Jose Altuve, all 5 feet 6 inches of him, stands tall for the Astros
As long and pronounced as the path has been, the Houston Astros’ ascent to the World Series has been expected. Three years ago, Sports Illustrated proclaimed them the 2017 World Series champions. Before the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers co-opted it, the organization popularized the phrase “trust the process” — after their attendance halved, players griped and embarrassments abounded.
Still, their strategy was clear: They’d collect first-round talents, play them together, and win with a payroll less than that of their big-market competition. After three pitiful years, they have been good since 2015, and now they are on the cusp of a championship.
But the chief reason the Astros are where they are today is not because of a product of that rebuilding process. It is because of a slight, 5-foot-6 second baseman who signed for $15,000 four general managers ago and was a long shot to make the major leagues.
Jeff Luhnow, the Astros’ current general manager, remembers the first time he saw Jose Altuve play. It was the summer of 2008, in the Appalachian League, when Altuve was 18 and Luhnow was the St. Louis Cardinals’ vice president of scouting and player development.
Altuve was small, sure, but he also repeatedly put bat to ball, and he was a fiery competitor. Luhnow liked him.
“But I had no idea he would become this,” Luhnow said Saturday night on the Minute Maid Park infield as he celebrated his club’s first American League pennant.
By the time Luhnow took over the Astros in December 2011, Altuve had already made his major-league debut. He was the travel-size flashlight shining through the dark years, and he continued to improve, developing power at 25. This season, at 27, he hit .346 with 24 home runs, for which he is likely to win the American League Most Valuable Player Award.
In the postseason, Altuve is hitting .400. He has walked more than he has struck out, and he hit more homers than anyone else. When he went 0-for-10 in three Houston losses to the Yankees in New York, he still contributed three walks and a run.
“His slumps aren’t even really slumps,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. “They’re like bad days at work, you know? We expect so much out of him. To get the number of hits he gets, he’s not really allowed to have a 10- or 12-at-bat stretch where he doesn’t get hits.”
Altuve had only three hitless streaks that lasted more than one game this season, the longest of three games. He hit .378 in the Astros’ victories.
“For those that have followed the Astros, we’ve seen this: We go as Altuve goes,” Hinch said. “We’ve been able to build a team around him that had multiple options that maybe somebody else could pick up the slack if he decides not to get a hit for some reason.
“But there’s no doubt that when he has good games, it’s hard to beat the Astros.”
For months, Altuve has had the fans chanting “M-V-P!” at Astros home games.
“There’s a lot of expectations on him to provide that spark,” Hinch said.
One hour after the team’s American League Championship Series-clinching win, as his teammates poured alcohol into each other’s mouths and onto each other’s backs, Altuve sat in an otherwise vacant room adjacent to the clubhouse, using his phone. After a while, he emerged — totally dry — and jogged back to the field, where he celebrated with his wife and young daughter. He is the team’s star, but he does not operate at its center.
Carlos Correa, the 23-year-old shortstop, appears much more comfortable conducting news conferences and addressing the media. Likely honors notwithstanding, Altuve seems more comfortable standing alongside his teammates, not in front of them.
Luhnow said his roster was built for a seven-game series because of its offensive variety. Ideally, Altuve does not need to carry them. Veteran catcher Brian McCann supplied the most impactful hit in the Astros’ Game 7 ALCS victory over the Yankees.
“We don’t have to rely on one or two guys,” Luhnow said.
Altuve said last week that he “literally” loves Justin Verlander, the Astros’ newly acquired ace. He has highly praised Carlos Beltran, the club’s 40-year-old clubhouse leader who isn’t quite the productive hitter he used to be. He seems happy that this is not all about him.
“This is awesome,” Altuve said. “We’ve been putting a lot of effort into this for a long time.”
The Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2017 World Series
Follow Pedro Moura on Twitter @pedromoura
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