He was telling Beltran in the off season how he wants to hit over 400. Kind of glad we have this era's Tony Gwynn on our team.
I like how altuve digs a foxhole when he goes to the plate. His walk up song has been the same one since 2016, "kygo". He has the longest streak with the same song according to sources* sources=me.
A nice article on Altuve's hot July and MVP chances... http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/jose-altuves-historic-july-and-his-mvp-momentum/ Excerpt Jose Altuve is a conventional contender for the MVP award, but at the same time, he really isn’t. As the best player on the best team in the American League — by a fairly large margin — Altuve checks off the two biggest boxes some voters use when filling out the ballot. He’s also a bit non-traditional, as he doesn’t hit a whole lot of homers or drive a ton of runners in. While he doesn’t have the typical power numbers of an MVP-winner, his overall line and overall value are immense, and he just pulled off one of the best hitting months of the last half-decade.
Altuve has had the better season, he's hotter, and he's on the better team. If he doesn't get it this year, it's not likely to ever happen and image wins. Judge is slumping hard. All that said, the game is entertainment and marketing so it won't bother me however it goes. I would like that MVP on his HOF plaque though.
Even with his slump, Judge has the higher OPS. But beyond that, what does "he's hotter" have anything to do with it, especially in a random month like July? If he's hotter in September, that's going to influence voters, but there's a long way to go between now and then. No idea who will be the better player at the end of the year, and Altuve not winning it this year doesn't mean "image wins". It could simply mean the better player won, depending on how the season ends.
You answered your own question on hotter. It matters. They need a way to differentiate and it counts. Like it or not. Judge hit the wall. Altuve is slugging.
Altuve, Judge, and Trout all projected to be about as valuable. If Judge and Altuve provide near the same value to end of the year, it will be a toss up between them. Trout's only chance is to be the freeze and just flt out smoke Judge and Altuve until end of the year. Sale is the wild card.
