Houston Astros: Jose Altuve is trending even closer to the Hall of Fame

Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve is on an incredible pace to hopefully reach the Baseball Hall of Fame someday. What’s going on? Let’s look.

Houston Astros fans — to say Jose Altuve is out there on the diamond doing something special is an understatement. He continues to amaze in each game that he takes part in and it’s truly something that we all can be proud of.

When he comes up to the plate, you just have an idea that something great is about to happen just before the swing of his bat.

He has come a long way from his debut game — I still recall it quite vividly — from July 20, 2011, where a 5-foot-6, promising prospect with a buzz-cut donned No. 27 for the first time and was able to collect his first hit in that outing.

Some 1,439 hits and 1,135 games later, the miniature-sized ballplayer has morphed into something larger than life with a perfectly-coiffed haircut and on the cusp of entering into a five-year, $151 million contract extension effective next season. That’s a long way from the minor-league contract he signed when he was 16 with the Houston Astros for just $15K.

He has shattered the mold and his story of ascent to the summit of the MLB’s mantle goes to show how inspiring his story is for those relentless in ensuring that they pursue their dream.

He has been a part of this organization for nearly two decades and he’s finally being rewarded for all of the hard work that he’s put in.

The 2017 AL MVP, six-time All-Star, five-time Silver Slugger, three-time batting champ as Gold Glove and World Series winner still is currently in an era of convincing the baseball world that his name deserves to be among those mentioned as one of the greatest to partake in our nation’s pastime.

He’s already starting this season out making history, being the first member of the Houston Astros to homer in five straight games and this momentum doesn’t appear to be curtailing any time soon.

In addition, against the New York Yankees earlier this week, Altuve popped his 100th-career homer, putting him in the circle among 16 members of the Houston Astros that have hit 100-plus include: Jeff Bagwell (449), Lance Berkman (326), Craig Biggio (291), Jimmy Wynn (223), Glenn Davis (166), Cesar Cedeno (163), Bob Watson (139), Jose Cruz (138), Richard Hidalgo (134), Carlos Lee (133), Doug Rader (128), Morgan Ensberg (105), Ken Caminiti (103), Hunter Pence (103) and last, but not least, George Springer (125).

The only two Hall of Famers on that list are Bagwell and Biggio so Altuve has a lot of ground to cover to catch up to those guys. There’s even more so of urgency while he’s in his prime as he will celebrate his 29th birthday early next month.

But when it’s all said and done many years into the future, I think the voters will look at his overall body of work if the homers aren’t in the realm of his counterparts.

Most HOF indicators on Baseball-Reference.com have him either as a future Hall of Famer or on the brink. But he’s still got some catching up to do if his candidacy is based off the Gray Ink definitive.

There’s a case that could be made that Altuve is the greatest baseball player — in terms of his size — this century. There’s simply not any dominant ballplayers that are doing what he’s

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accomplished through his career so far.

Without question, Altuve has already solidified his status as one of the top players Houston Astros franchise history. I know I’m speaking the obvious but it still has to be said. There’s no question that no other player on this team will ever wear No. 27 again but I think the perfect epilogue to a burgeoning yet invigorating career is if he gets the call to Cooperstown.

You better believe that I will high-tail it to upstate New York to see yet another enshrinement. I was at Bagwell’s induction and I’ll travel the 1,700 miles or so to do it again for one Jose Carlos Altuve.

I have to pinch myself in regard to how blessed we are to have him on this squad and Friday’s night’s grand slam off Shawn Armstrong at the top of the 6th inning against the Seattle Mariners encapsulates all-things of what makes us feel good as fans of this team.

Until then we must wait and just sit back to watch Altuve earn more accolades along the way. He’s already campaigning heavily with his actions to win his second-career AL MVP Award with the hot start that he’s had so far.

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Keep chugging along Jose and keep continuing to make us all proud!

Altuve is batting .333/.379/.717 with seven homers, 13 ribbies and 20 hits through 60 at-bats in all 15 games this season.

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