HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610)- Dallas Keuchel first met Jose Altuve in 2009 when Altuve was a 19-year old second baseman for the Tri-City ValleyCats and his initial memories weren’t fond ones.
“He had a very high pitched voice at that point,” Keuchel recalled. “I didn't know who he was at the time, and it was it was really annoying to me in the front of the bus, he was in the back of the bus, and that was my first memory of Altuve.”
Keuchel stepped on the field at Minute Maid Park on Thursday for the first time since the 2018 American League Championship Series while the Astros were taking batting practice and Altuve was one of the first people he embraced.
“I still text him to this day and we keep up, so I love that guy, he’s one of my favorites.”
Keuchel will face Altuve and the rest of the Astros on Sunday as a member of the Chicago White Sox and he admitted being back at Minute Maid Park was odd.
“It feels good,” he said. “It feels a little weird. Some weird emotions when I first walked out here, but business is business and I'm looking forward to quality four-game series.”
The lefty, now 33-years old, accomplished a great deal across seven seasons with the Astros. He was selected as an American League All Star twice, voted as the league’s Cy Young Award winner in 2015, and he was a key member of the Astros 2017 World Series Championship club.
“I’m surprised they haven’t a put a statue up of me, it’s kind of BS,” Keuchel joked before reflecting on what his time with the Astros meant to him.
“This place is always going to be, I would say home because and I came up here as a 24-year old and had some bumps and bruises the first two years I was here. I had a five-plus ERA and was just trying to figure things out, trying to stay in the big leagues and make the most of my opportunity, so I worked hard.”
In 14 starts this season, Keuchel is 6-1 with a 3.78 ERA for a White Sox team that enters this weekend’s series with the best record in the American League. He’s scheduled to face Lance McCullers Jr in Sunday’s finale. Keuchel normally doesn’t sit in the dugout when he’s not pitching during his starts, but Sunday’s won’t be a normal start.
“I might sneak a peek just to see him on the mound again. I love Lance, he's like my son. Uber prospect when he came up, and I was just kind of cementing myself into a role, so I thought I'd try to help somebody out if anything, but, Lance is a great dude. I'm glad he's here for a lot more years because he's really, really, really talented.”
Dallas Keuchel admitted it was weird being back at Minute Maid Park on Thursday. He’ll get to watch three games before taking the mound himself, but he knows it will be a different feeling than every other start he’s had this season.
“Warming up in the dungeon on Sunday is going to be a little weird because feels like you're throwing 100 and I'm just a few miles an hour off that, but I'm hoping for a good outing, hopefully get the jitters out of the way the first couple pitches, and get us a win.”