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<\/p>\nBefore he became a superstar, Yordan Alvarez walked barefoot all day around Colombia, a countryside city within the large Cuban province of Las Tunas. He fished for tilapia in the Tana River and hunted doves that flew overhead. \u201cHaving a rifle back then was a luxury,\u201d Alvarez said last month through an interpreter.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we used to use slingshots. I was great at doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alvarez remains an avid outdoorsman who can afford more appropriate ammunition to hunt on Texas ranches. It is why he loves Houston, the city he continues to captivate. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of places to go hunting and fishing,\u201d he said, \u201cyou got the rivers and you have the oceans as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
The water is Alvarez\u2019s outlet, a place where he escapes from the excitement and chaos of his chosen profession.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I get on the boat,\u201d Alvarez said, \u201cthose are the hours that I\u2019m in my calmness and at peace.\u201d<\/p>\n
What Verlander’s retirement announcement says about him as a player<\/p>\n
Cody Stavenhagen<\/p>\n
It is difficult to tell a difference once Alvarez disembarks. His constant state is somewhere between stoic and serene, whether he\u2019s struck out four times or just slugged another of his American League-high 29 home runs. Alvarez\u2019s Houston Astros teammates stand in awe of his accomplishments. The man himself appears almost unmoved.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a lost art, honestly,\u201d closer Josh Hader said. \u201cEverybody shows emotion differently. Some people will MF you. People show emotions differently. But the way that he handles himself and goes about his business is definitely a lost art.\u201d<\/p>\n
Baseball rewards stability, but is still amid an era of encouraging its players to show personality. Belts, chains and cleats have become customized. Bat flips are en vogue. Alvarez does not participate in any of this pomp, but by not doing so, he demonstrates the underlying theme. Being yourself is encouraged.<\/p>\n
So this is Alvarez: the most stone-faced superstar of a sport he makes seem simple. He shuns the spotlight, even if it still finds him every night. He would rather spend time hunting, fishing or traveling with his wife, Monica, and their two young children. Manager Joe Espada once described Alvarez as \u201cshy,\u201d even if nothing about his swing or stature suggests it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s funny,\u201d former teammate Mauricio Dub\u00f3n said, \u201cbecause he doesn\u2019t know he is Yordan Alvarez.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone else is well aware. No All-Star received more votes on the player ballot than Alvarez, who will start next week\u2019s Midsummer Classic at designated hitter for the American League. Asked last weekend if he looked forward to seeing anyone specific at next week\u2019s festivities in Philadelphia, Juan Soto mentioned one person by name.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t wait to see Yordan Alvarez,\u201d said the New York Mets\u2019 $760 million superstar, \u201cand try to pick his head and see what he is thinking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Agust\u00edn Alvarez throws right-handed and hits left-handed. So does the son he helped teach to swing a bat. After Agust\u00edn did, Yordan Alvarez dreamed of playing for the Cuban national team. A nearby baseball academy in Colombia helped Yordan learn the game, which he felt \u201cmore inclined\u201d to try over some other extracurriculars. His father\u2019s passion for it had a profound impact.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never thought I\u2019d be playing Major League Baseball,\u201d Alvarez acknowledged.<\/p>\n
Still, at age 15, Alvarez defected from Cuba. He took detours through Haiti and the Dominican Republic before arriving in the United States. Alvarez signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but before he could play a game, got shipped to the Astros for middle reliever Josh Fields. Few trades in recent history have aged worse.<\/p>\n
Both Agust\u00edn and Alvarez\u2019s mother, Mailyn Cadogan Reyes, were able to come to the United States before the 2022 postseason. They bore witness to both of their son\u2019s signature moments \u2014 a walk-off home run in the ALDS and a World Series-clinching home run in Game 6. Agust\u00edn is \u201cthe closest thing to me,\u201d Alvarez said, and has a simple outlook on the sport his son is dominating.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe doesn\u2019t (get mad) at me when I go 0-for-4, he just wants me to not go out of the zone,\u201d Alvarez said. \u201cHe always harped on that, to not swing at bad pitches and go out of the zone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alvarez\u2019s career chase rate is 27.2 percent. The major-league average is 28.6. His prodigious power sometimes overshadows Alvarez\u2019s prowess as a patient, pure hitter. Alvarez\u2019s career whiff rate is 3 percent lower than the major-league average. His lifetime batting average is .299. Teammate Mike Burrows once called him \u201ca contact hitter with the most power in the league.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n Yordan Alvarez hit a two-run walk-off home run against the Rays on July 4. (Tim Warner \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
\u201cPure hitter, he\u2019s the best I\u2019ve ever seen,\u201d said Jose Altuve, the current face of Houston\u2019s franchise. \u201cNobody (is) better than him. He\u2019s amazing. I\u2019m really happy he plays for us and not against us.\u201d<\/p>\n
In May, as the Astros dipped 11 games below .500, speculation to the contrary started to simmer. Whether the team should trade Alvarez to kickstart a teardown became a popular topic of discussion everywhere but here. Owner Jim Crane is not keen on overseeing another rebuild. Dealing Alvarez would all but guarantee one.<\/p>\n
