Houston Astros second baseman José Altuve has been mocked after a photo of him standing next to Yordan Alvarez was posted online.
Vanessa Richardson, who is the Houston Rockets' sideline reporter on AT&T Sports Network and fill-in Astros host, shared the picture on X, formerly Twitter, and Altuve became the butt of the jokes on social media because of his height.
The Astros star is 5-foot-6, according to mlb.com, while Alvarez is 6-foot-5. In the photo, Altuve, who is wearing teammate Framber Valdez's chain, comes up to Alvarez's chest, accentuating the difference.
Richardson captioned the post: "Altuve asked me to take this pic of him wearing Framber's chain🧊🧊"
Altuve asked me to take this pic of him wearing Framber’s chain🧊🧊 pic.twitter.com/qBq12DWOJj
— Vanessa Richardson (@SportsVanessa) August 17, 2023
There were plenty of replies to the post, with many suggesting what Alvarez's look at Altuve was really meaning.
One X user replied: "When your older brother lets you wear his chain."
Another made the jokey observation: "Chain almost as big as he is."
Others felt there were different elements at play, with one suggesting: "Yordan looks like Altuves security."
Another suggestion from an X user was: "Dad's staring at him"
Altuve is currently sidelined with an apparent lower body injury after a wayward pitch hit him during the Astros' recent road series against the Miami Marlins.
He hit a ball foul off his shin on the first pitch of Tuesday's game but was able to finish his at-bat and managed a single before exiting the game.
X-rays showed no break, but Altuve is expected to sit out a few games.
Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle wrote in a post on X: "Jose Altuve left the game with a left knee contusion, X-rays were negative, per a press box announcement."
It has been a difficult year for Altuve—who is just three hits from becoming a member of the 2,000-hit club—on the injury front as he missed a number of games during a roller-coaster start to the 2023 MLB regular season.
He suffered a hand injury in the quarterfinals of the 2023 World Baseball Classic against Team USA just before the MLB season started.
Altuve, 33, is hitting .320 with nine home runs, 29 RBIs and 12 stolen bases in 194 at-bats this season.
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