Deep Dive: 3 stats that prove Astros are the Yankees kryptonite

Astros: Jose Altuve is fine playing villain

Yankee fans love to hate him, but Altuve thrives off the hate.  Who else signs autographs for kids pre-game, listens to noise from those kid’s parents all game long and blasts the first pitch over the left field wall?

Sure it was only four games, but let’s face it, Yankee fans have seen this before and no one faces the intensity of white-hot hatred more than Altuve, who responded by slashing .357/.526/.929 with 2 home runs, 4 runs, 2 stolen bases and a 296 wRC+.

At 32 years old Altuve has his best HR/PA number of his career (6.0%) and is crushing fastballs to the tune of .317/.458/.692 with 13 home runs, while only striking out on the pitch 14 times.

For Yankee fans it must seem like Altuve bats in three spots in the lineup as every time you turn around he’s at the plate doing something to agitate the Yankee faithful while giving Astros fans a buzz.

Aaron Boone may want to let his pitchers know that Altuve is swinging at 43% of the first pitches he sees, but the Yankee fans face a real dilemma when Altuve marches to the plate.  Do they continue to heckle and harass the All-Star second baseman, take lessons from Reggie Jackson or  keep quiet and pray he doesn’t single handily swat their hopes and dreams into the left field stands?