HOUSTON -- Astros second baseman Jose Altuve has never been one to enjoy talking too much about himself, and he said Friday he wouldn't vote for himself, either. When asked prior to Game 1 of the American League Championship Series presented by Camping World who he would vote for to win the 2017 AL Most Valuable Player Award, Altuve said Yankees slugger Aaron Judge.
"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 want him on my team because he plays the right way and he's very humble."
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Altuve and Judge are the front-runners for the AL MVP Award, which will be announced next month, and a case could be made for both.
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Altuve won his third career and second consecutive batting title by hitting .346, and he reached 200 hits for the fourth consecutive year. He also hit 24 homers, drove in 81 runs and stole 32 bases. In the AL, Altuve tied for second in runs (112) and finished third in on-base percentage (.410), third in stolen bases (32), tied for third in OPS (.957), fifth in total bases (.323), sixth in slugging (.547) and tied for ninth in doubles (39).
"I talked to [Altuve] a little bit," Judge said. "What a great guy. You see what he does on a baseball field, the type of person that he is, the passion that he has for the game. It's pretty fun to watch."
Judge led the AL in runs (128), home runs (52) and walks (127), and he ranked second with 114 RBIs, a .422 on-base percentage and a .627 slugging percentage. He also led the league in strikeouts (208) while batting .284. Altuve's admiration for Judge runs deeper than stats.
"Obviously, he's really strong," Altuve said. "He hits the ball way farther than anybody in the big leagues, all his homers. He plays good defense, he did everything to win the MVP in the regular season. But what I like the most about him is how humble he is. I met him in the All-Star Game and he couldn't believe he was there. He was like, 'Wow, this is awesome.' And I was like, 'Yeah, but I came here to watch you hit, you know, and I'm happy to be with you.'
"And he was so humble and was like, 'No, no, no, I'm happy to be here with you guys.' And if he wins the MVP, I think that it couldn't happen to a better guy, because he works really hard and I like the way he plays. … I was like, 'Wow, this guy is so good and he's so humble about it.' And maybe in another life I want to be Aaron Judge and hit all those homers."