Jose Altuve is remaining in Houston. The Astros announced the signing of the former MVP to a five-year extension that covers the 2025-29 seasons. Altuve, a client of the Boras Corporation, is reportedly guaranteed $125MM. He’ll collect a $15MM signing bonus. Altuve’s previous deal called for a $26MM salary in 2024 that remains in place. He’s now due $30MM annually between 2025-27 and respective $10MM figures from 2028-29. He had been slated to reach free agency next offseason.
It isn’t exactly a surprise to see the two sides come together on a deal. Dana Brown was hired as the club’s general manager in January of 2023 and almost immediately spoke on the record about how he hoped the club would be able to lock up core players, including Altuve. Shortly thereafter, he said that Altuve “should be in Houston for life.” It was just a couple of days later that Altuve himself said “I hope to retire here, so I think we’re on the same page.” It was in March that Brown pushed the brakes a little, saying extension talks would likely be pushed to after the 2023 campaign, with a deal now coming to fruition. This new extension runs through Altuve’s age-39 season.
This is the third time that Altuve and the Astros have signed an extension, which has kept him with the team as so many others have come and gone. Fairly or unfairly, that has made him the face of the franchise, which is a double-edged sword. For supporters of the club, he provides a through line from their miserable rebuilding years at the start of the previous decade to their incredible run of recent success, which includes a pair of World Series titles and seven straight ALCS appearances. For many others around baseball, his accolades remain tarnished by the 2017 sign-stealing scandal.
However one feels about Altuve’s legacy, there’s no question he remains one of the sport’s best offensive players as he goes into his age-34 campaign. An atypically poor showing during the shortened 2020 season looked as if might signal the start of a decline. That hasn’t been the case. Altuve rebounded with 31 homers and a .278/.350/.489 showing in 2021. He has been even better over the last two seasons. He raked at a .300/.387/.533 clip with 28 homers through 604 trips to the plate two seasons ago.
A thumb fracture sustained when he was hit by a pitch in last year’s World Baseball Classic kept Altuve off the field for the first couple months of the 2023 season. He returned in the middle of May, and while his season was again paused in July by a mild oblique strain, he was no worse for wear when able to take the field. Altuve ran a stellar .335/.404/.544 line in the second half and finished the year with a .311/.393/.522 mark in 410 plate appearances. He concluded with another excellent playoff performance, knocking four home runs while hitting .286 in 11 games.
Since the start of the 2021 campaign, Altuve is a .294/.374/.513 hitter. That offensive productivity is 47 percentage points better than league average, as measured by wRC+. That’s easily the best hitting performance by any second baseman and a top 10 mark among all qualified batters. Altuve remains as difficult as ever to strike out and has posted his two highest single-season walk rates within the last two years.
To the extent that the eight-time All-Star has shown any signs of aging, that’s limited to the other side of the ball. Altuve has never been a great defensive second baseman. His glovework has dipped in recent years, although the extent of that drop-off differs depending on the metric. Statcast has graded Altuve around league average. Defensive Runs Saved, on the other hand, estimates that he has been a combined 28 runs worse than an average defensive second baseman over the last two years.
That’s not of much concern for Houston as they retain one of the best players in franchise history for what’ll likely be the remainder of his career. By the time the deal wraps up, Altuve will have spent parts of 19 years in a Houston uniform. Whether the Astros can maintain the kind of team success they’ve had over the last eight years for the rest of the decade remains to be seen. Houston has a number of key players approaching free agency within the next season or two.
Alex Bregman will hit the open market a year from now. Kyle Tucker and Framber Valdez have two remaining seasons of arbitration control. They’ve successfully locked up Altuve, Cristian Javier and Yordan Alvarez on extensions and have three-plus years of control over the likes of Hunter Brown, Jeremy Peña and Yainer Diaz. There could be some turnover if Bregman, Tucker and Valdez were to depart, but the Astros are trying to ensure the window doesn’t close entirely.
Altuve’s extension won’t affect their salary commitments for 2024, but he’ll now add a $15MM signing bonus to their ledger. Houston already had a franchise-record level of spending with a projected 2024 payroll approaching $240MM, per Roster Resource. The signing bonus will push their actual spending obligations towards the $250MM mark.
Houston is already well into luxury tax territory, but the deal’s $25MM average annual value won’t count against their CBT obligations until 2025. They now have upwards of $115MM on the books for ’25 and over $100MM in commitments to Altuve, Alvarez, Javier, Josh Hader and Lance McCullers Jr. for 2026.
Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 first reported the $125MM guarantee. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported the specific salary structure.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
I’m no math expert but he’s gonna be a career Astro.
And probably compile enough numbers to be a HOF’er when the contract runs out.
You mean if it wasn’t for the whole cheating thing
It’s not going to stop Mookie
How many teams do you estimate were stealing signs that year? Just ask a player.
Players have been cheating since the game was invented. There was more than one bench coach that had a knack for stealing signs. But using a TV camera stationed in dead center to steal signs and relay them to the cubs dugout was going to far. It was no longer a guess. The garbage can thing was a little embarrassing because it was so amateurish. It was a White Sox pitcher who picked up on the noise of the garbage can lid. He called his C to the mound. They probably were stunned that a team as good as Houston would resort something so silly.
He’s a first ballot hall of famer. Those that vote know the truth of what happened and recognize his greatness. Just watch. That will bear out. It’s moronic fans, who would kill to have him on their team, who refuse to realize he played no part. But go right ahead and keep booing and yelling the obscenities. It does wonders for him and the Astros!!!
He will not make the Hall of Fame his first time out. There’s no way. He’ll probably make it, but Beltran hasn’t gotten in on 3 tries.
Well, it’s obvious the Tigers weren’t…..
@avenger65 So cheating is ok if it’s only a certain amount in a certain way …. OK, got it ! SMH
Attempting to decode (i.e. stealing) the opposing teams signals is not against the rules of the game. Using off-field methods and technological tools is expressly illegal. That is objective, factual and not debatable. If you or another wants to argue sign stealing of any kind is the wrong way to play the game, that’s fine, but that is subjective and a matter of opinion. In other words, cheating isn’t the appropriate word because it implies rule breaking, which only occurs when you get to the Astros-level of sign stealing.
That’s just one of the many good things you can say about Al Avila.
Al Avila DID NOT CHEAT!
Ultimately if they dont let Bonds or A-Rod in they shouldnt let Altuve in. This whole, wellllll some cheating is better than others is limp.
Also Bonds didnt even get caught those clowns did. Either the HOF decides to take history for what it is, or they play police.
Lol
altuve played no part? LMMFAO
Even if he didn’t use the buzzer or the cans he was complicit. He knew it was happening and let it continue.
He didnt cheat at all lol
So did mookie betts in 2018 and how much heclking has he gotten?
No he meant a sure fire hall of famer.
All the teams of the fans that won’t let it go.
So why not use it against them if you know they are stealing signs. It’s not hard to switch to the sign being a different pitch.
The difference is timing. Beltran was eligible when it was fresh on people’s minds. Only a few will hold grudges by time Altuve is eligible.
I don’t blame Al Avila on the Tigers’ poor rebuild. To me, it looks as if the owner interfered enough to affect the overall rebuild just as his father had 20 years before.
