A WHOLE NEW BALLGAME
How MLB media's Astros disrespect has reached another level
May 30, 2023, 5:34 pm
Yordan Alvarez and Jose Altuve would like to have a word. Composite image by Jack Brame.
I’ve never bought into Houston fans’ grievance that the national media, even after all of the Astros success in recent years, still doesn’t give the Astros any respect.
I’m starting to believe it now. Two examples from the past week. And they’re lulus.
MLB.com released a list of players who could become first-time MVP Award winners this year. Let’s have a look:
Ronald Acuna Jr.
Marcus Semien
Vlad Guerrero
Jose Ramirez
Matt Chapman
Juan Soto
Nolan Arenado
Pete Alonso
Francisco Lindor
Manny Machado.
Hmm, did MLB forget someone? No need to file a missing person’s report. It’s Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez. Here’s where I could say, whoa, isn’t Alvarez having a better year than some of those guys.
But I won’t. I’m saying Alvarez is having a better year than all of ‘em. Yordan is batting .284 with 14 homers and 48 RBI. Don’t tell me that Alvarez is a DH and maybe that’s why he’s not on the list. Alvarez has played more than half of his games in left field.
The best of the bunch who did make MLB’s list is Acuna Jr. of the Braves. He’s batting .327 but trails Alvarez in homers (11) and RBI (30).
The Rangers’ Semien is having a terrific year hitting .298. But he, too, is behind Alvarez in dingers (8) and RBI (44). Mets crusher Pete Alonso is leading baseball with 20 homers, but he’s behind Alvarez is batting average (.242) and RBI (46). Yes, I still believe in batting average.
Some of the players on the list, frankly, this must be some sort of joke.
Padres third baseman Machado is having a total suck season, hitting .231 with five homers and 19 RBI. Mets shortstop Lindor … seriously? He’s batting .225 with nine homers and 39 RBI.
Except for Acuna Jr. and Alonso, nobody on the list has double-digit home runs.
Alvarez is the most frightening hitter in baseball. And clutch? Remember last year, Game 6 of the World Series against the Phillies, and Game 1 of the Divisional Series against the Mariners?
Alvarez shouldn’t just be on the list. He should be No. 1. You realize, MLB, you can look this stuff up.
Then Jayson Stark of The Athletic added insult to injury (and the Astros don’t need any more injuries) by coming up with his list of “Which active players are on track for baseball’s Hall of Fame?”
He broke it down into seven levels: In right now, in the Red Zone, on a path, I wish there was a path, get back to me in five years, used to be in the Red Zone, and case not closed.
Hard to argue with most of surefire “in right now” candidates who already have the credentials for Cooperstown: Mike Trout, Justin Verlander, Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer, Miguel Cabrera, Zack Grienke and Joey Votto.
But here’s my gripe: if Votto is a lock for the Hall of Fame, why isn’t Jose Altuve on the list? And where is Altuve anywhere?
He’s down in Tier 3, “on a path,” according to Stark.
As high school history teachers are fond of saying, let’s compare and contrast.
Joey Votto has played 16 years, all with the Cincinnati Reds. That’s commendable. He has a solid .297 career batting average and 2093 total hits. He made six All-Star teams and won an MVP Award in 2010. No Silver Sluggers, though.
Jose Altuve has played 13 years, all with the Astros. His career batting average is .307 with 1946 career hits. He has made eight All-Star teams and won an MVP in 2017. He’s won six Silver Slugger Awards.
Altuve is far from done. He’s 33 years old and batting .355 this season. Votto is 39 and pondering retirement. He is recovering from shoulder surgery and currently is on the team’s injured list. He hasn’t appeared in a single game so far this season. He batted .205 in 91 games last year.
Here’s where Altuve leaves Votto in the dust and is clearly a more deserving prospect for Cooperstown: the postseason. It’s championships that count.
Votto has played in four playoff series. The Reds lost all of them. He has 10 hits in 41 at bats for a .244 average. No home runs. One RBI. No National League pennants, no World Series titles.
Altuve is a postseason monster. Altuve has played in 19 playoff series, hit .271 with 23 homers and 49 RBI. During his time with the Astros, the team has won five American League West titles, four American League pennants and two World Series titles.
So you’re telling me that Votto’s in … and Altuve’s only on a path? Stark may want to go back and check his – and Votto’s and Altuve’s – facts.
