The Cuban designated hitter hit an American League record of .522 (12 of 23) with a home run, three doubles, a triple and six RBIs.
Cuban designated hitter Yordan Álvarez became the undisputed leader of the Houston Astros offense this Friday, which this Friday got the pass to the World Series, which earned him the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award of the Series of the American League Championship.
Two years after winning the Rookie of the Year award on the Young Circuit, Álvarez now also has the MVP award for the series that led the Houston team to the “Fall Classic.”
The 24-year-old Cuban completed 4 of 4 with two doubles and a triple for the Astros who gave him the lead run and scored the provisional 2-0.
After missing last year’s postseason while recovering from double knee surgery, Alvarez hit an American League Championship Series record of .522 (12 of 23) with one home run, three doubles, one triple and six. RBIs in Houston’s six-game win.
He scored seven runs against the Red Sox and had nine hits in his last 13 at-bats, raising his postseason average to .441 with two home runs and nine RBIs.
“I was just focused on getting the job done,” said Álvarez, who had at least one hit in each of the six series games that were played. ” He knew the importance of the game and winning it ”.
Alvarez hit .277 during the season and set his career records with 33 home runs and 104 RBIs, both team-highs.
He became the second-youngest Astros player to reach 100 RBIs behind Cesar Cedeño in 1974 and the youngest to hit 30 home runs.
He joined Venezuelan José Altuve (2019) and Justin Verlander (2017) as the MVP winner of the Astros American League Championship Series after Mike Scott (1986) and Roy Oswalt (2005) won Series MVP. National League Championship before Houston switched leagues.
Quite a change from Alvarez’s .241 average with one homer and three during the 2019 postseason.
“He hits the ball across the field and stays straight,” said Astros manager Dusty Baker. “He doesn’t have a cut and everyone knows he can shoot the ball, but he also has power the other way around. It’s only going to get better. … And he has worked exceptionally hard to keep his legs together. “
Baker said that “he had surgery on both knees and we didn’t know how much he was going to play or if he was going to be able to play in the outfield. That is a tribute to him, the fact of how hard he has worked and has continued to work to keep his strength there ”.
The Red Sox players recognized that their elimination is caused by the great offensive work that Alvarez did throughout the series.
“He’s that type of player who, on his own, can win you a ball game,” said Aruba shortstop, Xander Bogaerts said. “He had an exceptional series.”
Álvarez defected from Cuba in 2016 and signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers for a $ 2 million bonus, then was traded to the Astros in August for right-hander Josh Fields, who last pitched in 2019 at Triple-A.
He made his debut in June 2019 and hit .313 with 27 homers and 78 RBIs in 87 games, earning him the honor of being the best rookie in the American League.
But his 2020 season started on the Covid-19-related disabled list and ended after two games. He underwent surgery on August 19 to repair a partially torn right patellar tendon, in addition to a cleaning procedure on his left knee.
Álvarez returned this season and it was a bargain of $ 609,000 (522,000 euros). At two years, 113 days of service, he is expected to not reach arbitration eligibility this winter, if the rules do not change.
“Last year, at this point, we didn’t have Alvarez, and we were close to going to the Series,” Baker said. “Now we have Álvarez, and we are very, very grateful that he is with us.” (D)
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