Yes way, Jose! Read it and weep, but the face of baseball may actually not be the New York Yankees’ 6’7″ Aaron Judge (gasp!), or perennial MVP vote-getters Mike Trout or Bryce Harper. The numbers don’t lie, and the Houston Astros’ Jose Altuve has numbers that any gavel-toting judge would deem to be eye-opening and MVP-worthy.
Speaking of Judge, “Toov” Can Tell You His Brand of Belt Buckle
By his own count, he’s 5’5″ (not the 5’6″ constantly quoted by media types) of nothing but finely tuned, laser-focused hand-eye coordination that just happens to wear a stylized orange rainbow as the American League’s reigning batting champ, and was this year’s All-Star Game starter at second base for the AL.
(All stats are from play coming into games of August 5, except where noted):
Spanning the globe, it would be tough to find another player who has gone at least 4-for-4 in consecutive games, as Altuve did (July 29, plus, he was actually 4-for-5 with 3 RBIs in the 9-7 loss at Baltimore, July 30), and we even scoured the co-ed softball leagues. His 4-for-4 in Monday’s (July 31) 13-4 win in Philly drove in 3 runs, while he scored thrice. 17 of his last 24 games have been of the multi-hit variety.
Altuve has raised his batting average to .365 overall, 43 percentage points higher than his nearest competitor in the American League, Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez. Altuve collected 38 hits in his 75 July at-bats for a .507 average. What’s that? Judge’s July? He was 16 for 66, for a…..shhhhh, .242. Don’t tell the baseball writers. They’ve already written his name in on the MVP ballot…in Sharpie.
This August 13, 2017 comparison update: Since the All-Star Break, Jose Altuve: 46 hits/13 strikeouts; Aaron Judge: 15 hits/45 strikeouts.
Altuve’s current July .507 BA brought about this Jeopardy-worthy stat: The last player to hit .500 for a full calendar month was Iván Rodríguez in June 2004 (min. 75 AB), when he was with Detroit, and finished the year with a .334, 4th in the AL that year. Richard Hidalgo holds the Astros’ record for BA in a month: .476 in September, 2002.
Altuve’s batting average in road games, this season, is .430, which is the highest road batting average since baseball integrated in 1947 (min. 200 PAs).
And, then there’s this: Altuve could go 0-263 and still have a higher average than the Rangers’ Rougned Odor. The day that Rougned Odor has an average anywhere close to Altuve’s is the day Altuve has his average anywhere close to Odor’s. Unless, of course, Altuve goes 0-for-4 on Opening Day.
Houston manager A.J. Hinch gets to see Altuve work every day, and offered this recent assessment: “There’s not another level,” Hinch said. “This is the biggest level in the league and in the world. There’s not a super big leagues. This guy continues to be amazing. I don’t know how else to describe him. It’s line to line, it’s home runs, it’s multiple hits, it’s walks when he needs it. He’s every bit the MVP candidate that he looks like, and he ignites us on so many levels on this team. On a team full on full of guys that are really performing, he’s standing out.”
Kyle Koster of The Big Lead put it this way: “Altuve’s greatness is that he is not a one-trick pony. He is second in the AL in on-base percentage (.425, one percentage point behind Judge) and doubles (33, one less than Ramirez), has hit 16 homers and has an OPS of 1.000, surprisingly close to Judge. He is both table-setter and run producer, a mix of contact, power and speed — as evidenced by his 24 steals. He’s fanned 55 times and worked 40 walks. Look up the definition of ‘tough out’ and there’s a hedcut image of Altuve’s smiling face.”
Continuing, Koster observes, “He’s on pace for a historically great offensive year from the second base position. ESPN notes only two players at the position (former Astros Joe Morgan and Jeff Kent) have posted an OPS over 1.000, and both won their league’s MVP award. Altuve also totes a reliable and athletic glove out to the infield every night.”
Related: The Improbable Journey: Jose Altuve From Venezuela Sandlot to World Champion
The WAR of Attrition
Altuve is second to Judge (5.9) in WAR with 5.7 (FanGraphs).
While Altuve is nursing his .365 BA, the Dodgers’ Justin Turner is hitting .346. At the end of July, he was nipping at Altuve’s heels with an average over .360. The last time two right-handed batters hit above .360 over a full season was in 1939, when Jimmie Foxx and Joe DiMaggio pulled off the feat. Turner clearly has his work cut out for him.
Related: The Reluctant Legend: Altuve and the Ty Cobb Connection
Letters From Summer Kemp
In case Altuve gets called up to a higher league, the Astros have as close to a left-handed Jose clone as a team running away with their division could hope for: Second baseman (and sometimes OF) Tony Kemp, waiting patiently at Houston’s Triple-A Fresno Grizzlies.
Kemp has cluster-hit his way to 43 multi-hit games in the 93 he’s played with Fresno. That works out to 46%. He’s hit safely in 34 of 38 games, and 44 of 49, and is hitting .329 (good for 9th in the Pacific Coast League), with 19 doubles, 7 triples, and 9 homers.
Related: Tony Kemp: Astros’ Young Gun with Big Pop
By the way, Altuve’s double play partner, Carlos Correa, went down with a torn left thumb ligament, July 18, and the Astros are leading MLB in runs scored (646 overall), and have averaged over 5.9 runs a game since.
A Beautiful Thing to Watch
Finally, David Schoenfield of ESPN wraps up Altuve’s jump-start from May, and the hitter’s overall approach and attack: “Back in April, Altuve struck out in 22.5 percent of his plate appearances, which was oddly high for him; but since then, he has been under 10 percent. He fights off pitches and sprays the ball around. You can’t throw 98 mph fastballs past him, and you have to respect the power that has him on pace for 49 doubles and 25 home runs. Most players today are swinging from their heels, hoping to launch one over the fence no matter the situation. Altuve is a throwback, and it’s a beautiful thing to watch.”
If the baseball writers keep watching, they may make the judgment that a big eraser is needed by season’s end.
You may be seated.
Related: Astros’ Busy Weekend: Keuchel’s Return, Bagwell’s HOF Induction, Altuve’s Hot July
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