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"I knew we had already lost three and it wasn't going to be fun going to the break losing a fourth game," he said. "It was pretty amazing how Altuve did it again. He's a guy with a big heart, the face of this team. … I would say Altuve, the guy's done it for many years. Seeing him out there and when he got to the plate, we know something big is going to happen." Down 7-2 heading to the ninth, the Astros posted their first win when trailing by five or more runs in the ninth inning since July 25, 1980 (and the first ended on a walk-off hit since July 24, 1978).
After taking the first two games in Houston, with Altuve scoring the winning run in Game 2, Altuve and the Astros offense slumped as they lost all three middle games at Yankee Stadium. He hit a solo home run in a 4−0, Game 7 win in which the Astros advanced to their second World Series in franchise history, to face the National League pennant-winning Los Angeles Dodgers. After a strong 2007 season in the Venezuelan Summer League in which he hit .343, Altuve moved to the United States in 2008 and hit .284 in 40 games for the Greeneville Astros in the Rookie-level Appalachian League. On April 9, 2019, Altuve hit his 100th career home run off New York Yankees pitcher Jonathan Loáisiga.
Professional career
But it was the Astros who got the last laugh on Sunday when Altuve hit a dramatic three-run, walk-off homer to complete a stunning six-run rally in the ninth inning for an 8-7 win to send Houston into the All-Star break with a world of good vibes. Jose Altuve #27 of the Houston Astros celebrates with Alex Bregman #2 after hitting a three-run home run in the fifth inning of Game 5 of the 2017 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Minute Maid Park on October 29, 2017 in Houston. Jose Altuve #27 of the Houston Astros celebrates in the dugout after hitting a three-run home run in the 9th inning against the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field on October 12, 2021 in Chicago. Houston won Game 4 of the 2020 ALDS by a comfortable margin, beating Oakland 11-6 to clinch the series. Altuve's two-run shot in the bottom of the seventh capped an 11-run explosion for the Astros between the fourth and seventh innings.
The Red Sox illegally used a video replay room during 2018 regular-season games to decipher the signs of opposing catchers, three unnamed sources who were with the franchise that year told The Athletic. One or more players watched the live feed of the center field camera on the monitor, and after decoding the sign, a player would bang a nearby trash can with a bat or a massage gun to communicate the upcoming pitch type to the batter, according to the report. “I have never worn an electronic device in my performance as a major league player,” Altuve said in a statement Boras released to the New York Post. "Jose Altuve recorded his 1st 4-hit game of the season, last, Oct. 2, 2021 vs OAK...since he entered the league in 2…" – via Twitter. In 2019, Altuve's role in the 2017 World Series gained nationwide attention in the Houston Astros sign stealing scandal.
2019 ALCS Game 3 vs. Yankees (No.
In the top of the first, Altuve hit a first-pitch, solo homer off Luis Severino, giving the Astros a 1-0 lead in a game they won 4-1. After splitting the first two games at home, it was a burst of energy that put the Astros on a path to a string of wins. During a contest versus the St. Louis Cardinals on July 28, Altuve homered off Dakota Hudson for his 1,500th career hit, one of three hits in a 6–2 win that afternoon, in his 1,190th career game. The only players in the divisional play era to reach the milestone faster were Suzuki, Wade Boggs, Kirby Puckett, Nomar Garciaparra, Tony Gwynn and Derek Jeter. When it comes to Altuve postseason home runs, this one stands apart in a category of its own.
There was no word on the seriousness of his condition, but before he got the news, Altuve spoke about his belief in his team. "It was 100 percent coming off after that home run," said rookie outfielder Chas McMcCormick, who keyed the rally with a two-run double. "It felt good, though. I'm just happy for Jose Altuve and he deserves all that. He got a little emotional after the game, and we all did. It was something special today." He is a Houston native and has previously worked at the Wyoming Tribune Eagle, Huntsville Item and iHeartMedia. He enjoys Australian Rules Football, LSU game days in Baton Rouge and being tortured by the DePaul men's basketball program. Jose Altuve #27 of the Houston Astros watches the flight of his first-inning home run against the New York Yankees in game three of the American League Championship Series at Yankee Stadium on October 15, 2019 in New York City.
José Altuve
The second of these was a solo shot off Chris Sale in the bottom of the fifth that stretched Houston's lead to three runs. Altuve got the Astros started on a promising note in the 2020 ALCS, hitting a solo shot off Tampa Bay pitcher Blake Snell in the top of the first inning of Game 1. Unfortunately for Houston, the team failed to score again throughout the 2-1 loss, despite recording nine hits compared to just six for Tampa Bay.
