If you’re a fan of the Astros this should come as no surprise. Second baseman Jose Altuve, Mr. Consistent at the plate, has just captured his third American League batting title in 4 years.
Altuve hit for a robust .346 during the recently concluded MLB regular season, the highest of his career. The .346 average was the highest in the entire MLB, besting the NL’s Charlie Blackmon’s .331 for the Colorado Rockies.
“This one is a little bit more special,” Altuve said. “This is the first time I won a batting title and the team is going to the playoffs. I’m just trying to do everything I can to help this team, and right now, starting from tomorrow, everybody is going to zero wins, zero losses, your average is zero. I’m going to try to do the same thing to help my team win.”
Considering the team success, as well as his personal accomplishments, could Altuve be worthy of MVP honors? I think manager A. J. would endorse his All-Star.
“He’s the heart and soul of what we’re about,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. “I’m proud of him, because he’s been through the lean years and now he’s reaping the benefits of the buildup of being a good team. He played well when the team wasn’t good, he’s playing well now. He continues to get better. That’s a very underrated aspect of him, is how hungry he is to get better and how much he loves to work on his swing or work on his defense or work on his base running. For him, as a quiet leader on the team by example, he’s everything of what’s good about us.”