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The once and future All-Star

We made what has become our annual June trip to Minute Maid Park the other night, courtesy of our thoughtful son-in-law, to see my Astros play the Atlanta Braves. It didn't turn out too well for the Astros that night. We weren't able to bring them any luck, but they bounced back the next day, beating the Braves 6-1.

They actually seemed pretty flat in their play that night, but perhaps that was due to the pitching that they faced. One guy on the team, though, is never flat. Winning or losing, he's always hustling and it shows in his results. He's leading the major leagues in hits and in number of games with more than one hit. He's also leading the American League in stolen bases and is near the top in batting average. In the field, he's only had two errors all year. About the only statistic where he isn't among the leaders is home runs. He only has two, but that may be related to his physical stature - at 5'6" he's the shortest man in baseball. He only plays like he's 6'2".

His name is Jose Altuve and this is his third full year in the major leagues. He's already been an All-Star once and he seems destined to be one again this year. Of course, since he plays in Houston and the All-Star voting by fans is essentially a popularity contest, he's only fourth in the voting so far, but even if the fans don't vote him in, the players almost certainly will. If they don't, surely the manager will pick him because somebody from the Astros has to go and who else is more deserving?

If he doesn't get to go, it won't be my fault. I've voted for all the members of my family, using their email addresses. So, we've added over four hundred votes to his total!

Voting continues until July 3, so if you haven't voted yet, you, too, can vote for Jose Altuve and help make him an All-Star again.  Just access the online ballot and follow the prompts. (Unless you are a member of my family in which case - trust me - you've already voted. No voter fraud rules apply here.)
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