AL DIVISION SERIES: MARINERS VS ASTROS

October 10, 2022

Jose Altuve

Minute Maid Park

Houston Astros

Workout Day Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: First question for José.

Q. Can you go into how much more of a complete player Álvarez is maybe than he gets credit for, just with his defense and kind of his plate discipline and kind of how good of a hitter he is?

JOSÉ ALTUVE: I think he's way better than what everybody thinks. He shows that every day. Obviously, he's a great hitter. His numbers shows that.

But he's actually made some good plays on the other side, left field, and he can run. I saw him scoring from second many times and from first. For me, he's obviously one of the best overall players out there.

Q. I know you've obviously been in the playoffs a lot of times. Do you still get excited and amped up this time of year to have another chance at chasing a title?

JOSÉ ALTUVE: No, a hundred percent. I don't think it matters how many playoffs you have, it's always going to be like, kind of like opening day. You always get excited. You feel a little anxious to go out there and play and win some games.

So, yeah, I think I'm excited, the whole team is excited, and that's a good thing.

Q. After playing beside Correa for all those years, how do you think Peña has stepped into his role and how have you seen him develop and mature throughout the season?

JOSÉ ALTUVE: No, he did really good. I think 21, 22 homers in his rookie season. That's amazing. He played good defense. He wants more. He wants to learn. He wants to get better. For me, that's all that matters. I know he's going to go out there and give everything he has and he's going to help us to win some games.

Q. This is your 12th year here, seven out of the last eight years in the playoffs. Have you thought about, especially with some of the other guys who have come and gone, have you thought about at this point trying to only play for the Astros? Would you like to have this be the only team that you play for in Major League Baseball? How do you view that as you get into the second stage of your career?

JOSÉ ALTUVE: No, absolutely. This is my second home. I was born in Venezuela, but Houston is, like I said, my second home. The city, the fans, my teammates, the whole organization is just amazing. Hopefully, I want to stay here all my career.

Q. We have seen some signage around here, unfinished business. Obviously that's the goal, to win another title. But you need 11 wins to get there. Can you take us through maybe the excitement of launching this journey but still realizing it's just the start of a process?

JOSÉ ALTUVE: No, absolutely. I think we're excited about tomorrow, but we also know we got to play one game at a time. It's 11 more wins, but you can't think too far. It's just about tomorrow, the first step, and then we can go from there.

Q. Sometimes in the playoffs, it's not about the best team with the best record. You saw the Mets yesterday get knocked off. Sometimes it's about the hottest team, who's peaking at the right time, right? You see the Mariners first time in the playoffs for 21 years, they have their momentum going. How dangerous can this team be?

JOSÉ ALTUVE: I think you said it, it's the team that plays better, not always the best team is going to win it all. Yeah, the Mariners are a good team, obviously. That's why they're here, that's why they won in two games in Toronto.

Yeah, we got to play a good game against them and just make the plays right and hit and try to score more runs than them, and just go to the next series.

Q. (Question in Spanish.)

JOSÉ ALTUVE: We're talking about World Series and I basically said that we need to win tomorrow before thinking beyond that. Obviously, we all want to win the World Series, but I think the most important game we have right now is tomorrow, and then we're going to go from there.

Q. An obvious question, but what does it mean to you and your teammates to have Justin Verlander out there in Game 1?

JOSÉ ALTUVE: It means a lot. He's just amazing the way he pitched, the way he came back from injury. He's the right guy to have out there in Game 1 and we feel pretty confident about him and we know what he's capable to do. We all know he's going to go out there and be him.

Q. At the start of spring training we asked your shortstop what it meant to make his own name, to not be Carlos Correa's replacement, but to show his own identity. How have you guys helped him through that so that he doesn't have to worry about trying to live in Carlos Correa and just be Peña?

JOSÉ ALTUVE: I think he's making his own name. As a team we have a little easier with him because he's a guy that shows up every day open to learn. He is probably the most humble guy you can ever play with. For me just the fact that he really wants to get better. He wants to learn. He cares about the game. It's just everything you need from a guy like him to get better and to play the way he's playing right now.

Q. You were at the top of the league as far as leadoff home runs. How would you describe what it's like to jump on a pitcher early and help set that tone? And what can you share about maybe your approach early in the ball game like that?

JOSÉ ALTUVE: I think that's the kind of player I've been all my career. Swinging early and late and in the middle. I like to swing the bat. Just try to get one pitch that I can really hit.

I don't even try to hit homers, I just try to hit the ball hard and get on base. I have great hitters behind me. I got Jeremy, Yordan, Tucker, Brantley, Yuli. You can go all the way there. So no, I feel pretty comfortable about just getting on base and swinging the bat any time.

Q. Every team has a different personality. You've been here with so many different groups. How is this team's personality heading into the playoffs maybe as opposed to some other ones? And what have you gathered about this group this year that could lead to this successful run?

JOSÉ ALTUVE: Yeah, even though it's a different group from a couple years ago we still have the good chemistry, the good relationship. Like every year we only talk about winning games. It doesn't matter who is going to be the hero tomorrow or the next day. We really need to put things together and win games. That's all we're thinking right now. We have good players. I think we can make it happen.

Q. You've competed against the Mariners your whole career. You've seen the Seattle Mariners take on a lot of different forms, a lot different players. This year has been the best Mariners team that you've competed against. I'm curious, from your advantage point, what has made them the best team that you've seen since you've been an Astro?

JOSÉ ALTUVE: Absolutely. This team, this year's team is the best I ever play against. They look good, obviously.

I think what I see is a lot of union. A lot of chemistry going on there. I think they're playing kind of like our same game. Not be the heros, just play to win. And when you play to win good things happens. And they're showing what they can do lately. Obviously just to get this far in the season you have to play the way they're playing.

Q. How much does now being in the playoffs changes inside the clubhouse? Because there is a great camaraderie there. Now it changes a little bit, it's a little more serious or it's the same way like any other season game?

JOSÉ ALTUVE: No, I think it's -- I can let you know tomorrow -- but we all, the same guys are right there. Just happy. We know this game means probably more. It's not a long season, it's just five to three games. So we got to go out there and do everything we can to make it happen. Yeah, you need to be focused since pitch 1. But I think our attitude is the same. We're just hanging around and talking about how can we win tomorrow.