Almost immediately, it was obvious to some that 16-year-old José Altuve was different. “Sometimes, you just have a feel about a guy,” Al Pedrique said. “With others, you can see it.” The year was 2007, and Pedrique was one of the Astros' main talent evaluators in Venezuela. In the years since, he has held a variety of jobs in baseball, most recently as third-base coach for the A’s the last two seasons. Altuve stood out for reasons that had nothing to do with baseball. He made sure guys got to English classes on time, led drills on the field and...
