Houston Astros second baseman now has another thing in common with two Houston Astros Hall-of-Famers, Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell — at least 2,000 career hits.
Altuve moved into that hallowed tier of Astros history with a fifth-inning single to left field, one that slammed off the wall, took a bounce and went directly into the glove of Seattle Mariners left fielder Cade Marlowe.
That was unfortunate in one respect for Altuve. He was attempting to turn a sure single into a double and because the ball caromed so fast back to Marlowe he was able to throw him out at second base.
It oddly aligned Altuve with Biggio, who had a similar thing happen to him when he recorded his 3,000th hit.
Altuve finished Saturday’s game 3-for-4 and now has 2,001 career hits. The Astros ended up losing their second straight to the Mariners, 10-3.
But that only dampened Altuve’s milestone slightly.
Astros manager Dusty Baker told reporters after the game that the team had a glass of champagne to toast Altuve, saying that it “broke the ice a little bit after a tough loss.”
Altuve spoke to the media after the game. He mentioned that not only did Baker and the team have a toast but he had to talk about himself, something Altuve tends to avoid. But he understood the significance of the accomplishment.
“It’s really important,” Altuve said. “It’s not easy to get a hit in the Major Leagues, especially with the guy (Logan Gilbert) that the Mariners had pitching.”
Altuve became the 296th player in MLB history to reach 2,000 career hits and the 10th Venezuelan-born player to reach the milestone.
As for the future, Altuve could potentially catch Bagwell in a couple of years. Bagwell retired with 2,314 hits. Altuve has one more year remaining on his current contract and will be a free agent after the 2024 season.
At 33 years old, it would be hard to imagine the Astros allowing Altuve to walk in any scenario. But, he’s also had a rough year, derailed by a wrist injury to start the season and an oblique injury that stole a couple of weeks in July.
But, on Saturday night, it was all about recognizing Altuve’s important to the franchise.
Altuve broke in with the Astros in 2011 as a 21-year-old when the Astros were still part of the National League. Since then, he’s led the Astros to two World Series titles in 2017 and 2022.
He is an eight-time All-Star, a six-time Silver Slugger, a three-time batting champion and the 2017 American League MVP.
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