Texas — JOSE ALTUVE IS SAFE HERE. From the hisses and boos, the hate and rage, the feelings his very presence evokes. This man leads a dual life as one of baseball’s biggest stars and its smallest player. In 29 stadiums, he is the antagonist. After that, he returns home.

Altuve is not a hero in this city, this proud and guarded one. The Houston Astros, who are currently leading the World Series and aim to become the first team in Major League Baseball history to win two titles in a row, have him as their hero and face. The sold-out crowd at Minute Maid Park will rise and applaud Altuve when he goes to the plate in the bottom of the first inning tonight in the sixth game of the American League Championship Series against the Texas Rangers, and with good reason. Altuve’s most recent masterpiece, a game-winning three-run home run in the ninth inning of Game 5, has put the Astros one victory away from the World Series. This play should cement Altuve’s legacy.

But Altuve’s legacy has already been written. He is untouchable in Houston, but outside of it, fair or unfair, he is characterized by the Astros’ 2017 sign-stealing plan that led to the team’s first World Series victory. It doesn’t matter that a review of regular-season games that year supported the assertions made by several of his 2017 teammates that Altuve refused to use the method where Astros staffers pounded on a garbage can to alert batters when an off-speed pitch was approaching.

Altuve did not benefit from the way MLB handled the franchise’s scandal; the league upheld the championship and chose not to discipline the players despite commissioner Rob Manfred’s report designating the plan as “player-driven” twice. Justice is served to him via voice box. The criticism never goes away, with the exception of the I-10 corridor that runs from San Antonio into Louisiana and particularly Houston, where wearing orange apparel denotes affiliation with a group that holds a specific kind of reverence for Altuve. The general population believes what it wants to believe outside of it.

The taint on Altuve is permanent, even after the extent of the Astros’ misconduct was made public nearly four years ago. He has to deal with the public’s impression of his involvement in the garbage can bangs and the accusations that, whatever of his level of involvement, his knowledge of the system amounted to culpability.

Earlier this month, Altuve said to ESPN, “I just don’t really have a lot to say about it.” “I play for my squad, for these men. We have a great chance to triumph once more. I would rather focus all of my concentration on helping my team win than become sidetracked by other distractions.”

Every October, when he is the clear leader among active players, Altuve’s ability to turn negative energy into good energy is on full display. After an unusual 2022 postseason in which he failed to score any runs, Altuve has blasted three home runs in these playoffs, all of which have contributed to victories. He leads his peers right now in practically every counting metric: total bases (211), hits (113), runs (86), singles (67), doubles (20), games played (101), plate appearances (466), home runs (26, three short of Manny Ramirez’s all-time record). With seven LCS appearances so far, the Astros are one appearance short of Atlanta’s major league record from the 1990s. The Astros’ status as a dynasty would be further cemented with another championship.
Altuve has a significant role in that. The Astros are 19-5 in postseason games when Altuve hits deep since 2017. This isn’t just a coincidence; he is the reason for it all, and Altuve’s recent successes have only served to fuel the hate directed at him. It reminds me more of the past the better he is today.

Therefore, Altuve’s home games serve as a reprieve and a salve for wounds that may never heal. Altuve has been a part of these fans’ life for thirteen years. By October, the community unites over another march toward a title, and everything seems to be back to normal.

Altuve declared, “Never gets old.” “I love every playoff game more as a player and as a team. Winning is the main goal. Nothing further.

Following the disclosure of the sign-stealing plan, Tony Adams isolated himself in a room and got to work. Adams, a web developer and designer who grew up about 30 minutes outside of Houston, compiled video from 58 Astros home games in 2017 and processed the audio through a program he made. 1,143 pre-pitch noises were recorded out of the 8,274 pitches he listened to. More than half of the off-speed pitches that some players saw resulted in tips. About thirty percent of the Astros were regulars. At 4.2% was Altuve.

The evidence did not conclusively support Adams’s (57 years old) theory that Altuve was innocent. Manfred’s assessment hinted to more sign-stealing techniques the team employed. However, it was sufficient to persuade Adams that Altuve was not the most heinous cheater on the Astros player spectrum.
Astros supporters such as Adams defend Altuve on the basis of this notion. He is aware of the criticism leveled at the 2017 squad. However, he shares the view of many others that the disdain for Altuve is out of proportion to the information that is readily available to the public. By refusing to distance himself from the people he played for — “I always say this is a team,” Altuve remarked in 2020, “and if we are something, we all are something” — he further solidifies his bond with his supporters.

“He’s the face of the franchise, and he’s so good, and he’s not going to defend himself,” Adams stated. That characterizes him. He’s the perfect teammate, in my opinion. Nobody could not want him on the team, in my opinion. For the squad, he has taken on all of this. never snapped. Never lost anger. Always steadfast. It is commendable.

Adams’ brother likes to remind him that, in a another universe, Altuve is the most well-liked player in the league: a 5-foot-6 marvel who signed for a meager $15,000 after barely being noticed out of Venezuela and went on to become a second baseman deserving of the Hall of Fame. After making his MLB debut in 2011, Altuve has amassed 1,819 hits, a.310 batting average, 200 home runs, 293 stolen bases, and a third-place ranking in offensive wins above replacement behind Freddie Freeman and Mike Trout.