John Smoltz said he knew for a fact 17 other teams were cheating, Ken Rosenthal said he knew for a fact that at least a dozen other teams were cheating, both said same as the Astros. Jeff Passan said a lot of other teams were cheating and despite him doing a deep dive into Altuve, he could find no evidence or hint of cheating by him. Joey Votto and I forget which All Star pitcher, both said “EVERY TEAM” was cheating like the Astros.
Carlos Beltran brought the cheating system to Houston from the Yankees, he told the Astros that they were behind the times and needed to catch up to every other team in baseball.
Lie if you like, but it is a fact, every team was cheating with a similar scheme to the Astros. You just hate the Astros because they have been so good for so long, it is okay to be jealous.
AirY- and if that’s the case he still didn’t expose it and continued to benefit from it. Witnessing a wrongdoing and doing nothing about it makes you guilty.
Wrong! Sanctimonious Hall of Fame voters have shown they definitely will NOT vote for cheaters. Altuve, Bregman and Correa can forget about ever getting to Cooperstown.
It’s amusing to see Astros fans so triggered when somebody mentions the scandal. Their beloved Altuve (and Bregman) are booed in every park the Astros go to. Fans haven’t forgotten.
When a batter knows what pitch is coming — EVERY pitch, in Houston’s case — that isn’t baseball. It’s batting practice.
Its not a fact, What you said is literally hearsay. Also, if you get a speeding ticket from a cop, you dont get to point at all the cars on teh freeway speeding to reduce your ticket, its YOUR responsibility if you get caught.
Not a single Astros should get into the HOF until the hall decides that the cheating of each generation was a part of the game at that time.
If you dont like the responsibilty of the cheating label, dont get caught, it’s the oldest rule in the book.
The astros cheated ilegaly, thats the facts, their championship will always be questioned and they asked for it by cheating. To say ” the astros level of cheating” doesn’t really make sense to me. how is the astros scandal worse then any other sign stealing scandal?
Agreed 100%, btw that other pitcher was Lucas Giolito
So why wasn’t Mooke Betts heckled when the Red Sox scandal came out?
@AirYordan Betts had a BA nearly 50 points higher than any other year of his career in 2018. Which was also Alex Cora’s first year there, fresh off his 2017 in Houston. JD Martinez also posted numbers far above his norm that year.
It’s amazing how no one in the media wants to draw the parallels. It could lead to a rabbit hole that exposes how the cheating wasn’t isolated and instead, league wide for years.
That is exactly my point, whenever people always say “nobody has ever done this” or “they stole a championship”, the Red Sox did the Same. Exact. Thing.
The Red Sox did not do the Same. Exact. Thing. You saying this discredits all arguments that you have made.
Wdym lol, the Red Sox cheated you cant argue with that…
What they really need to do is open the ‘hall of shame’ across the street in Cooperstown and induct the whole 2017 Astros squad, the roid guys, toss in the black Sox, show the seedy underbelly and worst of the worst in baseball history.
then you could see Mantle, Whitey Ford, and Gaylord Perry and Don Sutton would be in both places, and those are just the tip of the HOF iceberg
What about the 2018 red sox, what about the major league players who have come out saying (in lucas giolitos words “all teams cheated in 2017”)
I’d pay to visit the Hall of Shame. Better yet, just add a section to Cooperstown.
Whataboutisms are particularly ridiculous when the poster uses “what about” twice in 8 words.
Read the official report on the 2018 red sox, where it plainly stated no evidence was found.
What made what the Astros did so much worse than what teams did in decades before, or since, was they stole the signs in real time, as the pitch happened, and relayed it during the actual pitch in the at bat. Not tried to use data or observations from prior at bats or prior innings to predict, or any of that other garbage.
It’s one thing if a team has a chance to change up signs between innings and doesn’t after men who were on base were watching the inning before.
The way the 2017 cheating operated the defensive team had NO chance to defend and adjust. Not One Chance. It didn’t matter WHAT pitch was called, the hitter instantly knew, right as it was being thrown
If you don’t understand the difference then there’s no hope for you.
Lol. They saw how you guys reacted to Houston. Nobody in their right mind would admit it either after that. Red Sox absolutely were doing the same exact thing.
sign-stealing is ALWAYS in real time, as the pitch happens, and relayed to the batter, and, historically, generally from the bullpen, the outfield stands, or from inside the scoreboard. And your BoSox did it using Apple Watches.
How can you not know this?
Here’s just a very cursory glance at the history of sign-stealing.
BTW, I’ve always enjoyed your posts, until today; and I object today, not because I’m an Astros fan, but because you are over-the-top moralist here, in defiance of the facts of baseball history; just unbelievable.
As a life long Sox fan I believe something happened in 18. Moreland’s imitation of Gibson says it all in hindsight. He knew what was coming.
Lmao. This is great. I love the idea
Hot takes –
There’s is one BIG difference between years ago, and, today. What is that difference? The amount of BETTING involved in MLB and the level of involvement MLB has in facilitating it.
Once that pandoras box opened with the league involved in all that betting, it took upon itself the heavy mantle of aggressively stamping out the cheating and punishing those who could be proven to have benefitted
But see, GASoxFan – that’s NOT what you said. What you SAID was
Oh, btw, forgot to post link, above; here it is si.com/mlb/2020/01/23/sign-stealing-history-astros…
“What made what the Astros did so much worse than what teams did in decades before, or since, was they stole the signs in real time, as the pitch happened, and relayed it during the actual pitch in the at bat. Not tried to use data or observations from prior at bats or prior innings to predict, or any of that other garbage.
It’s one thing if a team has a chance to change up signs between innings and doesn’t after men who were on base were watching the inning before.
The way the 2017 cheating operated the defensive team had NO chance to defend and adjust. Not One Chance. It didn’t matter WHAT pitch was called, the hitter instantly knew, right as it was being thrown”,
and that is, in its entirety, completely and demonstrably untrue.
Additionally, there is NO comparison possible between what Astros, Red Sox, Yankees, and every other franchise did with sign stealing, or pitchers doctoring baseballs, or using the sticky stuff, or batters doctoring bats, or Mantle and a majority of players since him trying to – one way or another – “enhance” performance, and the Black Sox.
Everybody else is trying to win. THEY were losing on purpose. Astros/Dodgers was one of the greatest, most dramatic, World Series EVER. BOTH teams were trying to win with everything they had, plus some – either team could have won. Astros won. It was TREMENDOUS!
You seemed to be asking why I was taking such a moral stance against what the Astros did. I supplied the piece you were missing.
There was nothing tremendous about the outcome of 2017 in baseball. It was an embarrassment and an abomination, made all the worse for how the league handled it and the utter lack of any discipline against the players involved.
You also now imply that it is somehow better to take something away by unfair advantage from guys who were not cheating in that manner (astros), than it was to give away something to another team by not trying (blacksox).
You do realize, we shouldn’t be mad about X because other people also did X, is a terrible argument right?
In a Sunday column in the Los Angeles Times, Dodgers star Mookie Betts – a member of the Red Sox team that defeated the Dodgers in the 2018 World Series – admitted he was aware his team was using live video feeds to steal opponents’ signs.
“Yeah,” Betts told columnist Dylan Hernandez, “everybody was.”
Playing with a hangover doesn”t qualify for the HOS.
That’s not my argument, Chester; my argument is, get off your soapbox until you can eliminate the palpable untruths from your fiery sermon.
