#MyFutureSelf: Why the Astros Jose Altuve Can’t Be Stopped

We all have goals. The Astros have goals. Even the least ambitious among us have things they want to accomplish. Whether you want to be successful in your career, have a happy marriage, or you want to dominate the hordes of 13-years olds on Playstation Network, you have some sort of goals.

Well, New Balance has goals too and they kicked off a new ad campaign the other day with the hashtag: #MyFutureSelf, in which they invited their athletes to write letters to their future selves. It looks like it’s going to be a pretty interesting campaign with several different components to it. The relevant part for Astros fans was when Jose Altuve, a New Balance athlete, tweeted a letter to his future self. After you read it for yourself, lets take a look at a couple important themes from his note. Take a look:

“Creating your legacy isn’t only what you do on the field, but also what you do of of it.”

Obviously, the Astros sent Altuve to the Bagwell-Biggio School of Baseball Leadership, because that is textbook stuff, right? Seriously though, this is backed up by the work he’s done within the local community as well as his native Venezuela. By all accounts, Jose Altuve is a guy that understands the responsibility of being a high profile player, and his opening line reflects that understanding pretty well. Being great is about more than just being good at baseball; it’s about being a leader in the clubhouse and in the community.

“Don’t be content with being average. Be better. Work harder.“

There are so many examples for this line that I could write an entire post! Lets just use the most recent one, though. Carlos Beltran wrote a guest piece for the Players Tribune recently (which if you haven’t read you must do it soon). Beltran specifically mentioned that Altuve couldn’t wait to talk baseball at dinner, because in his own words:

“Carlos,” he said, “I need to get better.”

If you are an Astros fan that should excite you…a lot. That was coming from a 4-time All-Star, 3-time Silver Slugger, 2-time AL Batting Champ, and a 2-time Gold Glove winner. He’s accomplished a lot in his 5 seasons but he’s not satisfied. Michael Jordan notoriously would pick a part of his game to improve each offseason. He’d then come back to training camp with a new weapon the rest of the league couldn’t stop. Physical ability is one thing, but the drive to improve is what separates the truly great players from the rest.

“Be an example to other young Latin players looking up to you. Lead the way. Be a role model.”

Correa has spoken publicly about how helpful Altuve has been since he arrived in the big leagues. Altuve requested that Correa’s locker be put next to his and since then, he’s had a front row seat. Correa’s “big brother” demonstrated his preparation and approach to the game. If the leader of your team is someone that is constantly pushing and working to improve, that sends a message to all of the younger guys.

“Size is not an obstacle. And this is why I am here.”

You have to love how he ties this all together. He reiterates that circumstances (size) shouldn’t hold anyone back, and that he is where he is because he didn’t allow his perceived limitations to keep him from doing what he wanted to do. He didn’t listen when everyone, including the Astros, told him he wasn’t big enough to play. Even when he achieved some success, he didn’t get comfortable or complacent. He isn’t satisfied with being a “nice” player. He aims to be even better than he was in 2016, and he’s telling his future self (and everyone else) that he’s not letting anything get in his way. As an Astros fan, this is the kind of news that gets you ready for spring training.

Next: Astros: How Many Position Players are Projected to be Above Average

Go get ’em, Altuve. You have the entire Astros fan base behind you!