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It would be no exaggeration to say that ever since signing as an international free agent in March of 2007, Jose Altuve has been worth his weight in gold. The Venezuelan joined the Houston Astros in 2011 and has played a key role in a hugely successful past decade for his side. They won their first two World Series titles during this period.
Arguably the most popular player in one of the most successful franchises, Altuve is well and truly a household name at this point. On Friday, the diminutive slugger was featured alongside superstars, such as Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge, as MLB posted a list of the top 10 most popular jerseys for the current season on X.
As one would expect, Ohtani and Judge were right at the top. Jose Altuve, meanwhile, was eighth on the list.
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Though Jose Altuve is adored in Houston, he does have a few critics due to his alleged involvement in the Astros' infamous sign-stealing scandal in 2017. Reacting to the post above, many such critics bashed the 35-year-old.
"What parents would willingly buy their kids a jersey of a cheating POS? Why is Altuve 8th?" a user wrote.
"Still the cheater at the 8th...🗑, what?" another user commented.
The corresponding Instagram post also yielded plenty of similar comments.
"Altuve cheated to get his jersey on the list," a user replied.
"Who tf keeps buying Altuve jerseys bro ain't good 😂," another user responded.
"Altuve 😂," a user laughed upon finding the MLB player's name on the list.
"Altuve? What the F…," another user posted.
What was the Astros' sign-stealing scandal, and how did Jose Altuve benefit from it?
Shortly after insiders Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich wrote about the wrongdoings within the Astros in 2019, Houston was charged with illegal sign stealing in the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
An MLB investigation found that the Astros coaching staff was looking at the live feed of games to catch subtle hints given by opposing team catchers to the pitchers on the mound. They did this via cameras in the center field seats to ascertain what pitch was coming next.
This information was then relayed to batters by banging trash cans or other similar audio cues. Naturally, for a major-league quality hitter, this was a huge advantage, and the Astros' unstoppable offense powered them to their first World Series title in 2017.
As one of the team's most prominent hitters, who made a lot of plate appearances day in and day out, Jose Altuve is believed to be one of the largest beneficiaries. However, many sources argue that Altuve was actually against the whole scheme and refused to participate in it.
