José Altuve

José Altuve

Altuve with the Houston Astros
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 April 23, 2015)
Batting average .302
Hits 649
Home runs 22
Runs batted in 168
Stolen bases 136
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 (MLB). Altuve made his major league debut in July 2011. As of 2014, he is the shortest active MLB player 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 Altuve's" a home run has traveled.

Altuve has been selected to two All-Star Games. In 2014, he became the first player in over 80 years to reach 130 hits and 40 stolen bases before the All-Star Game. That same season he became the first Astro to win the batting title after hitting .341.

Professional career

Minor leagues

The Houston Astros signed Altuve before the 2007 season as an undrafted free agent for a $15,000 signing bonus.[1] After a strong 2007 season 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,[2] 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.[3] He represented the Astros at the 2011 All-Star Futures Game.[4] He was named the second baseman on Baseball America's 2011 Minor League All Star team.[5] 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.[6] 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.[7] 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.[8]

2012

Jose Altuve (2013)

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.[9] 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.[10]

2014

On June 29, 2014, Altuve stole two bases in a game against the Detroit Tigers. This made him the first MLB player since Ray Chapman in 1917 to steal two or more bases in four consecutive games.[11] In 2014, Altuve became the first MLB player since 1933 to have 130 hits and 40 stolen bases before the All-Star Break.[12] Altuve was named an All-Star in 2014. Coupled with his 2012 All-Star nod in the Astros' final season as a National League team, Altuve is the only player in Major League history to represent both the American and National Leagues in the All-Star Game while still being a member of the same team.[13] On September 16, Altuve hit a single up the middle to break Craig Biggio's franchise single season hit record of 210 hits. The Astros had 11 games remaining in the season at the time that Altuve broke the record.[14] In 158 games, Altuve had 225 hits and a .341 batting average, both of which led the major leagues. His 56 stolen bases led the American League. He also had 47 doubles, 7 home runs, and 59 RBI. He became the first Astros player to win a batting title.[15]

Altuve at an Astros event in January 2015

After the 2014 season, Altuve traveled to Japan to participate in the 2014 Major League Baseball Japan All-Star Series.[16]

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,[17] and the shortest since Freddie Patek retired following the 1981 season.[18]

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."[19] 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

  1. ↑ Kepner, Tyler (August 19, 2014). "Outsize Production: Astros’ Jose Altuve Doesn’t Let Height Be a Disadvantage". The New York Times. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Jose Altuve before he was JOSE ALTUVE". Ultimate Astros. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Astros call up 5-foot-7 second baseman Jose Altuve". Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Altuve tabbed for World team at Futures Game". Houston Astros. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  5. ↑ J.J. Cooper and Matt Eddy (September 16, 2011). "2011 Minor League All-Star Team". Baseball America. Retrieved October 2, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Fascinating Facts from July 27, 2011's games". Houston Astros. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Altuve notches inside-the-park homer". Houston Astros. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  8. ↑ ""Jose Altuve and the marathon season(s)" HoustonChronicle.com 1/5/12". Ultimate Astros. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  9. ↑ ""Jon Rauch pitches to Jose Altuve in baseball’s version of David vs. Goliath" Yahoo Sports 5/2/2012". Yahoo Sports. May 2, 2012. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  10. ↑ Rosenthal, Ken (July 13, 2013). "Astros, 2B Altuve agree to extension". FOX Sports.
  11. ↑ "Astros 6, Tigers 4". CBS Sports. June 29, 2014. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  12. ↑ Ortiz, Jose de Jesus. "Altuve sets MLB record for hits, stolen bases mark before break". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Astros’ Altuve leaves his mark on All-Star Game". Ultimate Astros. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  14. ↑ AP (September 17, 2014). "Jose Altuve breaks Biggio's record in Astros' loss". Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  15. ↑ "Jose Altuve’s two hits seal batting title as Astros drop season finale". Ultimate Astros. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  16. ↑ Wagner, James (September 30, 2014). "Bryce Harper to play for MLB all-star team in Japan in November". Washington Post. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  17. ↑ Ultimate Astros » Astros’ Altuve stands shorter than all active MLB players
  18. ↑ Astros' 5-5 Jose Altuve not short on talent – USATODAY.com
  19. ↑ http://www.foxsportshouston.com/06/01/12/Diminutive-Altuve-drawing-fans-attention/landing_astros.html?blockID=739434&feedID=3803

External links