When the Houston Astros found themselves matched with the New York Yankees for the American League Championship Series, Jose Altuve took a question about the race for the AL Most Valuable Player Award: Should he win, or should the Yankees' Aaron Judge?
Altuve praised Judge's humility and marveled at his prodigious power. "Maybe in another life," Altuve mused, "I want to be Aaron Judge and hit all those homers."
Of course, by that time, Altuve had already hit three home runs in a playoff game, and he would soon field the final ground ball of the season to clinch the first World Series title in Astros history. But Altuve insisted that Judge should be the MVP.
"Because he hit a lot of homers, a lot of RBIs, he got on base a lot, and I like the way he plays," Altuve said. "If I was a GM, I'd want him on my team because he plays the right way and he's very humble."
So is Altuve, who was too humble to acknowledge what voters from the Baseball Writers' Association of America saw in him. They named him the league's MVP on Thursday, honoring his consistent, all-around excellence and capping a dream season.
Altuve collected 27 of 30 first-place votes, with Judge -- who won the AL Rookie of the Year Award on Monday -- placing second.
In the National League, the Miami Marlins' Giancarlo Stanton took the honor, with the Cincinnati Reds' Joey Votto the runner-up. Stanton and Votto each received 10 first-place votes, and Stanton edged Votto by just 2 points in the closest MVP vote since 1979.
The Astros, who began in 1962 as the expansion Colt .45s, have just one other MVP in their history, Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell in 1994. Bagwell's Astros reached the World Series in his final season, 2005, but it was Altuve's team that finally led the franchise all the way.
Listed at just 5 foot 6 inches, Altuve long ago shed the label of a curiosity -- he is the game's best pure hitter, leading the AL in hits in each of the last four seasons while capturing three batting titles. His .346 average this year was a career high, and he also set career highs in on-base percentage (.410), slugging percentage (.547) and runs scored (112), while hitting 24 home runs, driving in 81 runs and stealing 32 bases.
Judge, meanwhile, led the AL in home runs (52) and runs (128) to go with 114 RBI. He also led in walks (127) and strikeouts (208), embodying the all-or-nothing ethos of many modern hitters. Judge's slow start to the second half of the season (a .179 average from mid-July through the end of August) probably hurt him compared to Altuve, who hit between .339 and .353 in every month of the season.
In the NL, Stanton prevailed on the strength of his 59 home runs and 132 RBI, which led the major leagues. The home run total was the highest in the majors since baseball began testing for steroids in 2003. Stanton led the NL in slugging for the third time, but this was his first season with more than 37 home runs; injuries have often kept him from playing a full schedule.
He is the first MVP winner in the 25 seasons of the Marlins, a franchise in transition whose new ownership group -- which includes chief executive Derek Jeter -- is trying to trade Stanton and his exorbitant contract. Stanton has 10 years and $295 million remaining on his record 13-year, $325 million deal, which includes a full no-trade clause.
Despite that clause, which would allow Stanton to control his destination, Jeter said at the owners' meetings Wednesday that he had not yet spoken to his star slugger. Moving Stanton is just part of the reconstruction plan for the Marlins, whose last winning season was 2009, the year before Stanton's major league debut.
Stanton made the All-Star team in July and served as ambassador for the game, which was held at Marlins Park. But he vaulted into the MVP race -- and raised his trade value -- in August, when he launched 18 home runs and hit .349. He hit just .245 with eight home runs the rest of the way, but the overall statistics were too compelling for voters to ignore.
Only five players had reached 59 home runs in a season before Stanton, beginning with Babe Ruth in 1921 and 1927, then Roger Maris in 1961. From 1998 through 2001 -- a period of rampant steroid use in the majors -- three players cleared that plateau a total of six times: Sammy Sosa three times, Mark McGwire twice and Barry Bonds in 2001, when he smashed a record 73.
Stanton said this summer that he considered Maris -- who topped Ruth with 61 home runs in 1961 -- to be the true record-holder. He reiterated that opinion in late September, when he also said he was not distracted by trade rumors.
"Honestly, I've seen just about everything around here," Stanton said then. "So I'm not worried. I'm literally just worried about tomorrow, the next hour. I know how everything works around here, so I'm not surprised and not worried about two months from now or the offseason. I'll just be ready when I need to be."
Sports on 11/17/2017