Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve is one of those players who rises up to the occasion in postseason play.
His career OPS in the regular season is a cool .834.
Whereas many players succumb to the pressure that playing in October represents, Altuve’s OPS in that instance is a very solid .842.
On Friday, one of his swings virtually gave the Astros the victory in a pivotal Game 5 of the American League Championship Series against the Texas Rangers, erasing a 4-2 deficit and turning it into a 5-4 lead against closer Jose Leclerc, no less.
It was his 26th postseason home run.
This was his only hit of the night but two days later, on Sunday, he went 2-for-5 even though he didn’t homer.
It was the 35th multi-hit game in the playoffs for the dynamic infielder.
That’s good for third all-time.
He is very close to the second-ranked player, but still has work to do to catch up the leader.
“35th multi-hit postseason game for Altuve…only Derek Jeter (58) and Bernie Williams (36) have more,” MLB stats expert Sarah Langs tweeted.
35th multi-hit postseason game for Altuve…only Derek Jeter (58) and Bernie Williams (36) have more
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) October 23, 2023
Like Altuve, Jeter was at his best in the playoffs.
He had a .838 OPS there, compared to an .817 mark in the regular season.
He was so good for so long that he leads hitters in several playoff categories, and multi-hit games is one of them.
Altuve needs several years at the top of his game just to have a chance to surpass “Mr. November.”
He is good enough to make a run as long as the Astros keep helping him reach the playoffs.
Perhaps it’s him helping the Astros more than the other way around.
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