Altuve closing in on another milestone
This story was excerpted from Brian McTaggart’s Astros Beat publication. To learn the total publication, click on right here. And subscribe to get it usually in your inbox.
In the approaching days, Astros second baseman Jose Altuve will attain one other main profession milestone when he collects his 2,000th hit. When Altuve legged out an infield single within the ninth inning of Friday’s loss to the Mariners, he was sitting on 1,998 profession hits and flirting with historical past.
That’s a outstanding achievement for any participant — Altuve can be the 293rd participant in Major League historical past and the seventh lively participant to succeed in 2,000 — however Altuve’s backstory solely provides to the impressiveness of the feat.
When he reaches 2,000 profession hits, Altuve will be a part of Hall of Famers Jeff Bagwell (2,314 hits) and Craig Biggio (3,060 hits) as the one gamers in franchise historical past to succeed in these marks. And Altuve may have finished it in fewer video games, fewer plate appearances and at a youthful age than the constitution members of the Killer B’s:
Biggio reached 2,000 hits on May 4, 2001, in his 8,025th profession plate look and 1,827th sport. He was 35 years, 4 months and 18 days previous.
Bagwell reached 2,000 hits on April 26, 2003, in his 8,033rd profession plate look and 1,818th sport. He was 34 years, 10 months and 29 days previous.
Altuve’s 1,998th hit got here in his 7,183rd profession plate look and 1,630th sport. He was 33 years, three months and 12 days previous on Friday.
Biggio’s 168th profession hit got here on May 6, 1990 — the day Altuve was born. Altuve’s father was watching a baseball sport at a discipline subsequent door to the hospital the place his spouse was giving delivery in Venezuela. Carlos Altuve spent a lot of his free time the subsequent few years throwing baseballs to his oldest son with hopes he would inherit his father’s love of the sport.
“He always told me,” Jose stated, “‘You’ve got to hit to make the Major Leagues.’”
Altuve first caught Houston’s consideration whereas taking part in second base for the Venezuelan 16-and-under nationwide group. The Astros despatched scout Omar López — their present first-base coach — to see one other participant, a shortstop named Angel Nieves, in Venezuela.
Lopez drove 4 hours to look at Nieves, however he couldn’t take his eyes off “the little guy.” Al Pedrique, then a particular assistant underneath common supervisor Tim Purpura, went to see Altuve, and his means to place the bat on the ball couldn’t be ignored.
Pedrique met with Altuve’s household and provided him $15,000 to signal. His father was an assistant engineer at a chemical firm (his mom was a housewife), so cash wasn’t a difficulty. Still, $15,000 was an excessive amount of to go up.
“I was putting that money in my pocket before I answered that,” Altuve stated. “I always believed the hardest thing for me was an organization giving me the opportunity.”
Altuve’s rise was a fast one. He spent just one yr taking part in for the Astros Venezuelan Summer League group in 2007 earlier than they decided to carry him to the U.S., which was unprecedented for a participant so younger. A profession .327 hitter within the Minor Leagues, he was hitting a mixed .389 between Class A Lancaster and Double-A Corpus Christi in 2011 when the Astros referred to as him up midseason after buying and selling Jeff Keppinger.
Altuve made his Major League debut on July 20, 2011, towards the Nationals and had successful within the first seven video games of his profession. And he hasn’t stopped hitting. He was an All-Star in 2012, gained his first batting title in 2014 and was named the AL Most Valuable Player in 2017. He’s some of the clutch gamers of his era and can quickly be a part of Bagwell and Biggio within the 2,000-hit membership — and sure in the future the Hall of Fame.
