Astros’ Altuve receives his MVP trophy
MVP collects trophy; Verlander, Springer, Correa also honored
NEW YORK — Since the calendar has flipped to 2018, and especially in the two weeks after they made one of the offseason’s marquee trades, the conversation around the Astros has shifted from their first World Series championship to their upcoming title defense.
But Sunday night’s 95th annual dinner held by the New York chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America served as one last winter ceremony to celebrate the best of 2017 before spring training begins in two weeks. A who’s who of baseball’s stars filled a banquet hall at a Times Square hotel, where each of the sport’s major yearly awards officially was presented.
Jose Altuve sat between National League Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer and Carlos Correa, his Astros double-play partner, on a nearly 30-seat dais at the front of the room. Near the end of the three-hour dinner, just after his National League counterpart Giancarlo Stanton was honored, the Astros’ superstar second baseman received the 2017 American
League MVP trophy he had won two months earlier.
“I had like 30 minutes to think about what I could say, but I’ve already forgotten everything, so I’ve got to start over,” Altuve joked to begin his two-minute speech. “First of all, I want to thank God for the opportunity to be here today, and I feel extremely blessed. I want to thank all of the Astros organization for helping me to get to this point.
“I want to thank my wife, my beautiful wife — she said I had to say beautiful — but I really need to thank my teammates, too. They were the ones who made me an MVP.”
A thank-you to dad
Altuve singled out Correa for “helping me get all of those hits.” He thanked his family back home in Venezuela, particularly mentioning his father, Carlos, who celebrated a birthday Sunday.
Through thanking his dad, Altuve touched on his incredible decade-long journey from being an overlooked 5-5 teenager in Venezuela to his crowning as the AL’s best player.
“I want to thank him for telling me to come back the first time that I went to an Astros tryout and they sent me back home,” Altuve said. “I was like, ‘Dad, we can try another team.’ He was like, ‘No. No. You’ve got to be an Astro.’ ”
Altuve, 27, who has been working out at the Astros’ spring training complex in West Palm Beach, Fla., for a few weeks, also thanked manager A.J. Hinch, who sat at a table with Astros owner Jim Crane and their spouses.
Altuve lastly thanked the writers who vote for the annual awards.
“I couldn’t believe when you guys selected me as an MVP,” he said. “This is a dream come true. I feel happy and extremely blessed to be here. Thank you, guys.”
Altuve also was honored as the New York BBWAA chapter’s postseason MVP, an accolade he shared with Astros ace Justin Verlander. Verlander, who, after his Aug. 31 acquisition, propelled the Astros from a late-season malaise to their greatest triumph, was not in attendance but sent a video message that was played for the crowd.
Verlander thanked the BBWAA and said: “Ever since you’re a kid, I think you dream of performing in the postseason, and to be coming off a World Series and to have won this award, it’s a dream come true.
“I would like to thank the entire Astros organization from top to bottom — Jim Crane, Jeff Luhnow, A.J. Hinch and all of my teammates. … You guys helped make my transition way easier, and that allowed me to just go out and pitch.”
Springer honeymooning
Fellow Astros stars George Springer and Correa also were honored, the outfielder with the “You Gotta Have Heart” award and the shortstop for his community service efforts both in Houston after Hurricane Harvey and in his native Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.
“This was a great year,” Correa said, “but obviously, every great story has some struggles.”
Because he was on his honeymoon, the newlywed Springer wasn’t in attendance. He had his father, George II, accept the award on his behalf. The honor corresponded with Springer’s work as the national spokesperson for The Stuttering Association for the Young (SAY).
“If there is one thing if he was standing here I think that he would say, it’s a real honor to be recognized for what he says but more importantly for what he’s done and making those connections to young people,” said the father of the World Series MVP.
Beltran on hand
Correa was introduced by former teammate and fellow Puerto Rican Carlos Beltran, who actually was supposed to introduce Correa, then the AL Rookie of the Year, at the same dinner two years earlier before a snowstorm altered plans.
“I want to thank the baseball writers for choosing me to present this award. That’s what happens when you retire: You don’t get to get them; you get to present them,” Beltran joked.
Although he wasn’t among the honorees seated on the dais, Hinch got a shout-out from AL Manager of the Year Award winner Paul Molitor, who in his speech quipped, “I’m glad they took the vote before the postseason.”