Jose Altuve sets Astros record for hits before All Star break

All Star second baseman Jose Altuve set the Astros franchise record for hits prior to the all star break with a pair of singles, one on an overturned call, last night.  His 124 hits are a new record, breaking the previous record of 123 set in 1973 by Bob Watson.

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Let that sink in for a moment.  The Astros have not always been bad.  In fact, they have been quite good at times in their history despite never having made won a World Series.

They have had some good players come through as well.  Hall of Famer Joe Morgan was in started his career in Houston.  Hall of Famer Eddie Mathews hit his 500th home run as a member of the Astros.  Jose Cruz, Cesar Cedeno, Jimmy Wynn, Jeff Bagwell, and Craig Biggio all called Houston home for several years.

In fact, Altuve joins Morgan and Biggio as the only Astros second baseman to make an All Star team.

Biggio is the Astros’ single season hits record holder with 210 set in 1998.  Even he didn’t have this many hits before the break.

Altuve still has five hits to go to extend his franchise record. He also stole his 39th base of the season already, which puts him only behind Gerald Young (47) for most steals before the break in team history.

If Altuve can keep up the pace in the second half of the season, he will challenge Biggio’s franchise hit record.  He is also on pace for 70 steals, which would break Gerald Young’s club record of 65 set in 1988.