VIDEO: Astros' Altuve goes airborne to swing at a high fastball

A quick look at the numbers should tell you a lot about what kind of hitter Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve is: he leads the league with a .345 batting average, has 26 more hits in 2014 than any other player in baseball, and strikes out less frequently than everyone not named Victor Martinez. In short, this is a man with an uncanny ability to put his bat on the ball. 

Witness Exhibit A: Altuve is at the dish in the eighth inning against the Texas Rangers, his team trailing by a run. Teammate Robbie Grossman is on first base with none out. The Astros decide to gamble and play hit-and-run on the first pitch of the at-bat. The pitch is a high fastball. Altuve is 5-foot-6 in cleats; to him it is a very high fastball. But Grossman is between first and second and Rangers catcher Robinson Chirinos - who throws out base-stealers at a 36 percent clip - is practically salivating. 

So. Does Altuve leave his feet just to try make contact and protect the runner? Of course he does. Does he make contact and protect the runner? Of course he does. Does he rub salt in Chirinos' wounds by slapping a foul ball into his thigh? Of course he does! He's Jose freaking Altuve! 

[Courtesy MLB.com]