Because of this, he is held in the highest regard within the Astros organization; nevertheless, the same may be said about the animosity outside of it. Out of the Astros’ active roster from 2017, only Altuve, right-hander Justin Verlander, and third baseman Alex Bregman are still there. The anger centered on the Astros players who remained after they left in free agency. Now that he’s in Toronto, George Springer and Carlos Correa, both Minnesota Twins, get heckled from time to time, but neither Bregman nor Correa encounters the kind of mockery that’s reserved for Altuve.

There are no limits to the booing of Altuve. He wears the aural contempt of people who are not from Houston, regardless of the size of the crowd, the score, or his performance that day. However, Altuve—who remained exceptional—took the bulk of the punishment and adapted to the new paradigm.

Mauricio Dubon, center fielder for the Astros, stated, “He does good when he gets booed.” “He is indifferent. It seems amusing to me. Every time they boo him, it seems like he hits a home run, and he seems to relish it. I sincerely hope he is booed.”

As a wonderful person, I detest it,” Astros reliever Ryne Stanek remarked. “One of the kindest individuals I’ve ever encountered. Obviously incredibly talented, humble, kind, and a very good baseball player, but also a good person. Walking into a clubhouse, you never know what to expect from a superstar—especially when they’re at their best. The absurd part is that, at 33, he already has the second-most postseason pumps in history. To do that, not only must you be a long-term performer, but you must also be part of a winning team. And he plays a major role in the team’s success and has done so for the past seven years.”
Of course, there’s a catch. Perhaps the Astros’ decline in performance and some sort of karmic punishment for imagined or actual wrongdoings would have sufficed as karmic retribution. This is the revenge Manfred lost when he exchanged player testimony for immunity during the league’s inquiry. However Altuve has only prospered. He is ranked 11th in baseball among players who have at least 1,000 plate appearances since 2021 according to his adjusted OPS.

Astros outfielder Chas McCormick stated, “He’s been the one that’s kept the window open.” “During my tenure in the minor levels and once I advanced to the major leagues, we lost some outstanding players. But having Alex Bregman, Yordan Alvarez, and Jose Altuve means that you’ll always be in excellent shape since they’re all excellent hitters.”

Every October run that the Astros make, Altuve’s postseason record becomes better. With a victory tonight or in a possible Game 7, Houston will tie Yadier Molina for the sixth-most postseason games in baseball history. Derek Jeter’s record of 158 postseason games is very much in reach given playoff expansion, particularly if Altuve stays in Houston when his seven-year, $163.5 million contract expires at the end of the next season.

And Altuve in a different city and uniform doesn’t feel right, even considering all the single-team players who have left to join other teams in free agency. His relationship with Houston is too close. From his three-home run game to start the division series in 2017 to the home runs in the final two games of the 2017 ALCS to defeat the New York Yankees to the pennant-winning drive off Aroldis Chapman in 2019, they have experienced many highs and lows together. Even so, there is a catch to Altuve’s hall of fame moment: there are some who harbor misgivings about the unsubstantiated rumor that he wore a buzzer to electronically convey future pitch types, something Altuve has refuted.

Although Manfred’s report stated that MLB’s “investigation revealed no violation of the [league’s sign-stealing] policy by the Astros in the 2019 season or 2019 postseason,” the buzzer idea endures because of suspicion regarding the league’s attempts to explain all of the cheating in the sport. There is nothing Altuve can do to stop the rumors. Forever, his jersey will evoke memories of the briefcase from “Pulp Fiction,” concealing a significant and mysterious object that is hard to fully understand.
Altuve swiftly discovered that he cannot become enraged over a story he cannot alter. At-bat every at-bat, as he did Friday night against Rangers closer Jose Leclerc, he would rather write an other one. With two bases on and the Rangers up 4-2, Altuve came to bat less than thirty minutes after Astros reliever Bryan Abreu hit Rangers outfielder Adolis Garcia with a 99 mph fastball, forcing the benches to clear. Leclerc unveiled a 90 mph changeup on the second pitch, sending it tumbling low and inside. With his trademark stride at the plate, rear knee bending, and bat whipping through the strike zone, Altuve delivered a classic hack that sent the ball just beyond Rangers left fielder Evan Carter’s extended glove at the outfield fence.

Dusty Baker, the manager of the Astros, stated, “No. 1, he wants to be up there.” “Secondly, he exhibits a high degree of concentration, which is necessary in high-stakes situations such as that—concentration, desire, and relaxation all combined. Not everyone is able to perform all three of those tasks.

“And so, I mean, this dude is one of the baddest dudes I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen some greats.”

As soon as the ball left Altuve’s bat, he reflexively put out his tongue, making him look as close to Michael Jordan as a baseball player can. Too surprised to jeer, Rangers supporters were taken aback by the idea of a third consecutive home defeat after holding a clear lead after two road victories to begin the series. They were limited to shaking their heads, bemoaning their bad luck, and joining the ranks of the teams that had been Altuve’d in October. He ran the bases with unwavering composure, without even smiling or doing the Eurostep, lest he incite more hostility than was necessary.

Early in October, Altuve stated, “This team deserves the best version of me, and that’s being focused.” “I believe that’s something you pick up with time. It’s true that I’m 33 now. You continue to learn new things while growing older, learning new things and becoming better at some areas.

“My team makes everything easier for me because they play hard, they love the game, they love winning.”

His network of supporters, his squad, erupted in the dugout and poured onto the field to celebrate with him. Meanwhile, his city in Houston, located 250 miles away, rejoiced, saved once more by the player whose career they had helped save by accepting the narrative that fit their desires. Jose Altuve circled the bases toward the plate and touched home safely for the 26th time during the postseason, a time of year that always seems to bring out the best in him.