I would too showme, I would too.
no GA – I’ll quote me here : “I object today, not because I’m an Astros fan, but because you are over-the-top moralist here, in defiance of the facts of baseball history;”
ALSO, GA – the league handled it EXACTLY as the league had WARNED it would handle it, way before the story exploded : by severely punishing mgt & front office, IF it continued after date of notice.
I have made no sermons.
It was not you to whom I made the argument,now, was it?
Mantle did far more than play with a hangover, I’m afraid.
Yeah, that would be cool, though some obviously will think otherwise.
There’s already plenty of people, like owners and FO personnel, in the HOF that don’t belong there.
@GASoxFan needs to change his tampon and have some warm milk. Way too many feelings.
Gaysocks hates the Astros… shocker.
What you fail to understand is that relaying a stolen sign to a batter is not against the rules. The rule they broke was to use an electronic means to steal the sign in the first place.
And yet they provide the Yankees with juiced balls to ensure Judge sets his highly questionable record number of home runs.
GASoxfan was talking about the 2018 Red Sox. He is correct. MLB’s report on the 2018 Red Sox presented no evidence of cheating and they stated they had no evidence and had a “factual dispute”. There would be no dispute about the facts if there was any evidence. The conclusion of cheating on “at least some occasions” was reached by speculation as MLB failed to document a single instance of cheating. The report is still in mlb.com for all to read. The Apple Watch incident was in 2017.
Dewey: In the 2018 postseason, MLB placed a monitor (a live person) in each team’s video replay room to assure no illegal sign stealing. There was no illegal sign stealing in the 2018 postseason due to this. This is also in MLB ‘s report about the 2018 Red Sox which concluded they did not cheat in the postseason. You owe Mitch Moreland an apology.
Whatever Mookie perceives as having happened in 2018 did not amount to any evidence when MLB investigated the 2018 Red Sox as discussed above. He really doesn’t clarify anything as he is not specific. There has never been a single account of a cheating incident by the 2018 Red Sox.
no
There was nothing illegal aboutmthe spitball.
If it was fun and nobody cared. It was fun and entertaining to speculate.
Betts was asked if the Red Sox were using live video to steal signs in the 2018 regular season.
“Yeah, everybody was,” Betts answered.
Take your L. Sox fan
Awesome username!
That was extremely incorrect plus as I said earlier, alot of other teams cheated in 2017 (per several MLB players)
“So this wasn’t a daily practice?”
“No!” said Betts.
latimes.com/sports/dodgers/story/2023-02-19/hernan…
It looks like the Red Sox infrequently illegally stole signs in the 2018 regular season. We know there was a monitor (live person) in each team’s video replay room during the postseason so no cheating occurred in the postseason.
Does this affect the Red Sox 2018 championship? That is the important question. The Red Sox actually had a better winning percentage in the postseason without cheating. It is hard for me to conclude something negative about the 2018 Red Sox without any detailed account of their actions negatively affecting the outcome of a game and we don’t have that now.
No idea when you are referring to, but in Gaylord Perry’s day there was most certainly something illegal about the spitball or vaseline ball or whatever it was he was throwing.
Pete Rose would finally get into a Hall of Fame in that case.
Just adding that the Astros didn’t use their system in the playoffs either…
I thought we weren’t letting cheaters into the hall
Pudge Rodriguez says you’re misinformed.
That’s for those that use the cream and the clear and other PEDs.
I am one who thinks bonds Rose and others should be in based on their performance on the field enhanced or not. The truth is that’s how the game was being played at the time right or wrong. I understand the argument that there should be a deterrent to future cheating but the HOF is about history, and the events of the time are part of that history. It’s like saying Ty Cobb doesn’t get in because he was spiking players when he slid into third. It was a dirty game back then and it’s part of the history. I also feel no dodger should ever be admitted regardless of how well the y played. Well maybe Orel, he made a decent Giant
Math expert? More like a meth expert
Will the trashcan be deferred?
Hey, look at that, I managed to get two stale jokes into one post…
Again, tuve didnt use the trash can lol
He didn’t need to, he was using the buzzer.
What proof is there for that, besides almost every anylast and insiders who investistigated the Astros scandal can and will tell you Altuve didnt use the buzzer (Andy Martino for example who wrote a book on the scandal) Also saying he didnt need to wouldbt be accurate because the trash cans were in 2017 and the “buzzer theory” was in 2019…
@rememberthecoop – BAZINGA!!!!!
Solid gold dude. Solid. Gold.
Just look at Altuve’s career numbers. His home run totals tripled in 2016 for some unknown reason. He hasn’t had the same power since they got rid of the cans and the scheme.
He had his best year in 2017. He cheated
But he didnt use the trash cans or any method in 2017 lol
I reccomend searching up Tony Adams, he’s a fan who recorded all the bangs and you can see Altuve did not get alot bangs at all…
Making your post so stale that it’s now a crouton.
Indeed,
I was trying to think if I could have added any other stale references… go for the all time stalest post.
It’s only stale because it is landing on The truth
Bonilla
Canuckle
And start it by saying “First!”
Canuckleball
Yeah that was pretty good but next time work Andujar and Frazier in for the trifecta!
I would have liked to see a reference to dumpster diving worked in.
Great job by Crane and Brown!!! Congrats to one of the greatest second basemen to ever play the game!!
Should always have an asterix next to his name. Just like Bonds.
Why should he have a asterik next to this name if he didnt cheat?
How can you be absolutely certain that he didn’t cheat?
I forgot, he’s such a man of integrity and impeccable word of honor the first time the Astros began to implement the 2017 cheating program he called the comissioners office right?
Correa said Altuve didn’t cheat, so that’s enough for the Stros Bros to keep repeating it like it’s a fact
His Cooperstown plaque should be Altuve’s head popping out of a trashcan, Oscar the Grouch style
No Slow,
If he gets a plaque in Cooperstown it should be just above the doorbell at the deliveries entrance.
Every time a package gets delivered they can push a replica buzzer….
Somebody broke down old footage and came out with percentages for each of the stars and how often they used the trash can. Altuve was the lowest and was once seen berating someone for using the trash can during his at bat, but there was still a significant percentage of trash can use next to his name. Maybe just when the game was on the line?
Rare extension from Boras and Co.
Altuve signed an extension before with the Astros, while with Boras. I think people misunderstood Boras. Players pick him because they want free agency. He works for his clients. Not the other way around.
I’m happy Altuve is locked up.
LETS GO ASTROS
Its still rare for his clients to not test Free Agency.
I don’t realisticlly see Altuve getting more then what he just got in free agency so I think Boras made the right move
It means that the team has overpaid.
I think they did
They definitely overpaid by about 50mil
Agreed
Hush money payments Logjammer….
Altuve’s al4eady blatantly lied about having involvement with the sign stealing scandal. So an extra 10mil a year for the next 5 years will apparently do.
Yikes. 25/year from age 35-39? What 2B has ever been remotely productive at those ages? Maybe Kent a bit but that’s about it
Yeah Jeff Kent was worth 13.4 war from 35-39, and had mvp votes in two of those seasons, but Biggio was worth 9.5 war from 35-39
Pretty sure Biggio was in LF for at least 2 of those years
Kent was playing 159 games a year at age 32 and 33. Biggio was playing 160 a year at 32 and 33.
