Jose Altuve blasts a no-doubter on first ALDS pitch, elevating $163,000,000 Astros star in record books

For the seventh consecutive season, Jose Altuve and the Houston Astros are back in the postseason. Unsurprisingly, the team decided to start things off in a rather classic fashion.

On the first pitch of the game, Astros second baseman Jose Altuve clobbered a Bailey Ober fast ball deep to left field. It was the very first pitch of the 2023 ALDS between the Astros and the Minnesota Twins.

"Jose Altuve CRUSHES the 1st pitch he sees in the #ALDS!" - MLB

Ahead of the series, Altuve had already started to lay on the trash talk. It was directed against Minnesota Twins shortstop Carlos Correa, who departed the Astros after the 2021 season, opting to ink a deal with the Minnesota Twins.

Altuve, a World Series winner in both 2017 and 2022, is no stranger to clutch situations. The Venezuelan's 377-foot drive represents the 104th postseason hit of his career, advancing him to fourth place on the all-time leaderboard in the category. With 200 playoff hits, former New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter claims first spot.

"Jose Altuve moves to 4th all time in postseason hits!" - Talkin Baseball

For 138 days this season, the Astros trailed the Texas Rangers in the AL West division. However, after a strong August in which Altuve and company went 17-11, they reclaimed the divisional title for the seventh straight year in the final week of the season.

They adversaries, the Minnesota Twins, are in uncharted territory. After steamrolling the Toronto Blue Jays by a series score of 2-0 in the Wild Card Series, the Twins have advanced past the first round for the first time since 2002.

2023 was a year of turmoil for Altuve. On account of several injuries, the 33-year old only appeared in 90 games for the Astros, the lowest amount of games ever played in a full season of his career. In 2023, Altuve hit .311/.393/.522 with 17 home runs, 52 RBIs, and 14 stolen bases.

Jose Altuve knows when the postseason comes calling

Over his thirteen seasons playing in MLB, Altuve had appeared in no fewer than 92 games spread across 19 series. In the playoffs, Altuve is a .271 hitter with 78 home runs. These figures suggest nothing short of what we already know: Altuve is an absolute machine in October. If the Astros want to go for a repeat, then they know that Altuve will need to be firing on all cylinders.