Watch live: Cardinals vs. Astros in Free MLB Game of the Day

On Tuesday night, the Houston Astros played the St. Louis Cardinals, and Astros second baseman Jose Altuve began the game with 997 lifetime hits. In his last at-bat, after going 2-for-4, Altuve laced a single to left field for hit number 1000, and became the fastest player in Astros history to reach that mark (he did it in 786 games).

You can watch more of Altuve as he and the Astros take on the Cardinals in today’s Yahoo Sports’ MLB Free Game of the Day. First pitch is at 2:10 p.m. ET, and you can stream the game on the Yahoo Sports app, Yahoo’s Sports Home, MLB index, video home and this very post. Local blackouts apply, per MLB rules.

Reaching 1000 hits is another milestone in 26-year-old Altuve’s impressive six-year career. His lowest full-season batting average was .283 in 2013, which is a number most players would take as their best without question. (He led the league with a .341 average the very next year.) He’s stolen at least 30 bases every full season he’s played, and never had less than 167 hits. Oh, and have I mentioned that he’s 5’6?

Though Altuve has been unarguably stellar, he’s never finished above tenth in MVP voting. But 2016 could change that. Altuve has been having a phenomenal year, and he’s most certainly the MVP of the Astros. But more importantly, he’s been better than nearly everyone else.

Let’s look at some numbers in Altuve’s 2016 season. In 118 games and 532 plate appearances, he’s hitting .365/.429/.573. He leads all of baseball in average and on-base percentage, and he’s third (behind David Ortiz and Daniel Murphy) in slugging percentage. He also leads the MLB in hits with 170, 13 more than Mookie Betts in second place. He has 50 walks, 17 more than he had in 2015, and 10 more than his previous season high from 2012. Altuve also has 19 home runs, which is a personal best. Before this, the most he’d hit in a season was 15 in 2015. He’s got four more than that with 43 more games to play.

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If you’re looking for visual proof of how dominant Altuve is, here’s a heat map that ESPN’s David Schoenfield tweeted out on August 11.

That’s insane. And beyond that, there’s one stat that makes my mouth fall open in awe. On the road this year, in 57 total games, Altuve has hit .424/.490/.634. That’s his combined triple slash at 16 different parks over four and a half months. That’s not luck or having the hot hand; that’s talent, pure and simple.

The Astros are nine games back in the AL West, and 5.5 games back in the Wild Card. If it’s possible for one man to make up either of those deficits, Jose Altuve is the man to do it. But regardless of whether or not Altuve alone can make it happen, he’s having an MVP caliber season. He’s earned those first place votes for his on-field performance, but also for his heartfelt rendition of this classic Backstreet Boys hit.

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Liz Roscher is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at lizroscher@yahoo.com or follow her on twitter! Follow @lizroscher