The Astros advanced to the World Series and defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in six games to give Altuve his second World Series title. With the Astros finishing the year , the team clinched the AL West again, sweeping the Cleveland Indians in 3 games before eventually falling to the Red Sox in the ALCS. On October 19, 2018, Altuve officially underwent surgery to repair a patella avulsion fracture in his right knee. On November 8, Altuve was awarded his fifth career Silver Slugger Award and his fifth consecutive award. Having won his fifth award at second base, it tied him with Robinson Canó for most awards for an American League second baseman and second most all-time behind Ryne Sandberg. Altuve reached 1,000 games played in his career on April 17, 2018, versus the Seattle Mariners.
2021 ALCS Game 1 vs. Red Sox (No.
Chapman’s look of complete disbelief and the roof being blown off Minute Maid Park as the crowd went bonkers makes this the most iconic of Altuve’s long list of postseason home runs. In the bottom of the fifth, Altuve went opposite field for a solo homer off Tommy Kahnle. The winner-take-all game had been incredibly tense thus far, with this homer scoring the second run of the game and inching the Astros closer to their 4-0 victory. Altuve carried his bat about halfway down the first base line before tossing it aside, a rare show of swagger for the usually deferential infielder. In the bottom of the eighth, Altuve got to David Robertson for a solo homer that gave the Astros a 4-1 lead.
He won the first Silver Slugger Award of his career, as the top hitter among American League second basemen. He was also bestowed his first iteration of the Luis Aparicio Award, annually given to the Venezuelan judged to produce the best individual performance. On July 13, 2013, Altuve signed a four-year, $12.5 million extension that included two club options for 2018 and 2019 worth $6 and $6.5 million, respectively. At the time of the extension, Altuve was hitting .280 with 21 stolen bases, 15 doubles, and 28 RBI. Altuve returned to Venezuela to play for Navegantes del Magallanes, based in Valencia, Carabobo, in the Venezuelan Winter League.
Jose Altuve #27 of the Houston Astros reacts after hitting a solo home run off of Chris Sale #41 of the Boston Red Sox during the fifth inning of game one of the American League Division Series on October 5, 2017 at Minute Maid Park in Houston. Altuve gave the Astros their first lead of the 2019 postseason, hitting a two-run shot off the Rays in the bottom of the fifth to put Houston up 2-0 in Game 1 of the ALDS. Even when the Houston Astros were a historically bad baseball team early in his career, Jose Altuve served as a rare bright spot for a franchise that had nothing but the future to look forward to. Now, 12 years into his career, Altuve is among the most prolific playoff performers in MLB history for an annual World Series contender. In the bottom of the seventh, Altuve hit a solo shot into the Crawford Boxes on the first pitch of the at bat against Drew Smyly, making the game 7-2, Astros. In the top of the ninth, Altuve blasted a first-pitch, three-run homer off closer Liam Hendriks, making it 10-1.
George Springer hit a two-run homer in the top of the 11th, and the Dodgers rallied with a homer of their own in the bottom, but the Astros held on to win 7-6 in one of the best World Series games ever—at least until 4 nights later. Although they lost Game 4 on Saturday, the Astros are 17-5 in the playoffs when Altuve homers. Besides Minute Maid Park, where he has homered 13 times in the playoffs, Dodger Stadium and Petco Park are the next-leading ballparks, having hit three apiece there. It helped that the Astros played postseason series at both places during last year's pandemic-shortened season. Prior to Game 2 of the World Series, Altuve was presented with the Hank Aaron Award, the first of his career, as the "most outstanding offensive performer" in the American League. Other awards Altuve received in 2017 included Baseball America's Major League Player of the Year award, becoming the first Venezuelan since Johan Santana in 2006 to receive the award bestowed since 1998.
Houston Astros Jose Altuve celebrates his two-run home run with Martin Maldonado during the seventh inning of Game 4 of the American League Division Series, at Dodger Stadium, Thursday, October 8, 2020, in Los Angeles. Beltran becomes the third big-league manager out of a job because of the controversy. The towering shot in Game 6 of an American League Championship Series sent the Yankees home in shock and propelled the Astros to the World Series. Altuve was voted as the AL's starting second baseman for the MLB All-Star Game, edging Kansas City's Omar Infante by more than 600,000 votes. Altuve became the third Astro second baseman to be voted a starter, following Biggio and Jeff Kent.
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