3 takeaways from Houston Astros locker room after ALDS Game 2 win over Seattle Mariners
By Kevin Henry
Yordan Alvarez is the most feared MLB hitter right now
The 25-year-old Alvarez continued to build his postseason legacy on Thursday, going 1-for-3 and logging the game’s biggest hit, a two-run home run that once again wiped away a Seattle lead.
HE'S A BAD, BAD MAN. pic.twitter.com/zA0se6sQn0
— Houston Astros (@astros) October 13, 2022
However, it wasn’t just the home run that was impressive for Alvarez. It was also where the pitcher from Seattle starter Luis Castillo was located and what Alvarez did with the pitch, flicking it to left field and into the Crawford Boxes.
https://twitter.com/CodifyBaseball/status/1580675927314350082?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
“I’ve had him the last three years. I saw him from afar,” said Houston manager Dusty Baker, talking about the attributes that make Alvarez so dangerous. “His pitch selection and concentration and ability to use the whole field and not just be a slugger, but to be a hitter with slugger’s power.
“Like I tried to tell kids, you got to be a hitter first and then you can learn to slug if it’s in you. But no matter what you got to be a hitter first.”
Alvarez has shown he has developed into a hitter and a hitter who has proven he can perform on the biggest stage so far this postseason. In two games against the Mariners, Alvarez is 4-for-8 with a pair of home runs and seven RBI.
Those two homers, by the way, have made history.
Before today, nobody in baseball history had hit more than one go-ahead homer while trailing in the sixth inning or later of a postseason game, per @ESPNStatsInfo. Now, Yordan Álvarez has done it twice in two games.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 13, 2022
Very simply, he's the one of the best hitters on the planet.
“He’s a big boy. I call him Grande,” Baker smiled. “He comes up big. We love having him at the plate. He likes to be in the big moment. His concentration and discipline is way ahead of his years. We just love having him.”