Still, Alvarez sought clarity. After seeing some of the chatter, he approached team officials who, according to Alvarez, \u201ctold me they weren\u2019t going to trade me no matter what happened.\u201d General manager Dana Brown soon echoed that sentiment to reporters in early June.<\/p>\n
Alvarez has two more seasons remaining on a six-year, $115 million extension he signed in 2022. Giving him another one is a far more likely outcome than any trade. Doing so may require Crane giving the richest contract of his ownership tenure, while also ensuring Alvarez never plays for another team in his major-league career.<\/p>\n
Is that Alvarez\u2019s desired outcome?<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d he said, \u201cof course.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alvarez seems to play this sport in slow motion when everyone around him is sped up. Teammates and coaches insist his ability to adjust between at-bats is one of his most underappreciated traits. Pitchers that get him out with one offering can\u2019t do it again.<\/p>\n
Alvarez always attempts to pass along his observations, but according to Espada, \u201cSometimes we have to remind him, \u2018Hey, dude, the game comes much easier to you than some other guys.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Alvarez\u2019s mere presence is masking curious roster construction and resource allocation, making this flawed Astros team a playoff contender. According to Baseball Reference, Alvarez finished his first 92 games worth 3.9 wins above replacement. Houston\u2019s 13 other position players with at least 90 plate appearances accumulated 9.9.<\/p>\n
Alvarez has gone hitless in 30 of Houston\u2019s first 95 games, a stretch in which the Astros are 11-19 and averaging 2.56\u00a0runs.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe loves other people to get recognition, but he\u2019s the heart and soul of the team,\u201d Dub\u00f3n said. \u201cHe\u2019s a quiet leader. But when he talks, everyone stays quiet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rarely does Alvarez\u2019s voice rise or disposition change, steadiness for which so many in this sport strive, but only few can ever achieve.<\/p>\n
\u201cTactical is the word,\u201d first baseman Christian Walker said. \u201cHe is slowing the moment down. He\u2019s calculated, feeling sequences. It\u2019s not low energy like I don\u2019t care. It\u2019s intentionally taking the emotions out of it to be the best version of himself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alvarez has arrived at that apex. He is mounting the most serious run at a Triple Crown since Miguel Cabrera last captured one in 2012. Three games remain before the All-Star break, and Alvarez leads the American League in two of the three categories: home runs and runs batted in. Alvarez\u2019s .310 batting average trails only Tampa Bay\u2019s Yandy D\u00edaz\u2019s.<\/p>\n
Alvarez has the major-league lead in on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS and win probability added, an advanced metric that quantifies a club\u2019s chances of winning by calculating the magnitude of each plate appearance.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is probably the best first half I\u2019ve seen from a position player at the major-league level,\u201d said Espada, a man who coached in the New York Yankees organization for three seasons before witnessing the entirety of Houston\u2019s golden era.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe game has evolved and it\u2019s become more difficult to hit now than it was when I first started coaching. How consistent and how good he is, sometimes you scratch your head wondering how he makes it look this easy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alvarez\u2019s 29 home runs before the All-Star Game matched Lance Berkman\u2019s 24-year-old franchise record. Alvarez is more than halfway to smashing Jeff Bagwell\u2019s single-season mark of 47 that has stood since 2000.<\/p>\n
Bagwell and Altuve remain the only two MVP winners in the Astros\u2019 65-season history. Alvarez is aiming to be the third, but must battle a perception that neither of the other two encountered. Only one designated hitter has ever won an MVP \u2014 but he is best known for his two-way prowess.<\/p>\n
Still, Shohei Ohtani being the National League\u2019s unanimous winner in 2024 \u2014 when he didn\u2019t pitch while recovering from his second elbow surgery \u2014 has helped to shift this debate in a designated hitter\u2019s favor, Alvarez acknowledged.<\/p>\n
\u201cOhtani already opened the doors for winning the MVP award being a DH and not playing the field,\u201d Alvarez said, while adding it is difficult to discern the opinion of 30 voters.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think about that type of stuff. It\u2019s a long season, so I don\u2019t want to think about that stuff. The pressure I put on myself is more of trying to be better. If I just go out there and play, the numbers are going to come by themselves. And then, at the end of the season, if the numbers are there, I\u2019ll have the chance to win that award.\u201d<\/p>\n
And, perhaps, many more.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s the best player I\u2019ve ever seen in my life,\u201d Hader said.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Will Sammon contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Before he became a superstar, Yordan Alvarez walked barefoot all day around Colombia, a countryside city within the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":789342,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558],"tags":[64,63,5163,591,85],"class_list":["post-789341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-houston-astros","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/789341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=789341"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/789341\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/789342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=789341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=789341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=789341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}