Houston Astros, peers congratulate Altuve on AL MVP

Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve was namedAmerican League MVPon Thursday, earning27 of the 30 first-place votes in balloting by members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

The 5-foot-6 Altuve beat out 6-foot-7 Yankees rookie Aaron Judge, who set a rookie record with 52 home runs.Altuve hit a major-league-best .346, had 204 hits, 24 homers and 81 RBIs during the regular season.

The Astros organization showered its newly crowned MVP with nothing but praise on social media:

Runner-up Aaron Judge and two-time AL MVP Mike Troutsent congratulations:

Houston showing support for its guy:

Altuve joins Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell (1994) as the only players in Astros history to win an MVP award. Bagwell received the award when the team was in the National League.

--Paul Saldaña