I feel the same size as everyone else,” he said.
His teammates marvel at the fact that no matter how good he is, he’s always looking to do better.
“He has four hits and he’s like, ‘Carlos, I never had a five-hit game before, let me try to get the fifth hit,’ ” shortstop Carlos Correa said. “He’s always striving for more. And that’s what I’ve learned from him that makes me better every single day.”
Altuve, who grew up in Venezuela, considers Houston his second home after spending his entire professional career with the Astros. He took great pride in wearing the Houston Strong patch on his uniform throughout the playoffs as a reminder of what the city went through during Hurricane Harvey and how difficult the rebuilding process would be.
He said people approach him often to say thank you for helping the Astros win their first title and for being a bright spot in such a terrible time.
“We had the responsibility of making it happen for the city,” the 27-year-old said. “We wanted to win the World Series for the city. We just wanted to try to see a smile from them.”