Jose Altuve.
Jose Altuve might’ve angered an umpire when he whipped out his bare foot during a recent on-field altercation, but he certainly found some new fans on the internet.
The Houston Astros star, 34, received a lucrative webcam offer after he took off his cleat and sock during a game against the San Diego Padres on Tuesday, September 17. Altuve pleaded with home plate umpire Brennan Miller that he had fouled a ball off his foot before being ejected from the game.
In a letter obtained by Us Weekly, popular adult platform CamSoda has offered to pay Altuve’s potential fines, up to $10,000, in exchange for an “hour-long webcam show in which you show off your foot to our audience.”
“Our users love some nice feet, and I have a feeling a lot of people would love to see yours up close and personal,” CamSoda’s vice president Daryn Parker wrote in the offer. “After all, size doesn’t matter — you of all people know that.”
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Altuve is the shortest active player in Major League Baseball, registering at 5-foot-6.
The play in question came at a crucial point in the top half of the game’s ninth inning, when Miller ruled Altuve’s ball was fair, resulting in an inning-ending forceout. The Astros would eventually win the game 4-3 in 10 innings.
While no fines against Altuve have yet to be levied, he continued to make his case in the Astros’ locker room after his ejection.
“It was a foul ball,” Altuve said. “It was obvious. I just wanted my at-bat against [Robert] Suarez. I know he’s great, but I wanted to keep battling against him.”
Astros manager Joe Espada backed up his All-Star second baseman after the game, arguing that he might have even taken things one step further.
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“I respect that from Jose,” Espada said. “He wants to win, and he’s a winner. Hey, I’ll take it. I get it. If it was me, I would probably take my shoes off, too, to prove a point.”
Whatever the case, Espada also used the opportunity to call out the night’s entire umpire crew.
“It’s a foul ball,” Espada said. “You have to see the ball once it hits the foot, the flight of the ball, what the ball does. I don’t understand. That’s twice this year. I have a lot of respect for the umpires. They work hard. There’s four out there. For me, you have to be able to see it. They missed that play.”
In May, CamSoda offered viral French pole vaulter Anthony Ammirati — who clipped the bar with his crotch at the 2024 Paris Olympics — $250,000 for a one-hour cam show. Thus far, Ammirati has not accepted the offer.