Altuve just played 141 and 90 games.
Neither Kent nor Biggio are meaningful comps here. Altuve missed 35 games a year over his last 6 seasons and 92 games in just the last 2 seasons. Kent missed six games. Biggio missed four.
As long as his supply of needles is good, he will be a productive hitter.
What?
You heard me.
Did you read how it’s front loaded?
dbith
“Did you read how it’s front loaded?”
Doesn’t really matter. Other than it makes the PV higher.
Altuve has a realistic shot at 3000 hits and the title of being the best Astro ever. It amounts to about 10% of the payroll. This is a good deal.
I thought he was a lock for 3000 but he’s like 950 short and hasn’t had 200 in a season since 2017. I say outside shot at best.
He’s got six years to do. Supposing he stays healthy and productive (neither is guaranteed), that’s about 160 hits per season. If he plays like a HOFer for the next two years and gets close to 400 hits, he should be on pace to get to 3000. It’s doable, but not guaranteed.
“Healthy and productive.”
—It’s not just that ‘neither is guaranteed,’ but rather that both will not happen.
Both have rarely happened since 2017. The idea that it may begin to happen isn’t something that warranted a caveat.
The article literally said he’ll make 10 mil in each of his last 2 seasons. Actually read before jumping to the comments smh.
And? It just makes it even worse from 35-37
It doesn’t make it better or worse in any respect since it’s a 25m / year hit against the LT even if they pay him $1 each in 2025-28 and $149,999,996 in 2029.
More precisely it’s a 5/[MLB’s valuation of the money spread as it is over five years.]
What was Mac’s childhood hero who he wanted to have a catch with some time. Getting in his late 30s?
Dumb
Not as dumb as the Trash Can banging and Buzzer jokes are and yes I believe that you can say that they are really dumb even if you’re a fan of some other team.
So he gets the garbage can to put his money in?
I bet your mommy told you that you were special.
Just where that little cheater belongs.
How did he cheat?
Are you serious?
How did he not cheat?
Another deep, intellectual comment from a Yankees fan.
and he won’t sniff Cooperstown……
He will be in. Once this generation retires and full scope of the scandal and all the teams doing the same thing he will be looked at much more favorably.
1st ballot but go off.
How many years did the trashcan get
None, bc he didnt use it
Right and the Rangers didn’t win the World Series last year.
Are you trying to say Altuve got a advantage in the 2017 season?
He used vibrating nipple tassels. Remember when he didn’t want his jersey ripped off?
Booooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TO ALL THE HATERS: ALTUVE DIDNT USE THE GARBAGE CAN FOR GOODNESS SAKE
Nope just the buzzer and a faux tattoo
You believe in the buzzer theory?
No he did not, he just shy
Buzzer was a myth.
Yup, there is proof, I would reccomend researching it if you believe it…
911 is a joke
Don’t Believe the Hype
Yeah, he cheated. It’s some made up bs his cheating teammates said and astros fans repeat because they think they’re protecting his “legacy.” But yeah, believe a bunch of cheaters…they’re totally credible.
There’s nothing to to protect. Any one who understands both the definition of cheating and baseball itself would tell you he didn’t cheat.
Cheater cheater pumpkin eater
So he’s a litterer? Get the pitchforks!
Even if this were true, there is a 90% chance he uses some sort of PED. A 5’6” guy doesn’t hit over 20 HR a year
Thank you sooo true
I’m not an Altuve fan, but I think the power is legit. We’ve seen tiny guys before who could blast – Joe Morgan, Yogi Berra – and Altuve doesn’t hit them very hard or far. He just drops them down the line with an EV 3 to 4 mph below league avg. 85.5 mph the last 3 seasons vs. 88.5 league avg. And for his career he’s never had an EV higher than league avg. And only once has his Hard Hit % been higher than league avg. He doesn’t have raw power, he just knows how to direct the ball.. And he’s built like a fist.
Ichiro had crazy power too but didn’t utilize it in games.
Fisher, add on that little, tiny left field box he smashes his homers 330 feet in 10 rows up. I’d love this little Minnie mouse as an Angel, but he wouldn’t of had nearly as much Homers.
Toy Cannon.
Doesn’t matter if he personally used it or not. He knew about it, said nothing and benefited from other players using it. Cheater. The whole team cheated.
He just had everyone around him to drive in or drive him in using it. He just had his best year the same year when the rest of his team was cheating. He just got a World Series ring because the rest of his team was cheating.
But sure, he didn’t use it. He didn’t benefit. He’s just a team leader that did nothing to stop his fellow teammates from cheating. He’s a saint.
Since you used all caps it must be true
He most likely would get an offer from anywhere else, and he knows it. Bang bang
Just like no other Astros got offers in free agency from teams after 2019. Correa, Springer, Cole, Brantley, Verlander, Marwin Gonzalez…
People like him for some reason think their team wasn’t just as guilty.
I’m mad about this too but given the pathetic state of MLB the only other place he might have gone was the Dodgers since they buy every single superstar imaginable.
You may want to seek therapy for such hatred. Ain’t there enough hate in the world right now?
Yes, there is a giant load of hatred in the world right now, far more than there needs to be.
yeah but dodgers need him elsewhere so they can blame him for the lack of winning championships, you know what with all that money spent…
The fact the dodgers ate all that Bauer money says something about the ethical contrast between LAD and HOU, and, explains why they wouldn’t want buzzerboy
Didn’t the Dodgers get Mookie Betts, JD Martinez, David Price and Joe Kelly off of the 2018 Red Sox team that also got in trouble for cheating? Just wondering
Read the comissioners report about the 2018 sox and then come back when you know what you’re talking about.
Sure. Just a coincidence that they had the year they had. I get it
GASoxFan is a classic case of “there are none so blind as those who will not see”.
Yes! The pathetic Dodgers’ motto is: if you can’t beat ‘em, buy em. Look at all the players they’ve employed the last few years who won WS rings by beating LA on the way: all the aforementioned 2018 Red Sox guys (that includes Brasier as well), Heyward, Trea, Max, Freddie, and Marisnick (yep, even him), to name a few.
Did you read what Mookie Betts said?
No what did he say?
3,000 hits in his future? Whom else makes it to 3k? Machado? Harper? Freddie? Xander?
Machado and Harper are young enough to get 3000 hits. Xander has a shot, Altuve is certainly making a case for himself. Freddie Freeman is older, but he keeps putting up 200-hit seasons, so he has a chance to get to 2700 hits at least.
I would say Betts & Lindor have an outside shot if they can remain healthy. Devers could make it to 2700 or so.
But the ones most likely to reach 3000 in this next generation of players in the MLB are Soto and Acuna Jr.
Oh yeah, forgot about all those guys. Soto is going to breakout in Yankee stadium, Acuña is still very young, and he just had a disgustingly good season too. Soto will hit 300 with the Yankees, maybe then he gets more credence, even though he helped the Nationals win a championship in 2019 at age 20 was it?
Yeah, it’s truly incredible how young those guys are. Just amazing talents. I hope Soto crushes it in YS because that would be so much fun to watch with Judge hitting right behind him. Yankee Stadium is suited really nicely to his swing also… got that huge expanse of a left-center where he likes to hit it. Plus, he can pull some cheapies and boost his HR total when he gets the right pitch.
