AL rival manager gave high praise in comparing Astros slugger to a Hall of Famer

If one thing has been constant for years now, it is that rivals of the Houston Astros are reluctant (at best) to give their players any praise. Ever since the sign-stealing scandal, every accomplishment by any Astros player or team simply has to be ill-gotten gains somehow, regardless of how little actual sense that makes.

It is honestly kind of tiresome, but if it were the Yankees or Rangers that got caught...we would probably feel the same way. Sadly, no amount of trash can banging can make Giancarlo Stanton's contract look like a good deal.

One exception to that rule was made recently, but it came from a fairly understandable source. During the Astros' sweep of the Red Sox last weekend, Boston manager and former Houston bench coach Alex Cora had high praise for Yordan Álvarez. When asked about Álvarez's success against the Red Sox in the series, Cora went as far to say that Álvarez is the closest thing to David Ortiz in the league right now.

Red Sox's Alex Cora compares Yordan Álvarez to David Ortiz

Anyone associated with the Red Sox, even a former Astros coach, comparing any player to David Ortiz is no small deal. Ortiz put together a 20-year Hall of Fame career filled with tons of production and huge moments during a period when Boston finally started winning championships. He is revered in Boston, and comparisons to him are not handed out freely.

However, at least on a rate basis, comparing Álvarez to Ortiz isn't all that crazy. They are both hulking lefty sluggers and Álvarez's career line of .298/.391/.583 and 30+ homers a year is right in line with Ortiz's .286/.380/.552 with similar power numbers (although Big Papi had a higher peak, at least for now).

The trick, of course, is for Álvarez to stay healthy (which he has certainly had some struggles with) and keep this pace up for well over another decade to even realistically get into that conversation. Álvarez is showing out in 2024 to be sure, but keeping up this pace for two decades is what separates very good players from the ones in Cooperstown. Still, it is nice that one of Houston's rivals recognized Álvarez's game instead of recycling tired insults.

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