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Jose Altuve Still Looked Strange Making First Tough Catch as an Outfielder

Stephen Douglas

Jose Altuve made his first career catch at the wall during spring training.
Jose Altuve made his first career catch at the wall during spring training. / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
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Jose Altuve is in an era of change. Not only did his longtime teammate Alex Bregman leave for the Boston Red Sox, but Altuve has been moved to left field. After playing 14 seasons at second base where he won an MVP, two World Series and made nine All-Star teams, Altuve will play the outfield for the Houston Astros this season. The veteran is making the change to help give the team flexibility. He made his debut in left on Friday, but did not have a ball hit his way.

On Sunday, however, Altuve was put to the test. During the first inning a ball got past shortstop Luis Guillorme and Altuve had to field the ball and throw home. The throw was wide and the Nationals scored their first run of the game.

Then in the third inning Nationals catcher Keibert Ruiz hit a towering fly ball to the warning track. Altuve did a really nice job finding the wall and made a nice catch for his first career putout as a left fielder.

Just look how happy everyone was. Everyone in the bullpen was psyched. Altuve took his cap off to celebrate. A nice little moment for everyone involved.

Having said that, and knowing we're just nine innings into this experiment, it still looks odd, but there might be no turning back for Altuve who gave his infielder glove to a kid at spring training. Hopefully new second baseman Brendan Rodgers, who signed in Houston as a free agent this winter, can stay healthy this season or Altuve may quickly regret giving away that souvenir.

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Stephen Douglas
STEPHEN DOUGLAS

Stephen Douglas is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in media since 2008 and now casts a wide net with coverage across all sports. Douglas spent more than a decade with The Big Lead and previously wrote for Uproxx and The Sporting News. He has three children, two degrees and one now unverified Twitter account.

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