KANSAS CITY — José Altuve held his pointer finger aloft.
“Number one,” he said.
The Houston Astros won a World Series in 2017. They set a franchise record for victories in 2018. But the offense powering the 2019 version of the Astros, Altuve insisted, was the best of the bunch, the greatest he had seen during his nine years in the majors.
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The group features “no holes,” Altuve explained. They lead the sport in batting average and on-base percentage, while ranking second in slugging percentage. The lineup weaves an intricate pattern of patient sluggers and free-swinging irritants. “It’s tough to navigate through that two times,” fellow infielder Alex Bregman said. “Let alone three.”
The ability of the group only heightened the burden Altuve felt as he stumbled through the first half of the season. Destabilized by leg issues, Altuve felt like a stranger in his own body. He fumed at his inability to replicate the production that made him a six-time All-Star, a five-time Silver Slugger at second base and the 2017 American League MVP. He worried he might, for the first time in his career, hamper Houston’s aspirations.
“This team has a really good opportunity to win the World Series,” Altuve said. “And you want to be part of that. You don’t want to be the only guy not helping the team. I didn’t want to be an obstacle for the team. I wanted to be another reason why people think we can win.”
Altuve was speaking at his locker in the visitor’s clubhouse of Kauffman Stadium, a couple months removed from any lingering worry. In the second half, the 29-year-old Altuve once more resembles the hitter who has vexed opposing pitchers throughout this decade. He entered Sunday hitting .337 with a 1.026 on-base plus slugging percentage since the All-Star break. His revival added a weapon to an offense which did not need another one.
“He’s everything to us,” outfielder George Springer said.
During a conversation this weekend, Altuve treated his first half like a bad dream. He was awake. The nightmare was over. He saw no reason to dwell on its meaning.
“I feel like myself,” Altuve said. “Before I felt like I was somebody else. I couldn’t . . . ”
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He stopped and shook his head.
“No. That’s already gone. So I’m really happy that I’m able to help this team.”
As of Sunday afternoon, FanGraphs gave the Astros a 31.3 percent chance to win the World Series. For a sport where the postseason is defined by randomness — this decade alone has made October heroes out of Cody Ross, Travis Ishikawa and Steve Pearce — that number sounds lopsided.
Are the Astros really twice as likely to win it all as the Dodgers (15.8 percent) and the Yankees (16.2)? Four times more likely than the Braves (8.8)?
Then again: Would you bet against them?
The Astros overflow with talent. The duo of Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole headline their rotation, with recent addition Zack Greinke prepped for Game 3 of any series. The bullpen has the fourth-lowest ERA in baseball. The offseason acquisition of outfielder Michael Brantley and the mid-season promotion of designated hitter Yordan Álvarez enhanced a lineup that already featured All-Stars like Bregman and Springer. Yuli Gurriel, the 35-year-old first baseman, has quietly been one of the most dangerous hitters in the sport in the second half.
The abundance of excellence obscured a troubling, early-season observation from rival scouts: José Altuve didn’t look right.
The worries involved the sturdiness of Altuve’s lower half, an area of concern dating back to the previous season. For the final four months of 2018, Altuve played with a patella avulsion fracture in his right knee. He did not play the field during his team’s final three games of the postseason. Days after losing to Boston in the American League Championship Series, Altuve underwent surgery.
The Astros like to joke that Altuve does not swing a bat — he wields a wand. But his wizardry revolves around his legs, manager A.J. Hinch explained. They produce his power. They guide him to infield singles. They provide the balance that allows him to “hit any pitch, any direction, anywhere,” Hinch said.
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As the Astros bolted toward their third consecutive American League West crown this spring, Altuve only tagged along. His production sagged. He offering some slugging, but little artistry. His batting average sank below .250. He failed to make contact more often than he ever had before. He struggled to do damage on pitches outside the strike zone; no longer was he an undersized replica of Vladimir Guerrero — he was just a guy whiffing and making outs.
From his perch in the dugout, Hinch observed a version of Altuve who lacked confidence in the stability of his legs. “Psychologically,” he said, “I think it affected him early in the season, just how healthy he was.”
Altuve did not disagree. The experience puzzled him. “I literally felt like I was somebody else,” Altuve said. “I was swinging and missing a lot, when I normally don’t do that.”
The flailing frustrated Altuve. So did the discomfort in his legs. He ignored the suggestions from team officials to take time off. “As a player, sometimes you don’t make good decisions,” Altuve said. “I told them I was good to play. But I wasn’t.”
The Astros intervened on May 10. Altuve exited a game when his left hamstring tightened up. The medical staff diagnosed a strain and placed him on the injured list. That decision, Altuve explained, saved his season.
Altuve missed five weeks. The rehabilitation featured a few bumps — he aborted a rehab assignment in late May and returned to Houston because of fatigue in his right leg. But Altuve spent his time away from the diamond rebuilding strength and stamina.
When Altuve returned on June 19, he found his body once again cooperated with his commands. He could tell in his first at-bat. It did not matter to Altuve that he pounded a 93-mph fastball from Cincinnati pitcher Tyler Mahle into a double play. All that mattered was he made contact.
“I was like, ‘OK, now we go,’” Altuve said. “I know I can help the team.”
A familiar voice chirped in Springer’s ear as he prepared to hit in the ninth inning on Friday.
“It’s going to be you,” Altuve told Springer.
The Astros entered the frame deadlocked with Kansas City. Their only score was courtesy of a solo shot struck by Altuve in the first inning. It was his 28th of the season, and allowed Altuve to surpass Jeff Kent for the most home runs hit in one year by a second baseman. Houston would not need him to hit No. 29 in the ninth.
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Springer came to the plate with three strikeouts in four empty at-bats. He usually bats one spot ahead of Altuve, which provides Altuve ample opportunity to remind Springer of his ability. Moments after he stepped into the box, Springer proved Altuve right: He demolished a decisive, three-run homer.
“I love the guy to death,” Springer said. “I admire him. He gets on me a lot. He makes sure that I never quit.”
At this point, the Astros operate like a machine. Altuve sounded thrilled about functioning as a cog inside it. He conceded that “it was weird” to not attend the All-Star Game for the first time in six years, but said he was happy that six of his teammates went.
Altuve required a few weeks to remove rust after his return in June. He entered the break with a .781 OPS, a sizable drop from the .910 mark he had produced over the previous three seasons.
Then Altuve homered in the second game of the second half. He smacked four hits in the third. He added three more in the fourth. All at once, he looked like himself.
Altuve does not like to linger on the first-half trouble. As he sat at his locker in Kansas City, he preferred to discuss the possibilities which lay ahead of the Astros.
“It was really hard for me to play the way I was playing,” Altuve said. “I didn’t want to make an excuse. That’s why I never talked about it. But right now, I feel really good.”
Hinch described the current version of Altuve as “very much the same player that he was as an MVP.” In Altuve, Hinch saw a hitter with a clear mind and a reliable body. With his legs healthy, Altuve can maintain his equilibrium at the plate. He has cut down his whiff rate. He has slugged .638 in 59 second-half games.
“His second half has been out of control,” Bregman said, listing all the skills Altuve offers: Power, speed, the ability to spoil good pitches, the ability to punish bad ones. “When he does that, it’s scary.”
(Top photo: Mark Blinch / Getty Images)