Jose Altuve Named AP Male Athlete Of The Year

HOUSTON, TX — The hits keep coming for Jose Altuve long after the baseball season ended. The Houston Astros second baseman was named the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year for 2017, edging out Tom Brady of the New England Patriots and LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Altuve led the Houston Astros to their first World Series title with a win in November over the Los Angeles Dodgers, and he was named the National League MVP a few weeks later. Earlier this month he was named Sports Illustrated's Co-Sportsperson of the year along with J.J. Watt of the Texans.

Altus is already looking to improve upon his 2017 performance.

"Winning the World Series, winning the MVP, you feel like you have everything," Altuve told The Associated Press. "But my perspective is to try and get better every year and if we win one World Series, why not win another one? Just keep playing for the team and keep playing for my city."

Altuve, who was one of only a handful of players who endured the Astros’ painful rebuilding process en route to this year’s championship, which gave hope to a city ravaged by Hurricane Harvey, was chosen as The Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year.

Results of voting by U.S. editors and news directors was announced Wednesday. The 5-foot-6 dynamo got 715 points, beating out New England quarterback Tom Brady, who had 646, and third-place finisher Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James, with 626.

On Tuesday, Katie Ledecky was named AP Female Athlete of the Year.

Altuve is a five-time All-Star who led the majors with a career-high .346 batting average and his 204 hits topped the American League. He is the first player in MLB history to lead his league in hits in four straight seasons. He tied a career-best with 24 homers and had 81 RBIs. He was second in the AL by scoring 112 runs, his on-base percentage of .410 ranked third, he was third with 32 steals and his .547 slugging percentage ranked sixth.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Image: Houston Astros' Jose Altuve, center, and his teammates celebrate during a rally honoring the World Series baseball champions Friday, Nov. 3, 2017, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)