There’s been a lot going on in the Majors in the last couple of days. From questionable security to an outstanding performance to the downfall of a big-market team, we’ve got a lot to unpack.
On August 28, Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve hit for the cycle, becoming the 5th player to achieve that feat this season—joining Elly De La Cruz, J.T Realmuto, Cedric Mullins, and Luis Arraez. It was Houston’s first cycle since Brandon Barnes accomplished it in July 2013.
Two weeks prior, Altuve had collected his 2,000th career hit, becoming just the third Astro to collect that many. I was happy for Altuve. I have never shared the same anti-Astros sentiment as many baseball fans have over the past four years, just seeing what they had done before or after the cheating took place. Plain and simple, they’re still good. The game took place at Fenway Park in Boston, with the Astros’ opponent being the Red Sox. Houston won the game 13-5
On August 29, star Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. was rushed and knocked over in right field by two fans in a game in Denver against the Colorado Rockies, something that raised questions about the security staff at the Rockies’ stadium, Coors Field.
Seeing that these fans had the guts to actually knock over the Braves right fielder is what surprised me. Usually, when fans get loose on the field, they just run around for a while before getting tracked down by security, but these two actually disturbed a player.
The fans were charged with trespassing and disturbing the peace, and the Rockies’ security staff is under fire for both letting them onto the field and not stopping them before they got to the star outfielder. Acuna didn’t seem too bothered with what happened, saying that they probably just wanted a photo. The Braves won 14-4.
The other big news from that night was the roster moves made by the Los Angeles Angels. After announcing about a month prior that they would be going all in to try to land a postseason spot, the Angels decided to cut costs and give up, placing prized trade acquisitions Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, and Randall Grichuk, as well as slugger Hunter Renfroe and dependable relief arm Matt Moore.
This was jaw-dropping to me, especially given the capital the Angels gave up in order to acquire Giolitio and Lopez. The #61 prospect in baseball, catcher Edgar Quero, and #9 Angels prospect, Left-handed pitcher Ky Bush, were sent to Chicago in return.
Quero has a career on-base percentage of .412 and a 17% walk rate, rare plate discipline for a 20-year-old. Bush, a 6’6 23-year-old, will likely start games for Chicago in the near future. He has a near 30% strikeout rate, but he gives up too many home runs for him to have ace potential.
Giolito, Lopez, and Moore were claimed by the Cleveland Guardians, Renfroe was picked up by the Cincinnati Reds, and Grichuk cleared waivers, allowing him to stay with Los Angeles. Seeing the Angels fold hurts to see after all they’ve done in an effort to win, just to see it slip away due to injuries and, admittedly, no depth on their roster.
Baseball is a crazy game, and I’m happy to be as big a fan of it as I am. So many big things happened in the past couple of weeks, and the way this season’s been, there will only be more in the coming weeks.
