All-Star Altuve having MVP year
Second baseman is leading Astros in AL West push
Pete Rose, who collected more hits than anyone else in major league history, has long maintained that 200-hit seasons are the mark of a truly great hitter.
While the more analytically inclined would tend to disagree and counter that times reached base is more important than hits, it certainly does not detract from what Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve has accomplished in recent seasons.
Altuve is on pace for a third consecutive 200-hit season, leading the majors at the All- Star break with 119 in 89 games. That's just part of the reason he is making his second consecutive All-Star Game start Tuesday at Petco Park, his fourth overall appearance.
“It means a lot to me,” Altuve said of the 200-hit seasons. “It means I’m getting on base and giving my team a chance to score runs and win ballgames. That’s what I’m supposed to do and the more I do it then the better chance we have to win.”
Altuve had 225 hits in 2014 and 200 last season. The only other major leaguer to reach 200 hits in that span is Cleveland Indians left fielder Michael Brantley, who had 200 in 2014.
Astros closer Will Harris has a chance to watch Altuve on a daily basis and understands the secret to his success.
“He never gives away an at-bat, never,” Harris said. “He takes every at-bat personally. Every atbat is a battle for him, regardless of the score. He is relentless. You can see why he has 200 hits every year, why he wins batting titles. He’s as tough an out as anybody in the game.”
No story can be written about Altuve without mentioning his diminutive stature, listed at 5-6 and 165 pounds. However, he outgrew his novelty status long ago and has undisputedly become one of the best all-around players in the game.
Altuve’s .341 batting average also leads the AL, as he aims to win his second batting title in three years. The 26-year-old is fourth in on-base percentage with a .413 mark, having drawn 41 walks (against just 37 strikeouts) in 405 plate appearances. The 41 walks are a career high, and Altuve has hit 14 home runs, one shy of his career-best 15 in 2015.
Altuve won his first Gold Glove award last season.
While Altuve has seemingly overcome steep odds as a little guy thriving in the big leagues, Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez is not surprised. They grew up playing baseball together in the Venezuelan city of Mara- cay, first meeting when they were 7 years old.
“Jose is capable of doing anything,” Perez said. “He has never let anything stop him, even when we were little kids. He just loves playing baseball and I think that love of baseball really drives him. He always had to prove himself.”
When Altuve was 16, he attended an Astros tryout camp in Maracay. The teams’ scouts sent him home because they thought he was lying about his age.
Altuve returned the next day with his birth certificate and im- pressed the Astros so much that they signed him to a contract. Nine years later, he has become a hitting machine in Houston as the Astros try to return to the postseason for a second consecutive year after ending a 10-year drought with last season's AL West title.
“I’m just thankful for the opportunity,” Altuve said. “I love playing baseball and I always promised myself if I had the chance that I would work as hard as I could to be the best player I could possibly be.”