José Altuve
| José Altuve | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Houston Astros – No. 27 | |
| Second baseman | |
|
Born: May 6, 1990 Maracay, Venezuela | |
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| MLB debut | |
| July 20, 2011 for the Houston Astros | |
| Career statistics (through 2013 season) | |
| Batting average | .285 |
| Hits | 405 |
| Home runs | 14 |
| Runs batted in | 101 |
| Teams | |
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
José Carlos Altuve (born May 6, 1990) is a Venezuelan professional baseball second baseman for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball. Altuve made his major league debut in July 2011. He is currently the shortest active player in Major League Baseball at 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m). Altuve's short stature has inspired an unofficial unit of measure, with baseball broadcasters asking "how many Altuves" a home run has traveled.
Professional career
Minor leagues
Altuve was signed by the Houston Astros as an undrafted free agent in 2006. After a strong 2007 in the Venezuelan Summer League in which he hit .343, he came to the United States in 2008 and hit .284 in 40 games for Greenville in the Appalachian League. He returned to Greenville in '09 and hit .324 with 21 steals in just 45 games, earning him a spot on the league all-star team, team MVP honors,[1] and a promotion to Tri-City in the New York-Penn League for two games. He began 2010 with Lexington in the Low-A South Atlantic League, hitting .308 with 39 steals and 11 home runs and earning a spot on the league all-star team, then moved up to High-A Lancaster in the Cal League and hit .276.
Returning to Lancaster for 2011, he hit .408 with 19 steals in 52 games. After being promoted to the Texas League, he hit .361 for Corpus Christi, giving him an overall line of .389 with 24 steals, 26 walks, and 40 strikeouts in 357 minor league at-bats that year. He was named the second baseman on Baseball America's 2011 Minor League All Star Team as well as the Houston Astros Minor League Player of the Year, and was called up to the major league club in mid-summer.
Major leagues
2011
Altuve was called up to the majors for the first time on July 19, 2011.[2] He represented the Astros at the 2011 All-Star Futures Game.[3] He was named the second baseman on Baseball America's 2011 Minor League All Star team.[4] On July 27, 2011, Altuve tied Russ Johnson for the Astros record for most consecutive games with a hit to start a career with 7.[5] On August 20, 2011, Altuve hit an inside-the-park home run, his first major league home-run. He became the first Astros player since Adam Everett in 2003 to hit an inside-the-park home run, the first Astros player to get his first major league home run on an inside-the-park home run since pitcher Butch Henry in 1992, and the first Astros player to lead off a game with an inside-the-park home run since Bill Doran in 1987.[6] He batted .346 over his first 21 games before slumping a bit and ended the year with a .276 average. He also hit two home runs, stole seven bases and posted a .357 slugging percentage in 221 at-bats.
Altuve returned to Venezuela to play for Navegantes del Magallanes in the Venezuelan Winter League, hitting .339 with a .381 on-base percentage and a .455 slugging percentage. Altuve finished 2011 with 898 plate appearances (391 in the minors, 234 in the majors, and 273 in Venezuela). Altuve had 82 hits in winter league, bringing his cumulative year-end count to 282.[7]
2012
On May 1, Altuve faced New York Mets reliever Jon Rauch, who at 6'11" is the tallest player in major league history. The 18" height differential is believed to be the biggest between pitcher and batter with exception of a 1951 publicity stunt in which a 3'7" Eddie Gaedel had one at bat for the St. Louis Browns.[8] The 18" difference is also greater than the width of home plate. Altuve was the Astros' representative at the 2012 MLB All Star Game.
2013
On July 13, 2013, Altuve signed a four-year, $12.5 million extension that includes two club options for 2018 and 2019 worth $6 and $6.5 million respectively. The deal also included a $750,000 bonus to be received in 2013. At the time of the extension, Altuve was hitting .280 with 21 SB, 15 2B and 28 RBI.[9]
Personal
Originally listed at 5'7", Altuve is now listed at his correct height of 5'5", making him the shortest active player in major league baseball,[10] and the shortest since Freddie Patek retired following the 1981 season.[11]
Inspired by broadcasters debating how many "Altuves" a particular home run traveled, Bryan Trostel created a simple web-based calculator to calculate distance in Official Standard Listed Altuves (OSLA). To match Altuve's listed height, one OSLA = 5.417 feet. Altuve himself has been receptive of the idea, saying "It's funny, man," he said. "When they told me how many 'Altuves' was a home run, I just laughed."[12] Trostel, who published his calculator at HowManyAltuves.com, has expanded it to include speed (Altuves per second) as well as cubic and squared Altuves for volume and area.
References
- ↑ Jose Altuve before he was JOSE ALTUVE
- ↑ Astros call up 5-foot-7 second baseman Jose Altuve
- ↑ Altuve tabbed for World team at Futures Game
- ↑ By J.J. Cooper and Matt Eddy (September 16, 2011). "2011 Minor League All-Star Team". Baseball America. Retrieved October 2, 2011.
- ↑ "Fascinating Facts from July 27, 2011's games
- ↑ "Altuve notches inside-the-park homer"
- ↑ "Jose Altuve and the marathon season(s)" HoustonChronicle.com 1/5/12
- ↑ "Jon Rauch pitches to Jose Altuve in baseball’s version of David vs. Goliath" Yahoo Sports 5/2/2012
- ↑ Rosenthal, Ken (July 13, 2013). "Astros, 2B Altuve agree to extension". FOX Sports.
- ↑ Ultimate Astros » Astros’ Altuve stands shorter than all active MLB players
- ↑ Astros' 5-5 Jose Altuve not short on talent – USATODAY.com
- ↑ http://www.foxsportshouston.com/06/01/12/Diminutive-Altuve-drawing-fans-attention/landing_astros.html?blockID=739434&feedID=3803
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
- José Altuve on Twitter