Congrats on 200 hits Altuve! This guy is putting up Hall of Fame numbers and MIGHT go down as a better player than Craig Biggio. Let's look at his career numbers and compare them to Biggio's through their first 5 seasons. Altuve: 25 years old 3 All-Star appearances 1 Postseason appearance 668 Games 2721 At-Bats 341 Runs 830 Hits 162 Doubles 14 Triples 36 Home Runs 226 RBIs 169 Stolen Bases .305 Batting Average Biggio: 26 years old 2 All-Star appearances 0 Postseason appearances 645 Games 2,280 At-Bats 306 Runs 624 Hits 106 Doubles 12 Triples 30 Home Runs 192 RBIs 109 Stolen Bases .274 Batting Average As you can see, Altuve has better numbers in ALL categories, it's insane. And he's a year younger then Biggio through 5 seasons! If Altuve continues to produce and stay healthy, we might have another HoF second baseman from this franchise...and he might possibly be the best.
He has almost 500 more at bats than Biggio did from your analysis, above. So some of the cumulative stats don't mean a lot. But I had this discussion with my son yesterday....Altuve is likely the better hitter, assuming he can continue to play along a career trajectory you'd expect from someone who has started like this.
Biggio did not make the HOF because of his first 5 years performance, but rather the next 10 years after his first 5 years.
His BA is over 30 points higher, so his hits are at least proportionally greater than Biggio, but yes, most of the stats are a little inflated due to more ABs. Biggio was my favorite player growing up, but Altuve is almost at his level to me. Just so exciting to have another great 2B in an Astros uniform, for hopefully 10 more years.
You forgot they key HBP statistic... also consider Altuve isn't going to spend his prime in the Astrodome or started his career as a catcher.
Yeah, it's nice in theory, but Biggio primarily played catcher for 4 of those first 5 years, hit lower in the order, different batting responsibilities, etc. From his 5th season on was when he became a perennial MVP candidate, hitting at the top of the order, stealing bases, getting more RBI opps. Altuve is at or near his peak in terms of hitting, which may or may not be HOF worthy over time. What he lacks is Biggio's supreme ability to get on base and set the table for the big bats behind him (and you conveniently left off your comparison). Biggio's lifetime OBP .363 vs. Altuve's .343, including .380+ during his prime. That's what made him a terror. Not to mention his Gold Glove defense later in his career. Not to denigrate Altuve, but he won't come close to Biggio's ability as a table setter or his defensive ability. 2nd best Astro 2B of all time if his career follows the normal path.
Altuve has been much better than Biggio to this point, but in Biggio's defense he had to hit in the dome and play catcher. Around this time in Biggio's career though, he was entering his superstar period. From 93-99 he was an absolute monster (.397 OBP, 116 Runs per year). I don't see Altuve keeping pace with that considering how little he walks. Having said that, if Altuve can continue to play a solid 2B, and post an 800+ OPS, that is a great player, just not quite peak Biggio great.
Remember when several people wanted to trade Altuve this year because we had Tony Kemp waiting in the wings? That was cool.
We aren't facing Kevin Brown, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz. I swear, those 90's team faced Cy Youngs almost every f**king start.
he is 25, biggio was 27 before taking it to a hall of fame level and by the late 90s could have easily been the best player in the league had he been a yankee. So we still have 2 seasons to see how far tuve can take it. to this point, altuve has been the better player. he was asked to play 2b not catcher so that argument is moot and you can't time travel to play in the rat infested dome. It's the here and the now. Altuve d0es needs to improve the walks. I think he can. Before this season, he was talking about increasing his power. he's driven. The reason why the charlie pallilos of the world have a hard time appreciating him is because altuve doesn't make sense to them. "he does what he wants with the bat",hinch. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ebsstu6ZjRY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> I think it was bagwell that said that within each game, he'd choose a specific at bat to take pitches. maybe altuve should do that.
The only thing altuve does better is get hits. Biggio had more power, drew more walks, played better d, and was faster.
That sure brings back some memories..those were the days when the Braves could trot out a #1 starter everyday. Rumor was anybody could go to Atlanta and drink Leo Mazzone's magic Kool Aid and win the CY young.
The fact that we can even compare the two is beautiful. We're lucky to have found Altuve (and lucky that he lied about his age).
Jose makes more contact. It's doubtful he surpasses Craig due to the things you mentioned, but Tuve could easily be the better postseason player.
That actually happened. Go back to the board in May and go read the weird things that were proposed. Worth mentioning: Altuve's splits on BA by month make a huge upward trend and show that his slow start was clearly outweighed by his strong finish.
