By TEDDY ALLEN/Designated Writers

Jose Carlos Altuve is 29, 5-6 on his tippy toes, the engine that makes the wheels on the Houston Astros’ bus go ’round, and a guy we find it impossible not to root for.

Several years ago when the Astros were horrible and building this team and the one that would win the World Series in 2017, I saw them play in Busch Stadium against the Cardinals on just a weekday, means-nothing afternoon. Altuve was at second base and the only true big leaguer on the roster, as far as I could tell. They were terribly, horribly bad.

A line drive was hit to second and it literally knocked Altuve down. He barely got his glove up in time to keep the ball from centering him in the chest. A bullet. The ball hit his glove, dropped to the ground, Altuve was knocked on his wallet, and he hopped up and threw out the hitter at first. Then looked at his fellow infielders and started smiling.

Saturday night he hit the walk-off homer in Game 6 of the ALCS. And he was smiling again, this hero from Maracay, Venezuela, a dude who gives hope to little guys who might want to pursue baseball. The demands of the game limit some of us, but size isn’t one of the things baseball’s difficulty puts limits on.

Besides Altuve, this Series offers up Gerrit Cole vs. Max Scherzer in tonight’s Game 1, Justin Verlander vs. Stephen Strasburg in Wednesday’s Game 2. Why yes sir, may I have another? We are looking for a lot of 2-1 or 3-2 scores. And how sweet that would be.

Happy October Baseball to you and yours.

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