On hypocritical heckling, resilience and brilliance

It looks like Venezuela’s Jose Altuve will remain persona non grata in the Big Apple for the rest of his career. Maybe even longer, judging by the boos he endured this week at Yankee Stadium every time his name was heard over the local amplification system before a at-bat. It’s clear that Yankees fans still can’t forgive the Astros for beating them in seven games in the 2017 American League Championship Series, according to them, shielded by the signature-stealing scheme that came to public light two years later and for which they earned the nickname Trashtros. But, in particular, they abhor the diminutive 5’11” Venezuelan middle infielder because, in addition to punishing them with the lumber, he won that season’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) distinction with 405 points ahead of the Yankees’ Aaron Judge (279). According to the Yankees and their fans, it felt like a robbery and Altuve is reminded of it at every turn. Every day I am amazed at the lack of memory or, rather, the selective memory of people. They do not forgive Altuve for something that not a few Major League players have said actively and passively that it happens in all MLB teams.

STEALING SIGNALS from the opponent is part of this century-old game and pretending that in the 21st century people steal signs in the same way they did in the late 19th or 20th century is just plain silly. However, Altuve’s case is more striking because the Yankees also stole signs using technology to their advantage. According to Rob Manfred’s letter to the Yankees detailing the illicit use of technology, the Mules committed violations that, according to players and staff, became commonplace in the sport after instant replay monitors were installed near the dugouts in 2014. As the saying goes: thief who steals thief, deserves a hundred years of forgiveness. Altuve, by the grace vested in me…I absolve you of all your sins. Yankees and your fans…go cry in the park and stop preaching morals in your underpants.

PITCHER MARK APPEL just starred in another story of resilience when he was finally able to make his debut in the Big Tent, after spending some nine long years chasing a goal that bore the sign of ballooning, failure and any adjective you can think of. And that’s because Appel wasn’t just a 2013 college draft pick, Appel was “The Chosen One,” as the Astros selected him with the No. 1 pick in the draft. A year earlier, Houston also had the No. 1 pick and selected one Carlos Correa. But Appel’s career has nothing to do with that of his illustrious predecessor. All hopes pinned on Appel faded in the minors until 2015, when he went to the Philadelphia Phillies as part of the package that brought Ken Giles to the Astros. Due to injuries and ineffectiveness, Appel left baseball in 2018 before returning to the Phillies organization in 2021. When we all thought the only highlight of his career would be on draft day 2013, well we were shocked when he finally made his major league debut on Wednesday, June 29, a game in which he pitched a scoreless inning against the Atlanta Braves. To put Appel’s effort and stamina in perspective: at 30 years and 349 days, he is the first overall selection in the June draft (since 1965) to make his MLB debut at an advanced age.

IT HAS BECOME customary to mention phenom Shohei Ohtani in this column. The Japanese two-way ballplayer has a peculiar tendency to surprise us both with the bat and by throwing smoke balls toward the plate. The latest of his exploits came on the mound, when he struck out 30 opponents without allowing a run in a span of three starts. Ohtani is the third pitcher in Angels history to achieve such a performance. In the team’s 62 seasons in the majors (1961-2022), only John Lackey and Nolan Ryan had been able to do so. And I’ll add more, only three other pitchers have done it in the last 10 years: Jacob deGrom, Chris Sale and Clayton Kershaw.