MLB The Show 22 trolls Astros over Jose Altuve home run vs Yankees

HOUSTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 19: Jose Altuve #27 of the Houston Astros comes home to score following his ninth inning walk-off two-run home run as Aroldis Chapman #54 of the New York Yankees walks off the field in game six of the American League Championship Series at Minute Maid Park on October 19, 2019 in Houston, Texas. The Astros defeated the Yankees 6-4. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 19: Jose Altuve #27 of the Houston Astros comes home to score following his ninth inning walk-off two-run home run as Aroldis Chapman #54 of the New York Yankees walks off the field in game six of the American League Championship Series at Minute Maid Park on October 19, 2019 in Houston, Texas. The Astros defeated the Yankees 6-4. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

The New York Yankees‘ franchise has yet to recover from what Jose Altuve and the Houston Astros did to them at the end of the 2019 ALCS. And while Brian Cashman should definitely get over it and drop the asterisk talk, it’s also … endlessly hilarious that the rest of the baseball world hasn’t let Altuve off scot-free for his suspect jersey clutch, either.

Would we chant, “F*** Altuve!” and make endless cheating joke after cheating joke? No, time to move on. But … if you want to do it …

The baseball world will never know what the Astros were doing, if anything, during the 2019 postseason (unless they unseal the Astros letter), but thankfully, the Washington Nationals saved us all from the embarrassment of another tainted ring.

So, without data, Altuve’s jersey tug and aversion to celebrating will always just be … weird, and will leave the Twitterverse abuzz whenever it’s mentioned from hereon out.

Thankfully, MLB The Show 22 reignited the discourse this week when one streamer found an Easter Egg in the game’s list of “tasks.”

If a player hits a home run with Jose Altuve and “recreates” his “epic walk-off” against Aroldis Chapman and the Yankees, they’ll have completed a task called “Buzzer Beater,” an oblique reference to what Altuve may or may not have been wearing that night.

Their reward? Months of scrutiny, and a “weird tattoo.”

MLB The Show 22 trolled Jose Altuve’s buzzer home run vs the Yankees

Again, there’s no whining here. Could Altuve have destroyed a home run off a hanging slider without the benefit of knowing what pitch was coming? Uh, yeah. Aroldis Chapman stinks.

That said, why has the rest of the baseball world rushed to Altuve’s defense/given him the benefit of the doubt here? Nuh uh. That should be the job of Astros fans and Astros fans only. If we have to hear any more about how “Altuve actually benefitted from the bangs the LEAST/he didn’t even want it!” we’re going to scream. The number of pitchers who were rattled by the system and hung one to Altuve … the number of runners he drove in who never should’ve been there … enough.

Someday, Altuve and the Astros will be forgiven. He’ll make the Hall of Fame, as will his teammates. Hopefully, he doesn’t get enshrined until his 10th year of eligibility, though.

Right at the buzzer.

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