Ex-ROY Steve Sax Sympathizes with Jose Altuve Because of Experience with Yips

Former MLB second baseman Steve Sax has been in Jose Altuve's shoes, so he empathizes with the Houston Astros star amid an error-prone MLB playoff run.

Sax was the 1982 National League Rookie of the Year and a Silver Slugger in 1986. Any conversation about him is bound to transition to the period in which he had trouble throwing to first base, though.

In an interview with ESPN's Pedro Gomez, Sax attempted to explain what Altuve might be going through right now.

"I can feel for Jose. There's nothing worse in the world. It's the most lonely place to be. It's embarrassing. It's just awful," Sax said.

"I hope he can grasp this as soon as possible because this thing is very simple. It's right in front of him. So many people are going to say, 'Oh, Jose, you have a mental block.' He doesn't. He has a temporary loss of confidence. It has nothing to do with his mental state. Something triggered him to start questioning his ability, that's why he's doing this. When he gets his confidence this will disappear."

Altuve committed four errors during 48 regular-season games—none of which were on a throw. He has already matched that number through nine postseason games, a total too high to be written off as coincidence.

Throwing to the bases has become a challenge for the six-time All-Star.

Watching a player struggle to this extent is always uncomfortable, and the feeling is magnified by the stage on which Altuve's mistakes are coming.

The larger concern is what it could mean for Altuve in the long term.

In the space of one postseason, the promise of Rick Ankiel almost completely evaporated. The St. Louis Cardinals pitcher made only 11 appearances on the mound after his disastrous 2000 playoffs. Chuck Knoblauch was a four-time All-Star second baseman and a Gold Glove winner in 1997, yet he was never the same after his battle with the yips.

In theory, this should be an easy problem to solve. Altuve is one of the best in the world at what he does, and the act of throwing to first or second isn't that difficult.

However, this illustrates just how fragile the confidence of even great athletes can be.