Indians bench coach Brad Mills named a young bull after AL batting champ Jose Altuve

Indians coach named a bull after Jose Altuve

By Mike Bertha

February 10, 2015

Before joining Terry Francona's Indians as a bench coach, Brad Mills was managing the Astros ... and a bunch of young bulls. Yes, like, actual bulls.

Mills grew up riding bulls in California, but gave it up to pursue a career in baseball. When he landed the gig managing the 'Stros in 2010, he saw Texas as the prime opportunity to get back into the game.

According to Cleveland.com:

Owners can buy a bull or create one through breeding. Mills said he enjoyed trying to create a champion. He studied the bloodlines of the bulls and of the dams and put them together to see what kind of bull they'd produce.

"That's fun," said Mills. "You try to find that athlete. You try to make that athlete."

Though Mills tried his hand at "making" that athlete, he purchased his most successful bull. Mills named him "Tuve" after now-reigning AL batting champion Jose Altuve.

The "other bull' was small, but quick and athletic. Mills named him Tuve after Jose Altuve, his 5-6, 175-pound second baseman on the Astros. Altuve won the AL batting title last season.

"Once we got started training and working with Tuve, he took off and became a championship bull," said Mills.

Said [former bull rider and rodeo promoter Bill] Jaynes, "He's probably the greatest bull I've ever trained."

As a two-year-old bull, Tuve earned $70,000 competing in Futurity events before Mills sold him for $25,000 (ain't bad considering he only invested $2,500 in the bull). The move to Cleveland and his son's new job made it tough for the father-son tandem to keep up with their hobby, but they still have part-ownership of three bulls. Just enough to keep them interested.

Now Jaynes owns Tuve and says the bull bucked a PBR rider in December and still has a shot at making the bigs.