The shortest active Major Leaguer is Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve.
His height registered in MLB is 5 feet 6 inches, 167.64 cm. Oakland Athletics outfielder and second baseman Tony Kemp can also be said to be the shortest major leaguer, tied with Keeney.주소
Interestingly enough, Kemp is also from Houston. He was selected by Houston in the fifth round of the 2013 draft and made his major league debut in 2016. He was traded to the Chicago Cubs in the summer of 2019, so he and Altube have been together for about three years.
However, he is not a player comparable to Altuve in all aspects, including star quality, experience, recognition, and records.
Altuve, living up to his nicknames ‘Little Giant’ and ‘Autumn Man’, has done it again. On the 21st (Korean time), he hit a come-from-behind home run in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series (ALCS), leading to a 5-4 victory.
In the top of the 9th inning, down 2-4, Houston had a chance to reach first and second base with no outs due to Yaner Diaz’s left-handed hit and John Singleton’s walk. The opposing pitcher is right-hander Jose Leclerc. Altuve sent a slider outside of the 85 mph range on the first pitch as a strike, then drew an 89.8 mph changeup that fell towards his body on the second pitch with a lightning-like swing and crossed the left wall.
Launch angle 32 degrees, exit speed 98.8 miles, distance 382 feet. Texas left fielder Evan Carter tried to reach his glove over the fence, but couldn’t reach it. When Altuve’s home run hit, Houston starter Justin Verlander came out of the dugout, clenched his fists and roared. He expressed his joy with the biggest gesture.
After the game, Verlander said, “When Altuve comes to the plate, you can’t use the word ‘expect’. (When you see Altuve), you anticipate something great is going to happen. He often gets it done. That’s it.” “It was an unbelievable feeling in the moment, an unbelievable player. No one in the locker room would be surprised that something like this happened, that’s for sure.” It means that the player who is responsible for the work has done so.
Altuve recorded a total of 26 home runs in the postseason, trailing Manny Ramirez (29), who ranked first in this category, by three. If Houston advances to the World Series, he could rise to first place this fall. According to MLB.com, this was the third time Altuve hit a go-ahead home run after the 9th inning, the most ever in that category.
“First of all, he wanted to be on the big stage,” Houston coach Dusty Baker said. “Secondly, he was extremely focused, because that’s what you need in those situations. The ability to focus, be motivated and be comfortable all in one. All players “Not everyone can put those three things together. He’s the worst player I’ve ever seen. I often see great things.”
Altuve said, “I want to say this. It happened. I feel good and the adrenaline is flowing. It was a great moment. Didn’t we win?”
In the first game held at home on the 16th, Altuve poured cold water on the team’s pursuit with a ridiculous base hit. Altuve, who went out as the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the 8th inning when the game was down 0-2 and walked, saw Alex Bregman’s deep ball caught in front of the fence and did not step on second base while returning to base, so he was out after a video review. The golden opportunity leading to the center batting line was literally missed, and boos and sighs poured out from the home audience at the same time.
Houston’s starting pitcher that day was Verlander. Verlander pitched 6⅔ innings, allowing 6 hits and 2 runs, but took the loss. Verlander started Game 5 on this day and was on the verge of defeat, allowing 4 runs on 6 hits in 5⅔ innings. Altuve paid off his ‘debt’ from the first game.
In 9 games this postseason, Altuve has a batting average of 0.256 (10 hits in 39 at-bats), 3 home runs, 5 RBI, 8 runs, and an OPS of 0.831.