The Houston Astros are one of the more polarizing teams this season and in recent history. At the center of the franchise is second baseman Jose Altuve, who has continued to be a huge focal point of the Astros for the last decade.
With nine games left in the 2025 MLB regular season, the Astros' team leaders are coming to fruition. There have been a lot of injuries for the Astros this season, but still, Altuve is set to be a team leader in a few key statistics.
Jayson Stark of The Athletic recently pointed out that some incredible history could be made if Altuve stays where he is on the team leaderboards. Since he leads the Astros in home runs, as Stark mentions, if that holds, Altuve would become tied with two other players in MLB history who are listed as 5-foot-6 to lead the team in home runs.
Jose Altuve can make wild MLB history if he's the Astros' home run leader
"He can become the shortest man to lead any team in home runs since the 1930s!" Stark writes. "He'd be tied for the live-ball era record with two other 5-foot-6 guys: Heinie Mueller (1939 Phillies) and Hack Wilson (led the Cubs and Dodgers seven times)."
It's some wacky MLB history that Altuve can tie, but it's still very interesting and fun to root for as the season comes to a close. Altuve, the current Astros home run leader, has 26 home runs.
The next closest player behind Altuve at 26 home runs is Christian Walker at 23 home runs. After him, it's Yanier Diaz and Isaac Paredes (who was just activated off the injured list) at 19 home runs apiece.
With the lengthy absence of Yordan Alvarez and the struggles offensively for a lot of the Astros' offensive players, Altuve has managed to build a lead on the team home run leaderboards.
MORE: Astros' Yordan Alvarez ranks amongst all-time greats in this impressive stat
It also helps that Altuve is having his best home run season since 2022, when he finished with 28 home runs. Altuve has always been a decent power-hitter. In his big league career, he has 255 home runs, not as many as other players who've played 15 years, but still a very strong number, regardless.
With nine games to go, only Walker has a chance to surpass Altuve on the leaderboards. While Walker has been better since his rough start to the year, he's only hit two home runs in his last 19 games. He was also 0/11 across the Texas Rangers series.
Houston has a massive matchup against the Seattle Mariners over the weekend, and home runs from either Walker or Altuve would be welcome.
If nothing changes and the standings stay as they are, then Altuve will tie some incredible MLB history, as he'd become tied for the shortest player in the live-ball era to lead his team in home runs.
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