José Carlos Altuve

José Carlos Altuve

BIOGRAPHY

José Carlos Altuve (Spanish elocution: [alˈtuβe]; conceived May 6, 1990) is a Venezuelan expert baseball second baseman for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). The Astros marked Altuve as a beginner free operator in 2007, and he made his significant alliance debut in 2011. A right-gave hitter and hurler, starting at 2017 he was the most limited dynamic MLB player at 5 feet 6 inches (1.68 m). His recorded weight is 165 pounds (75 kg). From 2014−2017, Altuve recorded something like 200 hits each season and drove the American League (AL) in the classification. He won three batting titles in that length. 

A six-time MLB All-Star, Altuve has been cast a ballot the beginning second baseman for the AL in the All-Star Game multiple times. In 2017, he won the AL Most Valuable Player Award, the Hank Aaron Award, and turned into a World Series champion with the Astros, each out of the blue. Likewise in 2017, Altuve was Sports Illustrated's co-Sportsperson of the Year with J. J. Watt of the NFL's Houston Texans for driving aid ventures in the result of Hurricane Harvey. Further honors Altuve got in 2017 were the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year, The Sporting News Major League Player of the Year (making him the fifth player to be chosen in back to back years), and Baseball America's Major League Player of the Year. He has likewise won five Silver Slugger Awards and one Rawlings Gold Glove. In 2014, he turned into the principal player in more than 80 years to achieve 130 hits and 40 stolen bases before the All-Star Game. That equivalent season, he turned into the first Astro to win a batting title, driving the AL with a .341 normal. He has twice driven the AL in stolen bases. From Maracay, Venezuela, Altuve played for the Venezuelan national group in the 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC).


Early life 

Altuve is a local of Maracay, Venezuela, and grew up there. At age 7, he met individual future major leaguer Salvador Pérez, who in the long run turned into a catcher for the Kansas City Royals. The two contended together to start in Maracay and ordinarily in American League challenges.


LEAGUE GAME

At age 16, Altuve attended a Houston Astros' tryout camp in Maracay. However, the team's scouts declined to allow him to participate because they decided he was too short and they suspected that he had lied about his age. The next day, with encouragement from his father, Altuve returned to the camp and produced his birth certificate. Al Pedrique, then a special assistant for the Astros, asked Altuve, "Can you play?" Altuve looked him in the eye and said, 'I'll show you." Pedrique championed him to the front office, convincing them that he had the talent and strength to eventually play in the major leagues. The club gave him an evaluation, and, after he impressed team officials, they signed him to a contract as an undrafted free agent on March 6, 2007, with a $15,000 (USD, $18,124.7 today) bonus.

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. He returned to Greeneville in 2009 and hit .324 with 21 stolen bases in just 45 games, earning him a spot on the league All-Star team, team most valuable player (MVP) honors,[6] and a promotion to the Tri-City ValleyCats of the Class A-Short Season New York-Penn League for which he played in 21 games. He began 2010 with the Lexington Legends of the Class A South Atlantic League, hitting .308 with 39 steals and 11 home runs, earned a spot on the league all-star team, and then moved up to the Lancaster JetHawks in the Class A-Advanced California League and hit .276.

Returning to Lancaster for 2011, he hit .408 with 19 steals in 52 games. After being promoted to the Corpus Christi Hooks of the Class AA Texas League, he hit .361, giving him an overall line of .389 with 24 steals, 26 walks, and 40 strikeouts in 357 minor league at-bats that year. He was named the second baseman on Baseball America's 2011 Minor League All-Star Team as well as the Houston Astros Minor League Player of the Year. Altuve was called up to the major league club in mid-summer, bypassing Class AAA level.

Awards

Awards received
Name of award Times Dates Ref
American League Most Valuable Player 1 2017 [65]
Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year 1 2017 [68]
Babe Ruth Award 1 2017 [55]
Baseball America Major League Player of the Year 1 2017 [60]
GIBBY/This Year in Baseball Award for Breakout Everyday Player of the Year 1 2014 [23]
Hank Aaron Award 1 2017 [57]
Lou Gehrig Memorial Award 1 2017 [47]
Luis Aparicio Award 3 2014, 2016−17 [25]
MLB All-Star * 5 2012, 2014−17 [14][18][26][1][37]
MLB Player of the Month 2 June 2016, July 2017 [32][40]
Players Choice Awards
American League Outstanding Player 2 2016, 2017 [35][61]
Majestic Athletic Always Game Award 2 2015, 2016 [35]
Major League Player of the Year 2 2016, 2017 [35][61]
Rawlings Gold Glove Award at second base 1 2015 [31]
Silver Slugger Award at second base 4 2014–17 [24]
The Sporting News Major League Player of the Year 2 2016, 2017 [34][59]
Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year 1 2017 [67]
Notes: 
*—Voted 3× as starting second baseman for the American League, 2015−17. The 2012 appearance was as a member of the National League.