Altuve reaches 1,000 hits at historic pace
Jose Altuve is adding to his MVP resume at a historically quick pace.
The All-Star second baseman became the fastest player in Houston Astros history to record 1,000 hits when he singled during the ninth inning of Tuesday's game against St. Louis.
The milestone hit - his third of the night - came in the 786th game of Altuve's career, and increased his league-leading total to 170 this season. Among active players, only Ichiro Suzuki needed fewer games (696) to reach 1,000 hits, and no Astros player accomplished the feat in his first six seasons.
From a more historical perspective, Altuve, who turned 26 in May, notched hit No. 1,000 in 45 fewer games than Pete Rose, baseball's all-time leader with 4,256 hits.
"I hope the people that are here and the people around him, and the people that get to watch him daily appreciate what he does and how he does it," manager A.J. Hinch told reporters after the game, according to MLB.com's Jordan Ray. "We're scratching the surface on what's possible."
Related: Who will be the next members of the 3,000-hit club?
Altuve's historic night further cemented his case to be an AL MVP candidate after improving his MLB-best average and OBP to .365 and .429, respectively. Perhaps most impressively, Altuve already has four more homers (19) than his previous career high set last year, and is second to David Ortiz in the American League with a .573 slugging percentage.
"He's pretty spectacular," said rookie Alex Bregman, who hit his first career homer Tuesday. "He's got to be the best player in baseball."
An All-Star for the third straight year and fourth time in his career, Altuve also has 26 steals and four triples this season, and entered Tuesday's game with 6.2 wins above replacement - the third-most in the majors.
(Video courtesy: MLB.com)