As we barrel toward Opening Day which is now less than four weeks away, so far it’s been largely a case of no news is good news at Astros’ spring training. Meaning no major injuries to key players, no controversies brewing. There are numerous question marks that can’t truly be answered until we get into the games that count, such as how will Jose Altuve fare as a left fielder. The most exciting thing to happen over the first week of Grapefruit League games would probably be the two-home run game from top prospect Cam Smith, he of the Kyle Tucker trade. Both came off minor league caliber pitchers, but so what. Smith turned 22 years old last Saturday, the ideal is that he forces his way to the big leagues by the end of this season.
A strong majority of players who go on to greatness in Major League Baseball get to the big leagues before they turn 23. I spoke to this with Astros-specific perspective this week during an episode of our Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast. The ten greatest offensive players in franchise history as measured by Baseball Reference’s Wins Above Replacement metric are: Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell, Jose Altuve, Lance Berkman, Cesar Cedeno, Jimmy Wynn, Jose Cruz, Alex Bregman, Joe Morgan, and Bob Watson. Eight of those ten debuted in the majors at 22 years old or younger. Cedeno was 19! Morgan and Watson were 20. Wynn and Altuve were 21. Biggio, Bagwell, and Bregman were 22. That leaves Cruz and Berkman as the exceptions. “Cheo” debuted with the Cardinals and didn’t get to the Astros’ organization until he was 27. Berkman arrived at 23. He should have been up sooner but was backlogged in 1998 behind a fabulous outfield of Moises Alou, Carl Everett, and Derek Bell, with youngster Richard Hidalgo as the top reserve, while first base was manned by Bagwell in the heart of his prime.
The point is, special talents should be fast-tracked and/or fast-track themselves to the Major Leagues. There are numerous exceptions (team mistakes, late bloomers), but a very high percentage of eventual big stars get to The Show at a young age. Juan Soto, Bryce Harper, and Mike Trout entered at 19. Ronald Acuna Jr., Vlad Guerrero Jr., Freddie Freeman, and Jose Ramirez did so at 20. Bobby Witt Jr., Gunnar Henderson, Mookie Betts, and Yordan Alvarez were 21. Not all tear it up immediately the way Yordan did upon his promotion in 2019, but rare tools and talents merit accelerated opportunity. The focus here is on hitters, but this isn’t a bad spot to note that among the four greatest pitchers ever to hurl for the Astros, only Randy Johnson was older than 22 when he started (25 as a notoriously raw and wild Montreal Expo). Nolan Ryan was a 19-year-old New York Met, Roger Clemens a 21-year-old Boston Red Sox, and Justin Verlander a 22-year-old Detroit Tiger,
This is not predicting mega-stardom or a plaque in Cooperstown for Cam Smith, but if the Astros have such a player in what is presently a lousy farm system overall, the odds overwhelmingly favor Smith being that guy. He should be ticketed for double-A Corpus Christi to start this season after having had just 96 at bats in single-A and 19 at AA in the Cubs’ system after being drafted last July. Should Smith excel with the Hooks, it’s not preposterous to see him getting to the Astros over the summer, especially given the shaky state of the big club’s outfield going into the 2025 campaign. Plenty of players have skipped over AAA. While Smith was drafted as a third baseman, unless the Astros grow offensively desperate enough to move Isaac Paredes to second base, Smith’s fastest path to Daikin Park right now might lead to right field. Coming off a relentlessly bad 2024, it’s make-or-break time for Chas McCormick. Chas is making three-point-four million dollars this season and turns 30 in April. If he is not a heckuva lot better this year, there is no way the Astros are bringing him back at an even bigger salary number in 2026.
Jacob Melton is another outfield prospect, but he’s already 24 years old and has yet to show any sort of elite hitting traits in the minors. Melton looms as a cheaper replacement for Jake Meyers in center.
Those who will ultimately be great only have time siphoned from their careers when not brought up as soon as reasonable. Of course there is risk of unfulfilled potential or straight up bust status. If early failure crushes a player, he wasn’t headed for greatness anyway.
On the upswing
Closing aside: a pinging endorsement for the Astros’ Annual College Classic Friday through Sunday. The reigning national champion Tennessee Volunteers and runner-up Texas A&M Aggies head the field. Rice, Mississippi State, Oklahoma State, and Arizona fill out what is always an excellent six-team event. With gorgeous weather forecast through the weekend the roof should be open throughout. RIGHT?
The countdown to Opening Day is on. Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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