Astros: Jose Altuve, the next Craig Biggio?

Astros second baseman, Jose Altuve is on track to have some Craig Biggio-like career numbers.

Jose Altuve is nearing the midway point of his 26-year-old season and by most opinions, it has been his best season yet.  He has even been in some American League MVP conversations throughout the year.  If Altuve continues to put up the kind of numbers that he has for the first half of this season, it is not, to quote the Princess Bride, “inconceivable” to think that he will win the AL MVP.  He is slashing .357/.432/.572 with 46 RBI and 20 stolen bases through the first 79 games this year.

He is also showing some unprecedented power this season with 13 HR, putting him on pace to have 27 at the end of the year.  He hit 15 HR last year but had averaged just over seven in the first five seasons of his career.  Biggio hit 26 HR in 2005 and averaged 14.5 HR over his 20-year career.

Yes, Altuve is having a great 2016 campaign, but it is the career numbers that yield the most impressive results at this point.  The best way to show just how special a career he is having, is to compare his numbers to everyone’s favorite career Astro: Craig Biggio.

Biggio had the greatest career in an Astros uniform of anyone that has ever worn one.  The Hall of Famer finished his career with 3,060 hits (22nd on the all-time hits list), 668 doubles (5th all-time) and 285 times hit by pitch (1st in the modern era) with a career slash line of .281/.363/.433.

But through his 26-year-old season, Biggio had just 624 hits compared to Altuve’s 941.  Keep in mind that we are only halfway through the season and Altuve could easily finish this year with over 1,000 career hits.  Biggio did not reach the 1,000 hit mark until he was 29-years-old.  Also, Biggio had just one 200+ hit season, while Altuve has already accomplished that feat twice and is on pace to do it again this season.

More from Astros News

• Just how much better is the Houston Astros playoff rotation than the rest?
• Houston Astros: A Lineup Change to Spark Offense
• Astros prospect Hunter Brown throws 6 shutout innings in debut
• Always faithful Astros World Series champion Josh Reddick defends the title
• Michael Conforto declines Astros’ 2-year, $30 million offer

Biggio managed to appear in seven all-star games in his career, while Altuve has already been selected to three all-star teams and is in first in the fan voting for this year’s team.  Also, Biggio won five Silver Slugger Awards and four Gold Gloves.  Altuve has won two Silver Slugger Awards and one Gold Glove.

More from Climbing Tal's Hill

• Just how much better is the Houston Astros playoff rotation than the rest?
• Houston Astros: A Lineup Change to Spark Offense
• Astros prospect Hunter Brown throws 6 shutout innings in debut
• Always faithful Astros World Series champion Josh Reddick defends the title
• Michael Conforto declines Astros’ 2-year, $30 million offer

Now the question is, will Altuve be able to have the longevity and consistency in his career that Biggio had in his?  Biggio was able to keep up his high level of play for 20 years.  If Altuve were to play for that long and maintain the success he has shown so far, his numbers would look something like this (with Biggio’s career numbers alongside):

Next: Astros: What Should the Trade Deadline Look Like?

In Houston, there is no greater honor than to be compared to the organization’s only Hall of Fame representative and Altuve has earned every bit of that honor thus far.  All the way down to the way that they play, 100 percent all the time, Altuve can truly be put into the same category as Biggio.  These two players can certainly be considered two of the club’s brightest spots in its 54 years of existence.

**Statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com**