Yordan Alvarez will bring an American League batting title, 42 home runs and the full attention of the White Sox into Tuesday’s Wild Card Series opener at Daikin Park. Houston begins its postseason in the afternoon, and its most dangerous at-bat will be waiting in the middle of the order.
The result
Alvarez finished the regular season as the AL leader in average at .316, reaching base at a .432 clip and slugging .601. His 1.033 OPS led the league as well, along with 7.2 offensive WAR, 341 total bases, 109 walks and 77 extra-base hits.
He also set career bests with 42 homers and 106 RBIs, finishing tied for second in the league in homers and second in runs driven in. But the batting crown carried a different weight for Alvarez.
“It was always something I wanted,” Alvarez said. “I’m really proud that I was able to get it. After the game Sunday, the guys gave me a small gift, and I told them that, even with 40 home runs, winning the batting title was something I had always wanted.”
Houston hit a Major League-leading 226 home runs, though the club’s lineup has not always been steady when Alvarez is quiet. The Astros went 23-14 in games where he homered, a reminder of how quickly one swing can change their night.
Manager Joe Espada said Alvarez’s presence changes the shape of a short series, both for Houston and for the opposing staff trying to navigate the lineup.
“We are not in this position without him,” Espada said. “In a short postseason series, it is not just what he does to help you win. It is what he does to the opponent, having to work through Yordan with Isaac Paredes behind him after the year he had. Having Yordan on our side is a game-changer.”
That decision will follow the White Sox throughout the series: attack Alvarez or put him aboard and face Paredes. Alvarez drew 33 intentional walks this season, a Houston record and three short of the American League mark. Paredes, meanwhile, supplied 25 homers and 94 RBIs.
Paredes said the deliberate walks initially felt like a slight, before he came to understand the circumstance.
“At first I took it badly,” Paredes said. “It felt a little disrespectful. But as the season went on, I stopped making it personal. Yordan is the best hitter in baseball right now, so it is not disrespect toward me.”
Alvarez’s availability has become as important as his production. Last year, he lost 100 games while recovering from a broken bone in his right hand. He returned late in August during Houston’s push for a playoff place and hit .369/.462/.569 with three homers and nine RBIs over 19 games. Then he slipped on home plate against the Rangers on Sept. 15, sprained his ankle and missed the rest of the season. The Astros finished one win outside a postseason berth that would have been their eighth straight.
This time, Alvarez appeared in a career-high 158 games. Espada called keeping him on the field essential to the club’s hopes.
“He lifts everybody,” Espada said. “The confidence that comes with having him in the lineup every day makes us better mentally and physically. Keeping him healthy and getting the Yordan we know he can be is imperative for us.”
Alvarez already owns a place in Houston October memory. During the 2022 championship run, he hit two of the franchise’s biggest postseason homers, including a 450-foot blast to center field in the Game 6 clincher against Philadelphia.
The club also knows the connection between an MVP-level star and a deep October run. Jose Altuve won the AL MVP in 2017, then opened that postseason by hitting three homers in Game 1 of the AL Division Series against Boston as Houston moved toward its first World Series title.
Altuve sees the same kind of player in Alvarez now.
“He is, without question, the best player in the league right now,” Altuve said. “It is unbelievable what he keeps doing. We expect the home runs, and even then he can still surprise us. He is amazing, and he deserves all of it.”
Game 1 of the Astros-White Sox Wild Card Series is scheduled for Tuesday at 5 p.m. ET, 4 p.m. CT. For Houston, the October assignment begins where many of its biggest innings have begun all season: with Alvarez stepping into the box.
