Social media ruthlessly trolling Jose Altuve is best therapy Mariners fans can get

Even allowing for becoming the first club to take a series from a Braves ballclub with the best record in the majors, it's been a rough start for the Mariners. The combination of inconsistency from their big-name hitters and a ridiculous rush of injuries has the M's fighting just to get to .500. About the only solace for fans is that the hated Astros are doing even worse, highlighted by Jose Altuve's struggles.

It's safe to say there's no love lost between Altuve and the Mariners fanbase. That's what happens when an opposing player bats .311 with a .828 OPS in nearly 200 games against your ballclub. As such, there's little better than seeing the seven-time Silver Slugger embarrass himself, as he did with this swing during the second game of the Astros' series versus the Dodgers:

Now in fairness, Pitching Ninja produced an overlay which makes the swing decision look less bad, something which the closeup camera angle also does. However, why would you let that get in the way of having some fun at the expense the Astros? And as part of the ruthless trolling which took place on social media, this might by Pitching Ninja's greatest work yet:

No pity for Jose Altuve and the Astros as far as Mariners fans are concerned

As mean-spirited as this might seem, no one's going to feel sorry for an Astros ballclub which was found guilty of sign-stealing in 2020. The scandal resulted in them receiving the most severe sanctions ever for a Major League organization, with plenty of critics suggesting those sanctions still weren't severe enough. And no matter how much or how little Altuve was involved in the scandal, he's always going to be connected to it.

Making it even worse for Altuve is that following an impressive start to the season, he's currently in an extended slump which has seen him bat just .171 with a .476 OPS in his past 18 games. Overall he's batting .241 so far in 2026, which would project to be the second-worst of his 16 seasons in the majors, while his .703 OPS would be his lowest since 2020. As a result, fairly or not, there's plenty of comments online about how much harder he's finding it to hit the ball when no one is banging a trash can for him.

Winning the AL West last year was meant to signal a changing of the guard, with the Mariners now considered the best ballclub in the division. This hasn't been the case so far in 2026 as we approach the quarter-way point of the regular season. However, while the M's fight to get back on track, it's at least reassuring to see Altuve and the Astros propping up the division standings, tied with the Angels for the worst record in the AL.

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