The end of the season is approaching as quickly as a freight train. To illustrate more precisely how the current season is winding down, we are now roughly two months away from the finish line. With the end of the regular season comes the postseason. But that is for another article further down the line. As we turn the page towards the last third of the current campaign, we must now take a look at someone who, now more than ever, seems to be ripping the seams off the baseball: Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros.
Altuve
Born in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela is most notably short, standing just five feet six inches tall and earning the nickname Gigante (Giant). Ever since arriving in the big leagues, Altuve has made quite an impact on the Houston team. The Venezuelan ballplayer has already racked up a few awards despite his young age. Altuve is a five times All Star, the 2016 MLB Player of The Year (Awarded by TSN), a Golden Glover at second base, and Batting Champion in 2014 and 2016. While accumulating awards for his personal collection, Jose has also led his team to the postseason twice.
He has seen the ball pretty well in this past couple of months. He carries with him a very well deserved stack of stats, both on offense and defense. El Gigante walks around the Astros’ clubhouse with a .368 batting average, 15 homers, 21 stolen bases and, a stack of runs batted in: 59. As always, Altuve’s glove is rock solid, and he has a Gold Glove to prove it. The second baseman comes near the final stretch of the current season with a .978 fielding percentage.
The Others
Altuve does not play the game all by himself, so here is where the fun of sabermetrics comes into play:
Mike Trout
Let’s begin with his closest rival. If we take a quick glance at his CV, differences start to pop up immediately. For starters, Trout was crowned the American League MVP in the same years Altuve was awarded his batting tittles. In contrast to the Astros’s second baseman, he won the ROY award in his first campaign. Nevertheless, lately, El Pequeño Gigante (The Little Giant) gets the edge in most offensive stats available, with Trout leading in just home runs (19 to 15) and slugging percentage (.682 to .588). In addition, given the fact that the Houston Astros are in a league of their own, don’t expect these two to go head-to-head for the top of the division during the final stint.
Starlin Castro
The fellow second baseman shares some offensive elements with Altuve. Castro also has experience playing the Midsummer Classic, dressing up for the American League on four occasions. In stat terms, he simply falls short. Regardless of his stats, Castro also has a rock solid glove and he is capable of contributing in offense when necessary (A.K.A: Clutch). Similar to Altuve, Castros’s Yankees are contenders for a playoff spot. Don’t be surprised to see Altuve clashing with Castro at some point during the upcoming postseason.
Bryce Harper
Just like Trout, Harper is a ROY award recipient. He is also a five times All Star but he still has no Gold Gloves in his display room. Notably, Harper surpasses Altuve in RBI’s, one run shy of eighty. Of course, his average falls short, but it is still a solid one at .334. He also shows much more power than the Venezuelan ballplayer, coming in with 27 long balls this season. The chance of an encounter during the postseason is of course a bit more improbable, but it is possible that they meet in the World Series.
One Of A Kind
Don’t let his size fool you. Despite his small stature, he outplays most second basemen. Besides the stats, Altuve’s all around game speaks louder than a hundred Gold Gloves. He has proven that the so called “Prototypical Player” does not exist anymore in the current game of baseball. He has thrown all the so called “Requirements” for playing second trough the window. Altuve is capable of packing all the punch, the power, and the clutch in a fun sized package.
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