BREAKING NEWS: Will Altuve be that Houston superstar that spends his entire career with Houston?

Jose Altuve is probably going to be on the list if you play the mind game “Mount Rushmore of Houston Sports Athletes.” The honours are widely known and probably don’t require reiteration. However, Altuve is a respected member of the community who is more than just a diamond. It was only strengthened when Altuve recently agreed to a five-year, $125 million contract extension.

Altuve will be able to accomplish one of the most uncommon things for a Houston Superstar athlete: spending his whole career with one team or organization if the contract unfolds as planned. The history of the best Houston-based professional athletes shows how few, particularly the potential players for the Houston Sports Mount Rushmore Game, played their whole careers for a Houston-based team. With the exception of exceptional athletes like Simone Biles or Carl Lewis, the track record of Houston pros who begin and end their careers with organizations based in Houston is rather thin.

Not even the greatest NFL player from Houston was able to do this. Earl Campbell and Warren Moon, two of the finest Houston Oilers ever, would end their careers with different team colours. Before retiring, Moon took snaps for Kansas City, Seattle, and Minnesota. Although Moon played five seasons in the CFL, we are just taking into consideration his time in the NFL for the sake of this article. Earl Campbell had a tremendous run (both physically and figuratively) in Houston before spending one last torturous season in New Orleans. JJ Watt, the franchise GOAT, and Andre Johnson, the most recent inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, would not play their whole careers in Houston for the Texans. While Andre Johnson spent his final seasons in Indianapolis and Tennessee, J.J. Watt headed west to Arizona for his final two seasons.

The fleeting character of basketball stars also holds sway. Specifically, Hakeem Olajuwon, the one player who is currently perhaps more prominent in Houston than Altuve, did not stay in the city his whole career. It was an odd, but regrettable, epilogue for a man who played his undergraduate ball at the University of Houston and then lived most of his professional career in Houston that Olajuwon would spend one forgettable season in Toronto prior to retiring. While it doesn’t necessarily make him less of a star in the Houston sports canon, he doesn’t quite make the cut after playing his whole career for one team or city.

And finally, baseball. Considering baseball’s free agency and trade policies, this is the major sport in Houston where an athlete might be able to play their entire career for one team or city. Altuve does have some company in this sense. Houston was also the home of Hall of Famers Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell for the duration of their elite professional careers. The one thing to keep in mind about Bagwell is that, as many Red Sox fans will attest, he began his career with the team. However, he joined the Astros organization following the landmark 1990 trade of Larry Andersen. Bagwell was undoubtedly taken under Houston’s wing, but unlike Olajuwon, he did not spend his entire professional career there.

Altuve can join Biggio as the only Houston player to play his whole professional career with a single team, group, or city if he stays for the duration of the deal and no other trades or transactions take place. Which one was the superior second baseman would make for an entertaining debate. If Altuve keeps going in the same direction, he’ll probably put an end to the argument about who is the best Astros second baseman in history, if not the greatest Astro overall. If nothing else, Altuve’s (23 years) would be the longest-serving player in the Astros organization overall, surpassing Biggio’s (22 years).

It is true that Altuve is not a native of Houston. Nevertheless, Houston has made Altuve one of its own, and he views Houston as much of a home as he does his own Venezuela. Nevertheless, nothing is guaranteed in baseball, and when it’s all said and done, Altuve might end his career wearing a different uniform, regardless of how unpopular that idea would be in Houston. The thought of Altuve wearing a different MLB outfit is unthinkable. Even in the era of fleeting athletes, Altuve’s connection to Houston is about as unchanging as the speed of light. The only player who has spent more time on the active roster of Houston’s top professional team than Altuve (2011) is long snapper Jon Weeks (2010) of the Texans.

The Astros’ public face is Altuve. He has supported the team and the community through their darkest moments and has been a driving force behind Houston sports’ biggest triumphs. Altuve was never visible outside of Houston, not even to his enemies. Opposing fans boo and jeer at Altuve the loudest, and he responds with a devastating game, kindness, and respect. Altuve is perhaps the best professional athlete located in Houston if he performs at his typical high level over the duration of his most recent contract. Next, you would have to change the Houston Mount Rushmore game to ask, “On the Houston Athletic Mount Rushmore, what other 3 athletes do you put up with Altuve?”