Is it safe to say Jose Altuve will be the greatest Astro 2nd baseman of all time?

Take it a day at a time.

 

Post all-star break Altuve stat line in 200AB is .345BA .394OBA .650Slug 15HR (tied for 6th most in MLB) He's back

 

Was there any doubt that once he was really healthy, he would be batting above .333 again? Altuve is going to bat 300 until he is in his 40's.

 

His defense and baserunning is not quite MVP levels.

 

Some people are impossible to please. I'll take Altuve over 1.000 OBPS since all-star break and be thrilled. As a through and through Biggio fan, Altuve is already the best 2nd baseman.

 

Biggio batted .130 in the playoffs between 1997 and 2001

 

The base running was not quite MVP level... during his MVP season.

Not sure where you're seeing much different regarding his defense now. He makes plays more based on the shift. He'll never have an elite arm (hence why he's a 2B... even though he played SS in a game this month due to the injuries), and in the end he's still always in contention for a gold glove (whether or not that's a reputation award is entirely debatable).

 

I think he consciously sacrificed speed/agility for power. It's a tradeoff. Springer did the same after his rookie year, and it turned out more than fine. ESPN even noted his decline on stolen bases this year.

His fielding % (97.0%) is at a career low by a notable margin as he on pace for most errors in a season despite missed time. Don't like errors as a metric. Fine, his range factor is also 2nd lowest for his career at second. His total zone rating is also on pace to be the lowest since 2013. Considering Astros have been shifting for years, that variable should be considered controlled. Altuve is still incredible still... but he has slipped defensively.

I am not complaining just like I don't complain about Alvarez's defense because he makes up for it in other areas, but weaknesses still need to be acknowledged.

 

Coming off of major knee surgery may have a little bit to do with that.

 

He’s not a butcher out there defensively. Hardly a liability.

 

The one thing Altuve has never done well is apply the tag. All the guy needs to do is straddle the bag and get the tag down, but how many times do you see him lunging to apply a tag to god knows where. Other than that, Altuve is Legend.

 

biggio got 3k hits which is a leg up on altuve! biggio never beefed over money. biggio just played the game day in and day out.

 

Biggio was overrated due to his "versatility" and longevity. He never produced when it mattered, and his chase for 3,000 hits is a reflection of:
1) How short sighted team ownership was, going for a cash grab in "the chase for 3,000" in lieu of continuing to develop a pipeline of talent
2) Biggio's self-serving nature, as he was 5 years past his expiration date, and happy to take the pay check at the expense of younger prospects.

Biggio to me was one of the key cogs in our slow and steady descents into a 100 loss franchise. They need to add a bust of his face plant of Tal's Hill to immortalize his true legacy.

 

Bagwell wasn't much better...it's pretty amazing those two combined for only four homers in 70+ playoff games. I grew up and idolized both of them but looking back they couldn't get the job done and both could be labeled chokers. People bash Harden for his playoff performances but he's 100X better as a playoff performer than Biggio and Bagwell were.

 

Unfortunately I agree with this and echoed the same thing...albeit I used softer words.

 

2004 and 2005 at least weren't horrific...

 

But he was once deservedly a gold glover... there is a noticeable drop-off but not enough for me to compare him to the As infield when Bregman is batting.

 

That was 99.9% on team ownership/leadership and 0.1% on Biggio. He owed those "prospects" nothing. Whatever post-prime role he had on the team was at the discretion of the team. And c'mon, you think he's not gonna cash dem checks?

 

Has Altuve beefed over money?

 

What "prospects"? I do remember people b****ing to high heaven that he was blocking Chris Burke. That argument was not sound, at the time and in hindsight.