Baseball

Astros' Jose Altuve says his success comes from putting God first

By Jason Romano Oct 16, 2017
Astros Jose Altuve in an August 2016 game against the Baltimore Orioles. (Photo Courtesy: Keith Allison/CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)

Jose Altuve is the hottest player in baseball right now.

In six playoff games played against the Red Sox and Yankees, Altuve is hitting an impressive .565 (13-for-23) with three HRs, four RBI, four walks and seven runs scored.

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In Game 2 of the ALCS against the Yankees, Altuve reached on a single off closer Aroldis Chapman and then scored from first on a Carlos Correa walk-off double — one of the more exciting plays you’ll ever see in playoff history.

Altuve is a strong candidate for American League MVP in 2017, putting up a fourth straight season of more than 200 hits, to go along with an MLB league-leading .347 average. He also hit 24 home runs, drove in 81, scored 112 runs and stole 32 bases. Oh, and he’s 5-foot-6 and 160 pounds.

He’s the real deal.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BYqxJuZAKUZ/?taken-by=josealtuve27

But even more important to Altuve than baseball is his faith in Christ.

“I grew up in a family that always told me that to achieve success, we needed to have God first,” Altuve said through a translator in a video the Astros released back in 2015. “To achieve success wasn’t to get to the major leagues or have the best season in the world. The best success is to live your life the way God wants you to. If you can do that, if you can be good with God, then I think you will have success in your life.”

(Click below to watch Altuve talk about his faith from 2015)

Prayer is vital to Altuve, and it’s something he says he takes seriously in his Christian walk.

“We need to not just ask God but thank Him for everything like our health, our family,” Altuve told the Houston Chronicle, “and ask him to bless our homes and to always be present in our daily lives, and to keep us safe is the most important.”

The Astros look to continue their road to the World Series, facing the Yankees in the Bronx for Game 3 on Monday night.