Jaffe: Altuve reaches 1,000 career hits; is 3,000 within reach?
From SABR member Jay Jaffe at Sports Illustrated on August 17, 2016:
After winning the American League batting title in 2014 and leading the league in hits in each of the past two seasons, Jose Altuve has stepped up his game. Roughly three-quarters of the way through the 2016 season, the Astros’ 5’6″ second baseman has already set career highs in home runs (19) and walks (50). And not only does Altuve lead the league in batting average and on-base percentage (.365 and .429, respectively), he’s also second in slugging percentage (.573) and Wins Above Replacement (7.0)—numbers that arguably make him the leader in the AL MVP race. On Tuesday night, he collected the 1,000th hit of his career, making him the ninth-youngest player to reach that milestone.
At 26 years and 102 days, Altuve reached 1,000 hits at a younger age than nine players who reached the 3,000-hit plateau, namely Ty Cobb, Al Kaline, Alex Rodriguez, Robin Yount, Hank Aaron, Tris Speaker, George Brett and Derek Jeter. It’s no given that he’ll join them in that exclusive company, but his chances are worth a look.
Read the full article here: http://www.si.com/mlb/2016/08/17/jose-altuve-astros-career-hits-3000
Originally published: August 18, 2016. Last Updated: August 18, 2016.