As I collect and share these favorite Houston Astros moments of the 2011 season, there’s no denying that a great deal of the excitement around baseball this year came from a crop of kids that saw the Majors long before anyone expected.

When Jose Altuve, Jimmy Paredes, JD Martinez, Jordan Lyles and the gang (The J’s) all arrived at Minute Maid Park, there was a definite buzz in the air. But what was in the air on Saturday, August 20th was a little different.

In the very first inning against the San Francisco Giants, Jose Altuve not only hit his first big league homer, but he made it a memorable one by doing it while keeping that ball in the park. In a hit that quite likely would have been a triple, Altuve ran through the stop sign at third to give us all a little show that night.

The Astros would go on to win, 7-5, over the Giants, but Altuve’s in-the-park home run was without a doubt the highlight of the game.

To watch the video, click the photo below.

I was sitting with my mother, the weeone and a family friend at Minute Maid Park when Altuve hit this one. Excitement is not a strong enough word.

Terri Schlather (AGirlintheSouth) is the tortured Senior Houston Astros Writer for Aerys Sports. You can email her at agirlinthesouth@gmail.com, or follow her ridiculous ramblings on sports, vodka and the weeone on twitter @agirlinthesouth.