Two articles well worth reading in the December 11, 2017 Sports Illustrated honor Houstonians J. J. Watt and Jose Altuve as Sportspersons of the Year.

For those who took an early trip to Mars on the NASA/Space X Red Dragon and missed the aftermath of the 1000-year Houston flood,  diminutive (5’6″) Jose Altuve rocketed the Houston Astros to a World Series winning orbit.

According to Tom Verducci who wrote the story on Altuve, “There have been some 19,000 major league players. Only two of them 5’6″ or shorter ever had 1,000 hits and 75 homers: Altuve and Hall of Famer Hack Wilson, who was born in 1900.”

Four starters on the 2017 Little League Champions from Lufkin, Texas (Go! Panthers) are taller than Altuve.

In September 2006 the Astros invited Altuve to tryout. After the first day he wasn’t asked back. He was too short. Too little. Too young. 

His father told the 5′ 5″ 140 pound, 16-year-old to return. Don’t listen to them. Just play ball. Uninvited, Altuve returned birth certificate in hand and commenced to pound line drive after line drive.  He signed a free agent contract that evening.

After reaching the majors Altuve hit .276, .290 and .283 his first three years after which his father told him, “I think you can hit .320.”

The next year Altuve hit .341, winning the first of three batting titles. The power of a father’s belief. The power of a father’s words.

Altuve said:

“A lot of people tell me now I’m their inspiration. They say, ‘I don’t play baseball,’ and then they mention whatever–engineer, doctor, college student, high school student–but they’re hurt because for some reason people feel shame about themselves or embarrassed because they are short or skinny or fat or whatever. That was something I never had in me. I was short, but I was O.K. with it. I didn’t care. I still don’t care.”