Jose Altuve

Player of the Month. For June, his line included a higher than usual .420 BA and leading the majors with a .492 OBP, .620 SLG, and 1.112 OPS. He also collected 26 runs scored, 48 hits, 7 doubles, 3 triples, 4 home runs, 15 RBI, and 6 stolen bases. The Astros were 18–8 that month, and he became the first player in franchise history to win Player of the Month honours. He again represented the Astros in the 2016 All-Star Game that year.[39]On 29 August 2016, Altuve hit a solo home run, his 20th of the season, thus joining the 20–20 club (over 20 home runs and stolen bases each). He was the sixth Astros player to do so, and the first since Carlos Beltrán in 2004. On 2 September, he safely reached base in his first two plate appearances, marking his 43rd consecutive road game in which he reached base. This broke the previous Astros record held by Jeff Bagwell in 1999.[40]On 11 September 2016, Altuve hit his 1,000th career hit off of Texas Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish; he was 27 days younger than Pete Rose when he got his 1,000th hit, and it took him one less game. He was the second fastest active player to reach 1,000 hits, trailing only Ichiro Suzuki.[41] As of 14 September, his overall BA (.339) led all of MLB, while he also led the AL with a career-high 204 hits. [42]On 3 November 2016, Altuve won his third Silver Slugger Award.[43] He was also named the Sporting News Player of the Year, joining Bagwell (1994) as the only Astros to win that award. In addition, he was awarded the Players Choice Awards for Major League Player of the Year and American League Outstanding Player. He became the first second baseman to win the MLB Player of the Year award, and just the second Astro, joining Hall of Famer pitcher Nolan Ryan, who won in 1987. Altuve also became the second player in franchise history to win a Player of the Year award and the Gold Glove in the same season, joining third baseman César Cedeño, who accomplished the feat in 1972 and 1974.[44] Between 30 November and 6 December, he won the Esurance MLB/This Year in Baseball Award for Best Major Leaguer. The last Astros player to win that award was Roger Clemens in 2004.[45] He was also given the Luis Aparicio Award and was named the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year.[46]Altuve and the Astros agreed to a five-year, $151 million extension on 16 March, 2018.

The regular season concluded with Altuve batting .346 to claim his third career and second consecutive batting title, joining Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Rogers Hornsby, Rod Carew, and Tony Gwynn as the only players forging a .340 BA or better in three straight seasons since 1901. He also led the majors with a .441 BABIP, the highest rate since Roge Maris’ .432 in 1960. His other achievements included leading the American League in hits (204, for his fourth consecutive 200-hit season) and becoming the first player in MLB history to lead his league in hits in four consecutive seasons. Further, he made his fifth All-Star team, won the Silver Slugger Award for the fourth consecutive season, and the Heart and Hustle Award.[63][64][65]He was named the winner of the Hank Aaron Award, designating him as outstanding offensive performer in the American League. Five days later, he was named the 2017 the World Series Most Valuable Player (MVP), marking the Astros’ first championship in franchise history.[66] On 6 November, the BBWAA named Altuve the American League Most Valuable Player, receiving 27 of 30 first-place votes. He became the second Astro to win the award, following Jeff Bagwell in 1994.[67]The following day, he was named the Players Choice Awards Player the Year for the second consecutive season. He was also the American League Outstanding Player for the third year in a row.[68] In 2018, Altuve was elected to his sixth All-Star Game, making his fifth start at second base, breaking a tie with Biggio for most starts at the position in franchise history.[69]On 25 July 2018, Altuve was placed on the disabled list for the first time in his career, retroactive to 26 July.[70] On 27 September, it was revealed Altuve had been playing on a broken kneecap for most of the second half of the regular season.[71] He underwent surgery on his right knee on 19th October, 2018.[72]Altuve started 2019 poorly, with a .243 average and five home runs through his first 35 games before landing on the injured list on 10 May due to a strained left hamstring. [73] He returned to the majors on 19 June after a brief minor league rehab assignment, during which he hit .148 in five games.[74] Altuve bounced back after that point, hitting .320 with 27 homers over his final 88 contests through the end of the season. His 31 home runs led the Astros, breaking his former career-high of 24 set in 2016.[75]On 19 October 2019, Altuve hit a walk-off two-run homer off of Yankees pitcher Aroldis Chapman to clinch the Astros’ second AL pennant in three years. He was named the ALCS MVP.[76]In an abbreviated 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Altuve batted just .219/.286/.344 with 5 home runs in 192 at-bats over 48 games.[77]On 18 October 2020, during Game 7 of the ALCS, Altuve hit a solo home run off Charlie Morton of the Tampa Bay Rays. This was Altuve’s 5th home run of the 2020 postseason and the 18th of his career in the postseason, setting the record for most by a second baseman of all time, and tying the record for most by an Astro with George Springer and most for an American Leaguer with Springer, Reggie Jackson and Mickey Mantle.[78]In 2021, Altuve was named an All-Star for the 7th time in his career.[79] In the All-Star game, he went 1 for 2 with a single and a walk, scoring 2 runs.[80]During the 2022 season, José was again representative of Venezuela in the 2022 World Baseball Classic.[81][82] He also helped the Astros win the World Series again in 2022.

In addition to his career and accomplishments on the field, Altuve has been recognized for his impact off the field, especially in his home country of Venezuela. He was named Sports Illustrated’s co-Sportsperson of the Year in 2017 alongside fellow Houston athlete J. J. Watt for their relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. Despite the controversies surrounding the Astros, Altuve’s reputation remains largely positive, with many regarding him as one of baseball’s most respected players.