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SPORTSThursday 28 December 2017
Astros star Jose Altuve named AP Male Athlete of the Year
By KRISTIE RIEKEN In this Oct. 21, 2017, file photo, Houston Astros manager A.J. Hinch and Jose Altuve hold the for more. And that’s what
AP Sports Writer I’ve learned from him that
HOUSTON (AP) — Jose Al- championship trophy after Game 7 of baseball’s American League Championship Series against makes me better every,
tuve led the Houston As- single day.”
tros to their first World Series the New York Yankees, in Houston. Altuve, who grew up in
title with a win over the Los Venezuela, considers Hous-
Angeles Dodgers in No- Associated Press ton his second home after
vember and picked up the spending his entire profes-
franchise’s first MVP trophy Altuve is a five-time All-Star award , joining Hall of Fam- his superstar status this sea- sional career with the As-
in more than two decades tros. He took great pride
a couple of weeks later. who led the majors with er Jeff Bagwell, who picked son as the Astros won 101 in wearing the Houston
And as his huge 2017 is Strong patch on his uniform
coming to a close, the di- a career-high .346 bat- up the National League’s games, and he became throughout the playoffs as
minutive second baseman a reminder of what the city
already is looking for more. ting average and his 204 honors in 1994. one of the best stories early went through during the
“Winning the World Series, storm and how difficult the
winning the MVP, you feel hits topped the American Altuve carried his stellar in the postseason when rebuilding process would
like you have everything,” be.
Altuve told The Associated League. He is the first play- regular season into the he hit three homers in their He said people approach
Press. “But my perspective him often to say thank you
is to try and get better ev- er in MLB history to lead his postseason, where he Game 1 win over Boston. for helping the Astros win
ery year and if we win one their first title and for being
World Series, why not win league in hits in four straight paced the Astros in their As one of the smallest play- a bright spot in such a ter-
another one? Just keep rible time.
playing for the team and seasons. He tied a career- ALDS win over the Boston ers in the majors, Altuve “We had the responsibility
keep playing for my city.” of making it happen for the
Altuve, who was one of best with 24 homers and Red Sox by hitting .533 with certainly isn’t known as a city,” the 27-year-old said.
only a handful of players “We wanted to win the
who endured the Astros’ had 81 RBIs. He was second an outrageous 1.133 slug- slugger, but that perfor- World Series for the city. We
painful rebuilding pro- just wanted to try to see a
cess en route to this year’s in the AL by scoring 112 ging percentage. mance made him just the smile from them.”
championship, which gave Since winning the World
hope to a city ravaged by runs, his on-base percent- Altuve spent his early years 10th player in major league Series, Altuve has been
Hurricane Harvey, was cho- welcomed to Disney World
sen as The Associated Press age of .410 ranked third, he with the Astros toiling in history and first since 2012 by Mickey Mouse, been a
Male Athlete of the Year. guest on “The Tonight Show
Results of voting by U.S. was third with 32 steals and relative obscurity as Hous- to hit three homers in a Starring Jimmy Fallon” and
editors and news directors been named Sports Illus-
was announced Wednes- his .547 slugging percent- ton lost 100-plus games in playoff game. Altuve’s sto- trated Sportsperson of the
day. The 5-foot-6 dynamo Year along with Texans star
got 715 points, beating out age ranked sixth. each of his first three major ry of once being sent home J.J. Watt. Despite all this,
New England quarterback Altuve has remained the
Tom Brady, who had 646, His work made him the sec- league seasons from 2011- from a tryout because he same humble, soft-spoken
and third-place finisher man he was when he first
Cleveland Cavaliers star ond Astro to win an MVP 13. There was no denying was too short has been well broke into the majors in
LeBron James, with 626. 2011.
On Tuesday, Katie Ledecky documented as he has ris- “I don’t think I’m the face
was named AP Female of the city or the Houston
Athlete of the Year. en to fame. But on the day Astros,” he said. “I’m just
another guy who is play-
523-0300 his huge game led the As- ing hard to make dreams
come true. My dream was
tros to that playoff win, he to win the World Series and
I know the fans’ dream
perfectly summed up the was to win the World Series
as well. So we are on the
mindset he’s carried since same page and I really en-
joy my time in Houston.”q
that setback.
“As soon as I cross the white
line, I feel the same size as
everyone else,” he said.
Altuve’s grit and determi-
nation is evident every time
he takes the field. His team-
mates marvel at the fact
that no matter how good
he is, he’s always looking to
do better.
“He has four hits and he’s
like, ‘Carlos I never had a
five-hit game before, let
me try to get the fifth hit,’”
shortstop Carlos Correa
said. “He’s always striving