Clip,
Soto is everything the Yankees desperately need. Young talent, that can take walks, doesn’t strikeout as often, and can pop 35-40 bombs in that lefty-friendly stadium. Plus the shuffle he does against pitchers is just good entertainment. Hopefully Hal Steinbrenner opens up the pocketbook next offseason and keeps him in pinstripes for life.
I hope so, man. I’ve always thought he would be perfect for the Yankees.
Jose Ramirez and Christian Yelich also too.
Good calls on those as well.
I get the sentimentality, but not a very smart move by Houston. Most players games do not age well in the late 30s.
Then you don’t understand the sentimentality. He’s literally standing right next to Hakeem Olajuwon as the greatest player in the city’s history. He was never gonna be allowed to leave. There would be a riot.
Altuve standing next to Olajuwon is hilarious to imagine
Hakeem was a great player especially since he played against a very difficult era of basketball. I guess the other big baseball guys would be Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell, they had great careers with the Astros. How do you guys feel about Nolan Ryan? I always thought he was one of the greatest pitchers ever.
He was.
This deal is a real banger
The buzz is that boras did a bang-up job to drum up the interest and one heck of a payday… and that’s no trash talk.
Har Har! Do these jokes never get old to you?
I get booing the astros, I don’t get booing altuve because he didnt use the trash can and he didnt use any buzzer (there is proof for both) lol
Even booing the astros if getting a bit old tbh…
Sorry AirYordan, that’s just the way it’s always gonna be with the Astros…
Ik, but its still pretty sad to see, nobody will ever know its effect but the numbers speak for themselves. Something that we didnt even use in the playoffs and we dont know its effect, cmon guys….
It doesn’t matter, he played on a team that made baseball a joke. I think he cheated now matter what they say. That hole team cheapened baseball and the league response to them and the Yankees and Red Sox was weak. The sad fact is, they are regarded as cheaters by everyone else
First of all if you think Altuve cheated your just straight up wrong because there is 0 evidence he cheated, if you have any please let me know. Second of all, just because on your on a team that cheated, does that mean your a cheater and desereve to be cursed, booed, and thrown baseballs at? If so, why wasn’t (im gonna go back to the same example i said before) Mookie Betts given the same treatment?
So confronted with facts you still don’t believe it. That is insanity.
Still waiting for those facts you speak of. All I hear are opinions based upon nothing at all.
They have their titles and an awesome fan base to console themselves with. Absolutely fantastic place to watch a ballgame – they frickin’ love that team, it’s fun to see.
I mean there is a very clear clip that says I have a piece don’t rip my shirt off. If that’s code for I have a buzzer or pistol each is a little bit suspect.
I’m aware, but the lip reading can also be translated to “dont rip my shirt off” in spanish by saying “la camisa” so your proof doesnt rlly work
It is clear it was the most awkward celebration ever seen.
There’s plenty of proof he was aware of the shenanigans.
It’s a team right?
The are all cheaters.
And that is why you can be mad at Altuve, but to still be booing him more then Bregman, Correa and Springer is wild
You can say the same about Mookie Betts, he was aware of the Red Sox scandal in 2018 yet he didnt do anything , why isnt he booed?
Altuve is clearly treated unfairly
Except he did do something. He and JD Martinez had “career years” that year clearly benefitting from it
No one is booing him “more than bregman, correa, and springer”. any time any of those guys come up to the plate they get booed.
You clearly have not watched the clips of people abseloutly harrasing Altuve non stop more then any other player for sure, watch the zack hample video when he went to yankee stadium, wanna guess what they were chanting the whole time “f___ altuve”
I think you haven’t watched what happens to springer and correa. It’s literally the exact same thing. And don’t treat altuve like he’s some sort of victim here. He has millions upon millions of dollars from playing a game, he can deal with it.
You don;t really know what your talking about, look at this:
houstonpress.com/news/four-houston-astros-among-th…
Guess who is number 2 in mlb behind manny machado (this was taken in 2022)
… Jose Altuve, all polls will tell u the same, heres another: quora.com/Which-Astros-player-do-MLB-fans-hate-the…
Maybe, but you are arguing that he is treated unfairly compared to springer and correa. This shows that more people hate him, not the levels to which they heckle him.
The reason more fans hate him is probably because he is still on the astros, so he is more easily associated with being a cheater.
As a mariners fan, i equally hate altuve, springer, correa, and bregman, and i would boo them all the exact same way.
And my argument is that there is no reason that Jose Altuve should be heckled at AT ALL. What the heck did he do wrong, also you hating altuve, springer and correa the same doesnt make sense. Why would you hate someone who cheated and someone who didnt cheat the same?
Alright i get it. Youre a troll. Haha very funny. Goodbye.
Ok lol
I love this. He is Mr. Astros.
Must be a typo, Boras clients don’t sign extensions per fans.
Whatever you do, don’t remove his jersey after a walk off. His wife doesn’t want him showing chest.
You have a problem with that?
AirY…..take 2 aspirin and call your doctor in the morning. Damn dude….calm yourself down before you have a heart attack. Wow!
Lol thx for the concern but Im good 🙂
Never live it down
He cheated and everyone knows it
With what method?
Gonna’ whip the whole bar tonight AirY?
Hahahaha Damn!
yaaaaaaaaa, i live for this stuff
@Air
“According to the investigation by Major League Baseball, Altuve was aware of the Astros cheating scandal and benefited from it. He was one of the players who had the most at-bats during the 2017 season, and it’s believed that he received a significant advantage from the illegal scheme.” via SportsKeeda.
Stop crying and accept the fact that the Astros will forever be known as cheating dirt bags who tarnished the game. And Altuve was a part of it. No Hall of Fame for the cheaters. And a forever asterisk.
You are exactly right and Astris fans still defend these scumbags. Dodgers easily should be 2017 Champs
To be honest, the NYY are probably 2017 champs over the LAD after another red sox-yankees alcs in a world.without the cheating scandal.
Agreed. Yanks took the Stros to 7, while they were cheating.
“With what method?”
Take your pick.
Your extremely unknowledged, a fan named Tony Adams who recorded all of the bangs during the 2017 season, if you look at it you can see that during the entire 2017 season Altuve got less then 30 bangs simply because he didn’t want them to do it for him. In addition, Tony has said that some of the recorded bangs are likely not accurate and can be from fans, announcers, or any sound in the stadium. Also, there is video when Altuve did get the bangs, he glared at the dugout angrily, yes he was aware of it but other players have to and not been heckled even close to the way altuve has the past couple of years
I’m “unknowledged”?
I cite a source referencing the legitimate MLB investigation.
You cite a guy with a camera, who acknowledged banging did occur while Altuve was at the plate.
Just accept the fact that your team were cheating dirt bags who tarnished the game.
To say Altuve recieved a significant advantage is something someone unknowledged would say. There is clear proof Altuve did not get a “significant advantage” from the trash cans. If you look at the stats, Jose Altuve has way better stats as the visiting player. In addition, there is record that Altuve barely used the trash cans that you can;t really argue with because you very rarely heard bangs when he was at bat…
Altuve got an advantage from his teammates cheating. His counting stats were inflated, which helped his MVP candidacy. His teammates got opposing pitchers removed early, which gave Altuve more at bats against lesser pitchers. If he hated the cheating so much, why didn’t he stop it?
