ARLINGTON, Texas – He’s 5-foot-10 but has the shoulders and swing of someone twice his height, sports a wide smile that most onlookers would happily wipe away, and an incredible sensitivity that only some are allowed to see. He is the heart and soul of a franchise and the catalyst of a dynasty that refuses to die.
Jose Altuve won’t let it happen. He is the lifeblood of the Houston Astros and a living legend, even if his successes are far from over. Facing him is an October rite of passage that few opponents ever want to experience again.
“If he’s not a first-ballot Hall of Famer, I don’t know what is,” teammate Mauricio Dubón said. “I expected him to do something great. And he doesn’t disappoint.”
Anticipation greets his every stroke. Altuve somehow always tops it. He is immune to resentment or disgust, whether from fans, fellow players or a loud combination of both. Few players have benefited from the chaotic tension surrounding the Astros over the past four seasons. Altuve seems to invite this.
“It never gets too high, never too low. I think that’s something that makes him so great – if he doesn’t play well, he doesn’t perform. When he plays great, he doesn’t get too high,” third baseman Alex Bregman said. “He stays balanced the whole time. I think everyone here aspires to be like that. Only the special players are like that.”
Special seems insufficient. Altuve is so much more. His exploits leave so many speechless, even those who expected it. He can arrive in the Astros’ darkest hour only to deliver franchise-defining moments.
“First of all, he wants to be up there. Secondly, he has a high level of concentration, because that’s what you need in big moments like this. Concentration, pleasure and relaxation in one. Not everyone can do all three of those things,” said Astros manager Dusty Baker, a man with more than 50 years of experience in Major League Baseball.
“This guy is one of the baddest guys I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen some great things.”
As darkness fell in North Texas, Altuve created another iconic moment in a career full of them. After three outs with the series trailing 3-2, Altuve launched a three-run home run off Rangers closer José Leclerc to complete Houston’s chaotic 5-4 victory in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series.
Since 2005, no player from a successor team has hit the go-ahead home run in the ninth inning in the League Championship Series. Houston still has scars from the previous game, when Albert Pujols knocked down a slider from Brad Lidge on the train tracks at Minute Maid Park, helping the St. Louis Cardinals to a comeback victory in Game 5.
Eighteen years later, Altuve wrote a counter-proposal to this catastrophic memoir. His 26 postseason home runs trail only Manny Ramirez for the most in major league history. Overtaking him seems inevitable, perhaps even this season. Another win secures the American League pennant and gives Altuve at least four World Series games to try out.
Whether Friday is the most Herculean home run of Altuve’s postseason career is a fair question, but this is the same player who won a pennant with a walk-off home run in 2019. Altuve is the only man in postseason history to hit three go-ahead home runs in the ninth inning or later.
His latest pitch silenced an in-state rival and saved Houston from elimination Sunday against one of the game’s best postseason pitchers: Nathan Eovaldi. An ace faltered and the benches cleared before Altuve fired his 382-foot shot.
“This guy is special. Over and over again,” infielder Grae Kessinger said. “We were just talking about it, you felt like you knew it was going to happen when he showed up. He just has this impact and the way he carries himself, it’s just great to see.”
Kessinger was at first base when Altuve hit Leclerc’s changeup. The rookie made 45 major league plate appearances during the regular season and had not appeared in a game since October 1. The shortstop jumped in to catch Marcus Semien’s 94.6 mph line drive in the ninth inning, saving at least one single on a Statcast has assigned a .770 expected batting average.
Kessinger’s presence embodied the absurdity of the moment. Bench coach Joe Espada, who replaced Baker, called on him to pinch run after Jon Singleton issued a six-pitch walk in the ninth inning.
Singleton had not seen a major league field since October 1st. Yainer Diaz hadn’t scored since September 24, but kept his hands inside on a Leclerc sinker that reached his waist. He sent it 61 feet through the six-hole and began the ninth inning with a pinch-hit single in place of Jeremy Peña, the reigning World Series MVP, who had not suffered a pinch-hit at all this October. They’re footnotes to Altuve’s conclusion, perhaps answers to trivial questions in Houston bars forever, but Altuve aims to make more of them.
“I know everyone is talking about the home run, but if you look at Díaz’s base hit and then singleton walk, especially when he hasn’t played in many days and is coming off the bench, he’s probably one of the best closers in right now in the playoffs,” Altuve said. “I think the key was those two guys and the ability to score all those runs.”
A man who should enjoy the admiration he so often rejects. Altuve is more interested in praising teammates than ever talking about himself. Before Friday’s game, his 101st of his postseason career, Altuve didn’t answer a question about which moment was his favorite. Instead, he chose Jose Abreu’s three-run home run the night before in Game 4.
“I know that wasn’t the question,” Altuve said with a sheepish grin, “but I gave you my answer.”
Altuve also started Friday’s game 0-4. He settled for a two-on, two-out bunt and Houston clung to a one-run lead in the fifth inning. The baseball traveled 12 feet and didn’t leave the dirt around home plate. Catcher Jonah Heim handled the play with ease and made the most confusing out of the game.
Ten minutes later, Nathaniel Lowe blasted Justin Verlander’s four-seam fastball into the left field seats to tie the game. Adolis García added a three-run home run against him in the sixth, giving Texas a two-run lead.
García attacked a first-pitch fastball. Verlander craned his neck, kicked his front leg, and watched it fly somewhere into the left field seats. Garcia marched his dugout down the first-base line, giving his bat the decisive highlight no matter how long he remains a Ranger.
During García’s next at-bat, Houston reliever Bryan Abreu hit him with a 98.3 mph fastball on the first pitch he threw. The benches were cleared after García confronted catcher Martín Maldonado and a scuffle almost broke out. At that point, Texas’ probability of winning was 96 percent, according to Baseball Savant.
“I think that helped us focus a little bit more,” Dubón said of the upset. “It’s crazy. Emotions were running high. Everyone knew what was going on. It’s baseball. It’s fun, baseball. I think it lit a different fire in everyone.”
Maldonado added, “The fight woke us up a little.”
García, Abreu and Baker were all sent off after the six-man umpiring team deemed Abreu’s pitch intentional. Abreu and Maldonado both subsequently said that was not the case. Ryan Pressly came in, stranded both base runners he inherited, and stewed in the clubhouse between innings. He and Verlander discussed how he might attack some of Texas’ up-and-coming hitters – if he even got the chance to face them.
“Then I sat down and saw the ball leave the field and guess what, it’s Jose hitting,” Pressly said.
Pressly said he “kind of expected” a home run from Altuve. Bregman directly said he did it.
“We all have that inkling,” said Singleton, who played with Altuve in 2014. “It’s definitely out there in the universe. We’re just happy we can put ourselves in a position to sign him.”
Expecting something so unusual should be absurd, but Altuve continues to defy such conventions while an entire sport watches.
“He loves it,” Maldonado said. “He wants to be in the moment. He’s going to be a Hall of Famer.”
(Photo: Andrew Dieb / USA Today)