WASHINGTON -- The Houston Astros' Jose Altuve is a future Hall of Famer. That's not exactly a factual statement, or at least it's not factual yet. But it sure seems likely to become true.
Altuve is 29 years old; he'll turn 30 shortly after the start of next season. He just completed his ninth big league season. It doesn't work like this, but you can kind of imagine his final career totals at this juncture by simply doubling his current numbers. Those would include a .315 batting average, second among active players, and a projected 3,136 hits. He has won three batting titles, led the AL in hits four times, won an MVP award and a Gold Glove. He has all the earmarks of a Hall of Famer.
He's also very much on top of his game. This October, Altuve has extended his playoff on-base streak to 25 games, tied for the third-longest ever. He has hit safely in 15 of 16 games this October, one shy of the record for most games with a hit in a single postseason.
Yet if you ask Altuve about himself, he will invariably deflect. He won't take credit for anything. If he charged into a burning bus to rescue a shoebox full of kittens, he would credit the kittens.
"Those kittens were so calm and confident," Altuve would say. "You have to give them credit. Without them, there would have been no opportunity for a rescue. Those kittens got us here."
That is Jose Altuve. During the World Series, he leads all hitters with nine hits and after every game, media huddles around his locker hoping for comment and you know why -- he's one of baseball's marquee players. And, always, Altuve will talk about everybody but himself. He and his Houston teammates have pulled off a stunning turnaround from an 0-2 Fall Classic deficit to take an 3-2 lead back to Texas. But as confident as Altuve is from a team perspective, to hear him tell it, he's hardly had anything to do with it.
So fine, Jose. You don't want to take credit, how about this: If you had to pick an MVP of the series so far, who would it be?