First of all even if he did get an advantage, his away stats show that he was having a mvp season without them cheating if anything it made it worse for him because it aggravated him. Second, altuve is a team player, im almost 100% sure altuve tried multiple times to stop it. Even though he didnt use it, he apologized on behalf of the team.
“while they were cheating” didnt use any cheating the playoffs lol, won the red sox, yanks and dodgers cleanly in the playoffs
How do you know they didn’t cheat in the playoffs? There are lots of ways to cheat. Once a cheater, always a cheater.
First off all the records show that the Astros stopped banging after Farquar on the White Sox noticed it mid season. Also, if “once a cheater, always a cheater” does that mean the astros major succes the past few season shouldn’t count because they cheated previously. It’s obvious they didnt use it in the playoffs, when Farquhar noticed it and called a mound visit there was no way the astros could continue cheating in any way without it being exposed. The astros have proven they can win without any stupid cheating, live with it.
The only thing proven is the same method of cheating as the trash can banging is not currently in use.
That’s all.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Have buzzers been 100% conclusively proven? No. Have they been disproven? Also no. Same for any other method of cheating you choose to think up.
What we DO know is altuve did cheat. You can phrase it as “it was least frequent for him blah blah blah…” but that also acknowledges it DID happen with him, and he DID cheat.
Cheated with what
Do you admit or deny a trash can was ever banged during any Altuve at bat?
There was, and Altuve hated it when it happened on extremely rare occasions and he didnt want it. To call Altuve a cheater when people cheated for him doesnt make any sense.
He could’ve worn ear plugs to reject it. He could’ve taken every pitch thrown when it happened and never once swung. He could’ve been mad because he was already wearing a buzzer and wanted just the buzzer, not the noise to distract him.
You don’t know.
We do know it happened, and, he knew what the pitch was when it did. He cheated.
Again, just trying to understand your logic: If someone gives you the signs for something when you don’t want them, you’re a cheater?
Everyone knows it but none can prove it. That sounds fair to you ?
AFIA
What wasn’t proven? The MLB investigation led to punishments, due to the fact it was proven.
Don’t act ignorant, when you’re really just bias.
I love this extension and the front loaded element. Most figured this deal would happen. I’m glad it did.
Cheaters do prosper!
Congrats to both sides I think this is a great move. Favorite 2nd baseman behind Albies who is taller and has a little more class but slightly less ability.
The only club where he is welcomed
As already pointed out, surely no other Astros got offers after 2019. Nope, none of them. No doubt they all got left on the rack like submarine screen doors.
Josh Reddick, Marwin Gonzalez, George Springer, Carlos Correa, Yuli Gurriel oh and Alex Cora and Carlos Beltran as coaching/front office staff. But yeah, no one would take a career 147 ops hitter cause a bunch of salty people didn’t want to take the time to look at the facts of the situation. Funny too that Marwin went to the Yankees and played like ass without cheating on his side(biggest user of the sign stealing system) and Josh Reddick went to the Dodgers. Just goes to show people actually involved in the sport don’t care as long as you can put up some numbers for their team.
I’m sure this will have the Houston area BUZZING with excitement.
Is that supposed to be funny?
I’m sure he thinks it is, along with some other clowns here and elsewhere that do as well, but in reality, it’s just as stupid, if not more stupid than many other stupid jokes are.
I’m trying to dumb it down for the average Astros fan or Houston native. The Astros’ fans tears on this thread is so funny. Soft, soft people like yourself.
Dude watching you have a meltdown on this thread is the funniest thing.
I don’t get it.
Solid extension for both parties. $25M per isn’t egregious for a player of his caliber even considering he is no longer a GG defender.
He will also be known as a Cheater his whole life too
Again, please inform me in what way did he cheat
Air, this is like your 30th comment on this post. And you’ve asked this same question every time. People have provided you with the evidence you are asking for. Even if it’s false, he knew about the cheating. Everyone on the team did. He knew about it and said nothing, making him just as much a cheater as everyone else. Baseball is a team sport, so by allowing your teammates to cheat, your team gets an advantage, and altuve benefitted from that when they won the world series. End of discussion.
Dumper, let’s give him even more…
So, let’s play devils advocate, which, is to just PRETEND altuve didn’t ‘cheat’ in any way in 2017…
So, if he was on base, and, a guy behind him made contact allowing him to advance bases, and score a run, doesn’t that count? Or did he refuse to advance bases?
If a pitcher had to pitch from the stretch, because a guy ahead of altuve in the order was on base, is that not a benefit from the cheating?
Or, if altuve racked up an RBI from a guy sitting on base as a result of the cheating, isn’t that stat added to altuve’s body of work?
If a SP was chased from a game as a result of pitch count, hits, runs allowed, or, men sitting on base, isn’t that benefit to a hitter?
There’s many ways altuve would’ve benefitted from the cheating, even IF you pretend he wasn’t part of it.
Exactly. The narrative that there were some people on that team who didn’t cheat is preposterous. It’s like if your boss steals money and you get a raise because of it.
Keep posting through it. You’re almost there, I’m sure.
Are you seriously that dense
Alright I get your logic, if your teamate cheats when you dont want to, your a “cheater” and you deserved to be heckled and tormented…
How do you know altuve didn’t want to? Are you altuve?
Altuve was a team leader. People would have listened to him had he told them to stop. But he didn’t.
Heckled? yes. Tormented? That’s a bit extreme for opposing teams booing you.
I know because when they did bang for him he glared at the dugout angrily. Teamates not listening to altuve, well guess what, they didnt listen to aj hinch either when he broke the monitor with a baseball bat… I thinl people forget that Altuve wasnt just heckled and booed, he was being thrown at at 95 mph for doing abseoutly nothing, thats even more then tormenting
I got news for you buddy. Springer, correa, and bregman were also being thrown at. Throwing bean balls is something major leaguers just do. Hector Neris threw at Julio Rodriguez for no reason whatsoever as an example. I’m not gonna call it “torment” when it happens to literally everyone.
Also, you don’t know he glared angrily at the dugout. You are making stuff up so you sound less dumb. He was probably looking into the dugout to tell them to bang a little louder.
If he wanted them to bang louder (or bang for him at all), why was he the least banged on the team lol
Also Altuve was thrown at multiple times when Julio for example or any other time was just once. All the other times players get hit multiple times has a reason for it (like a player watching a hr to long), what is the reason for altuve?
Does altuve get to 3000 hits?
At one time Houston was hoping to cut salary then they signed Hader and now this? Do they have money left for Bregman?
This has no effect on 2024 salary numbers.
If he stays healthy…yes.
I don’t want to work I want to bang on my can all day
Quit trolling hes not a cheater. The team itself proved after multiple winning seasons since then. If you were playing good baseball in Houston during that time would u have quit during the season about some kind of over the top cheating? The team was penalized and mlb changed rules on cameras.
Altuve a 5.6ft Hall of Famer, height doesnt mean anything.
The ‘team’ aka the players, the actual cheats were never punished.
And that’s the whole problem.
They were punished more than your team was while doing the same exact thing.
Nobody else did what HOU did to the extent HOU did it, nor how they did it.
Ever.
And not one player received any punishment on the Astros. Which was the problem. They all, ALL need needed to be banned. What they did was worse than the blacksox scandal, where a known innocent got the book.
