Did the Braves screw Albies' chance of passing Altuve's contract earnings record?

Ozzie Albies' contract has been talked about since the day he signed it. With Astros' second baseman Jose Altuve signing his second big contract extension, Albies' contract feels more and more unfair by the day.

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Ozzie Albies, Jose Altuve
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Comparing Albies and Altuve

If you were to think of a comparison based on position played and player height, then Ozzie Albies and Jose Altuve would immediately pop into your brain. But the two vertically challenged second basemen have more in common than that.

In fact, when you compare Albies' and Altuve's on-field production it's easy to see why they are among the best second baseman in all of baseball. Since Albies' first full season in 2018, Albies and Altuve have the following rankings among MLB second baseman with at least 850 plate appearances via Fangraphs:

  • Home runs - Albies T2nd (125), Altuve T2nd (125)
  • Stolen bases - Albies 8th (68), Altuve 10th (62)
  • RBI - Albies 2nd (427), Altuve 7th (344)
  • Slugging - Albies 4th (.480), Altuve 1st (.496)
  • wOBA - Albies T7th (.339), Altuve 1st (.369)
  • ISO - Albies 3rd (.209), Altuve T5th (.202)
  • Barrels - Albies 3rd (161), Altuve T6th (155)

Year after year, Albies and Altuve have been among the elite at their position. Yet, one is set to be the richest ever at his position, while the other won't even hit the quarter of a hundred million mark in dollars earned by the end of the 2024 season.

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