Punish any of those players and they sing like canaries. The whole league gets thrown under the bus. You can’t be this dense?
I’d LOVE them to sing like canaries as a fan of baseball.
I would’ve too but the league didn’t want that. They found their fall guys and let them take the heat.
I’m a Red Sox fan and I never wanted Cora as the Manager because the cheating Stros he is just as guilty at AJ imo
He’s a cheater.
Not an Astro’s fan but always liked Altuve. Good for both him and the team. Astro’s HOFer and maybe a BB HoFer.
This deal is just shy of $126 million, which ironically is Altooves Netflix password: “justshy”
Good for Houston, good for Altuve, also for MLB in total.
Congratulations Jose! Nice to see a player stay with a team for life. Quite an honor.
I agree. He’s a likely HOF player too.
More likely an IHOP player, mover and shaker when it comes to those grand slams
Not an Astros fan, but I’m happy for Altuve.
And for many others we know his team was scapegoated. He gets so much undeserved hatred. See the last sentence of this article.
He absolutely does, I mean, he gets more hate than some players that did awful things, which is absolutely ridiculous, because those are the players that need to get the most hate.
Is anyone outside of Houston a fan of Altuve?
Duracell
People that understand the game enjoy watching Altuve. You are witnessing a future hall of famer that is likely smaller than you – and all you want to do is hate. Your life must be miserable.
He’s a cheater.
@TheFuzzofKing
Most MLB players are cheaters. It’s full of them in our history and we even celebrate them in the HOF. Maybe it’s time to realize that basic fact. Even pitchers continue to cheat with higher spin rates to that of before the issue was brought to light. MLB just doesn’t concern itself.
Wow, couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy! Altuve’s got the kind of smile that could brighten even the darkest dugout. Here’s to many more years of him spreading joy.
This is the cheesiest lamest comment I’ve read in a while.
A trash can full of dough and immunity, Life is good for Altuve.
“…about how he hoped the club would be able to lock up core players, including Altuve.”
—–Except, he was a core player. He’s unlikely to be that any longer.
This isn’t the worst move, but it is the kind of move teams make when they’re losing they’re grip on what made them great.
Also, was the risk Altuve was going to have a 6-win season and price himself out of a 5/125m deal really all that significant?
The chance that Altuve will significantly outpace the money he’ll get has to be quite a bit lower than the chance that he’ll be overpaid. It’s another ‘heads we break even, tails we lose’ deal from a team that doesn’t quite know how to operate like it did when it had the smartest FO in baseball.
I hope you’re wrong, but very astute analysis of why great teams decline & fall
@JackStrawb
That’s why I like the Rays. You get the most out of the young guys on the cheap and when they become too expensive, trade them for new meat. Let other teams take on the cost and aging process. Astros look like they’re slipping a bit and falling into the whole keeping the core together emotional reaction. Would have made more sense to have traded him.
The Rays will never win a Chanpionship under that approach but I get your point. They are way to cheap to win it all now tho
JSb
Teams need to keep the fans happy
Winning is one way
Keeping popular players around is another
Teams have to balance that
You trolls are funny. I get it. I’d be a troll as well if my team was always losing.
They may be trolls but they are right about the cheating. You’re lucky the let the Astros keep the trophy in 17
The trolls are undeniably wrong about the cheating when mentioning buzzers. They are also wrong about trash cans (since he didn’t use it), but I get he was on the team and is associated with it. It’s just such a boring troll at this point, but once again I get it since the Astros have been so dominant.
Altuve DID use trash cans. I’ve seen the video/data set of the whole year of AB’s from every player.
You Astros fans have your eyes closed, heads in the sand, and bananas in your ears.
“Show me the proof” is the intellectual equivalent “no I’m not”.
Easy to be when you cheat
altuve used the trash cans under 30 times the entire year against his will…
If ever a franchise and a player deserved each other, it’s this Asterisks organization and that buzzer wearing cheater.
Who?
In about 10 years all those Altuve rookie cards will be worth a lot more when he enters the HOF.
Meanwhile get your Ichiro cards while you can.
Sensible contract. Pays player up to retirement without limiting the payroll
Congadulations to the dorkk
Lifelong Met fan and I was a huge fan of this guy til the trash can scandal dropped. Once a cheater always a cheater in my opinion.
Yup and hopefully they remember that when this twerp is on the ballot
I bet this went over with a bang in Houston.
Lesson to all kids coming up with baseball dreams…
Cheaters don’t get in to the Hall.
(but they Do get paid a lotta monneyyy)
Hmmm…cheaters don’t get into the Hall? Gaylord, Sutton, Big Papi to name a few.
MOVE ON FROM 2017 ALREADY. Did not phase me then. Houston still won.
But this deal keeping Altuve here. Could retire then. He is a great player.
As for Bregman, Framber and Tucker who have been mentioned for extensions I think depends on how Framber pitches this season. Especially with Diaz now. Will he manage the pitching. Bregman and Tucker will be gone next season.
abut we shall see what comes in 2024
But great deal with Altuve. He is a franchise career player.
They are cheaters. He is a cheater.
Am hoping Bregman will be gone to Detroit. It will be a perfect fit.
Yes, they really do need to move on, but they never will. Heck, even I got over it eventually despite the fact that I was saying some stupid stuff regarding it, some of the same stuff.
Buzz off.
When the last Trashtros player has moved on, I’ll move on. Until then, F the Astros.
Right in the can’t stand that there little hero Alscrewvey was a cheater
Dear Astro fans you should embrace that your team (which included Altuve) cheated to the title in 2017. You got the trophy, the parade, the rings and the label of cheaters. The rest of us will embrace it too..
As Differentbears said, I’ll move on when all of the 2017 Astro players have moved on.
Let’s don’t forget about he was a cheater so naw I’m not moving on from it. Pete Rose was kept out of the HOF so no I’m not gonna forget about this pos
Good for Altuve. Always like seeing a player stay with a franchise his entire career if it makes sense for him to do so. As for the cheating, literally every team has cheated – the Astros were simply caught. People who want to think their team is clean are being myopic at best. They’ve ALL tried various ways to find an advantage.
I personally feel that Altuve should be in the Hall someday (not first time). BUT, we must remember, with an extra big BUTT, that the writers will probably keep him out due to the cheating scandal if he did or not. Was there ever any hard evidence given that he did?
Nope
Anytime it was a fastball the banged the dugout so yeh he cheated. The Dodgers should be 2017 Champs without question
Such a terrible take. Nobody benefited more from electronic sign stealing than Bellinger.
The Dodgers lost two games at home and the Astros were not cheating when they played at Dodger Stadium.
Doesn’t matter it took a cheating team 7 games to defeat thier opponent it’s pretty simple to figure out who the real champs are
Why do you keep acting like it wasn’t league wide? There is conflicting evidence it was even done in the playoffs. There are two different beliefs. One is all the playoff teams were doing it in 2017 and then there is the belief everyone stopped in the playoffs. It is one or the other, not a combination of both. And these are from people that have been completely honest about the whole situation and some that have zero skin in the game, except knowing his team was also doing to (Giolito).
I don’t think baseball writers are going to treat the Astros anywhere close to as harshly as those who were known steroid users, personally. I could be wrong, but my guess is nobody who has a good HOF case is going to be kept out b/c they were on the Astros. Altuve and Verlander are probably the only two guys from that team worthy of HOF consideration, I think both will get in eventually.
Cheaters always take care of their own.
Dead money in what 3 years tops?
Houston’s 2017 legacy is that whenever they come up in a story involving players from that season, the first thing fans think of is the cheating. Houston fans will just have to expect it. And defending the team won’t change anyone’s minds.
It will be interesting to see how many of those years he is still a high level performer.
first ballot hall of famer
I think enough voters will hold 2017 against him that he won’t get in on the first ballot.
hopefully enough will hold out over ten years, so the then the veterans committee can reject his entry for the next 10 or more years.
Beltran will be a good barometer for Altuve’s chances.
Not sure because Beltran is the sole reason Houston started doing it and Altuve never partook. Only similarities are they played the on the same team.
Riiiiiiiight.
Altuve allegedly never partook, and there’s still the buzzer accusation. Also, he was a leader on the team. Why did he stand by and let others implement the plan? Also, he still benefitted from the cheating. His counting stats were inflated by the cheaters around him. He might not have gotten the MVP if not for the cheating.
Nobody asked you
Nobody asked you either, but you’re posting. Chill.
Oh you think you’re better than other people because you pay for this site? Go away, loser.
Wow.
Boras once again working to do what his client wants.
Glad Altuve gets to spend his career with the Astros. Maybe the contract won’t age well, likely won’t, but both sides wanted this so good that it happened.
Like Altuve or hate him its always nice to see a player get to play his entire career with one team.
As for his HoF case; probably a small chance he gets to 3000 hits, a better chance he gets to 300 Home Runs. If he can play as a 2B the entirety of his career and given his relatively diminutive stature that could definitely get him in sooner rather than later
All this means is Bregman signs with the Tigers next year.
Altuve will go down as the greatest second basemen.
At the moment, based on JAWS, he’s the 22nd best 2B man in the history of the game. Rogers Hornsby was the best.
In terms of wRC+, Hornsby is still top and Altuve is #7.
He’s a HOFer, but he’s also a long way from the best. The greatest 2B’man I’ve seen is Joe Morgan.
@LordD99
According to…?
That’s quite simple, OldYork. My comment that Joe Morgan is the greatest 2B’man I’ve seen is based upon, well, hmmm, my opinion!
@LordD99
I sincerely apologize for misinterpreting your statement. I hope you can accept my genuine regret for the error.
? Aaron Judge gets a 360m deal and is injury-prone and one dimensional but Altuve a true 5 tool player gets half the contract?
I regard Judge as a cheat too but you don’t hear the trolls questioning his sudden improvement at the plate in 2022. His HR output improved by 60% over the previous year. Pretty much the same improvement Bonds & McGwyre had, but I am sure that is just a coincidence.
Deflecting like most Astro fans.
2017 was the best year of Altuve’s career, but I guess that’s just a coincidence.
One dimensional, are you drunk. When has Judge been injury prone Other then a cracked rib a few years ago when diving in RF, but being hit in the wrist by pitch or contacting a concrete curb in the field of play is not injury prone.
Judge misses half the season almost every year
He’s averaged 131 games per season, not counting 2020.
@Cute Pomeranian
Judge: wRC+: 165
Altuve: wRC+: 130
23.73% difference in run creation.
Judge has played only 8 season while Altuve has 13. So, in a shorter period of time, he produces more runs and he is only 10.8 WAR short of what Altuve has. So, yes, it makes sense that Judge is worth more than Altuve and should have been paid so.
Altuve is clearly better and I’m a Yankee fan
Altuve doesn’t choke in the playoffs and hardly misses games
Altuve would be a better team captain. Judge isn’t the captain type and will never fill Jeter’s shoes
@Cute Pomeranian
Let’s use the actual data instead of feelings.
Based off Fangraph’s Clutch data for the postseason, here are the career numbers for both players.
Altuve: 0.06 Clutch
fangraphs.com/players/jose-altuve/5417/stats?posit…
Judge: 0.24 Clutch
fangraphs.com/players/aaron-judge/15640/stats?posi…
Looking at their chart
library.fangraphs.com/misc/clutch/
It seems Altuve is essentially average and Judge is somewhere between Average and Above Average in the playoffs. So, if I’m evaluating which player is more clutch, Judge would be the better player.
As for a team captain, that’s really up to the personality of the player and how they interact with the other teammates. That’s a judgement thing that can’t really be presented in data.
If Altuve is such a good team captain, why didn’t he stop the cheating?
Why didn’t A Rod stop cheating?
I’m a Yankee fan by the way
Yankee fans constantly belitting the Astros for cheating but happily accepting a non-asterisked 2009 WS championship is tenuous at best
Judge had like 16 strikeouts in 20 at bats in the 2022 playoffs. Lmao how does that even happen?
And he grounded out an anemic ground ball to end their post season against the Astros
Altuve is a stud in all clutch situations
This discussion isn’t about A-Rod, but yes, he cheated too. Are you saying Altuve is just like A-Rod? Doesn’t say much for him.
Altuve has a similar games played/season to Judge since Judge entered the league, so if he hardly misses games, then so does Judge.
For Jose A+++++++++ to the moon.
For HOU.. Excuse me I need to go throw up
Basura
I’m over 50 and a lifelong Astros fan. And this is fantastic news. Dude is just a straight up class act and massive talent. Great, great news!
M’s fan here. Love to see this. Good move for the player, the team, and the fans.
Cheaters.
One of my favorite ball players from the last 10 or so years. I’d put him right there with Trout as far as talent. Definitely a hall of fame player, unlike a lot of the guys they are putting in lately.
Will be nice to see him finish his career with the Astros.
Perfect way to finish a HOF career
finishing off with a (trashcan) bang!!
Discussion of cheating jogged my memory. Google sadly revealed an iceberg of alleged cheating under the surface. Not only the 1961 Reds and Bobby Thompson’s historic 1951 homer, but alas, my 1948 Indians won 16 of their last 20 home games after setting up a telescope in their centerfield scoreboard. And John McGraw complaining about 1913 sign stealing.
Yes, all cheating is bad.
Also, like…there’s a lot of distance between chatting up another woman and buying your sidepiece a condiminium though perhaps both are technically cheating.
If he eventually does get in the HOF he’ll be following Bagwell as the last two Astro’s inducted. Make of that what you will.
What does that even mean? And it is likely Wagner gets in next year.
Likely a cheater reference. You’re correct though that Wagner is next.
Ya I’m just really confused on why Bagwell gets lumped in there. Astros really live rent free in these guy’s minds.
Good. Keep that pompous pr*ck in the corner.
Absolutely fantastic news. The only thing that could make this better is if they could get deals done with Bregman and Tucker as well.
I would think that Tucker would be the most important, and then Bregman. If Brown pitches to his potential this year (Javier too) then you can probably let Valdez ride out his arb years and let him walk.
Will be interesting to see if they can keep Bregman, Tucker, and Valdez as well. That’s a lot of long term money before they even broach the subject with Brown or Pena.
I don’t condone in any way what the Astros did, but didn’t they put at least some of this to rest when mostly the same group won it all legitimately. On the other hand my fandom was unaffected by the result. I might not be so forgiving if I was a Dodger fan.
Fair contract to me, seems pretty bang on.
I heard this deal was done just before the buzzer