Photo: Karen Warren, Houston Chronicle / Staff Photographer

Machete manifested from, of all places, first base.

On an atypical day when he did not catch, Martin Maldonado played first. He fired a missile across the diamond to third base. A former agent in attendance saw what so many opposing baserunners now fear, throws that average almost 88 mph and cut down any thought of aggression.

Martin “Machete” Maldonado came to be.

“I don’t mind it,” Maldonado said Thursday, smiling while he packed a duffel bag bound for Boston and the American League Championship Series.

Modesty masks Maldonado’s monstrous impact. In two months, the lumbering, light-hitting catcher whose acquisition was dwarfed by two other deadline deals has snatched the role as Houston’s everyday catcher.

“You can tell he cares about his arm, you can tell he cares about throwing — he loves to show it off,” manager A.J. Hinch said. ‘But that’s not even like what he loves the most about catching.”

What he relishes more is the art of the position, from the pregame planning and scouting to in-game adjustments he must spearhead. When Hinch ambles to the mound to pull a pitcher, he and Maldonado always discuss the first pitch the new reliever will throw.

“You don’t always get that,” Hinch said. “I love it as a manager — especially as an ex-catcher — because I got an opinion, too.”

Understanding the genesis of Maldonado’s game must begin in Puerto Rico. The 32-year-old is the latest native son to star behind a major league plate.

Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez and Sandy Alomar, Jr. were countrymen crucial in Maldonado’s upbringing.

“I think everybody wants to be a catcher down there just because of the history with all the catchers,” Maldonado said. “A lot of young guys look up to us and they love the position back there.”

When he was young, Maldonado most admired Benito Santiago. The countless throws Santiago made from his knees to nab baserunners are still etched in the memory of the man now called Machete.

After each game he plays, Maldonado texts with the player after whom he models his game — Jose Molina. Maldonado says he’s “like family” now after so much Molina wisdom in eight major league seasons.

Molina’s brothers — Bengie and Yadier — comprise one of the sport’s most well-known Puerto Rican families.

“They want nothing more than to back-pick a runner at first base or throw a runner out or block a ball in the dirt,” Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said. “They derive so much joy and satisfaction from that.”

Luhnow joined the Cardinals front office one year before Yadier Molina’s major league debut. The 51-year-old executive still calls the Cardinals legend the best defensive catcher he’s ever seen.

“You can tell when a catcher is just going through the motions and they really would prefer to be hitting than catching,” Luhnow said. “But with these guys, it’s all about catching first. There’s a joy and desire to be back there and to be elite that I think both Molina and Maldonado have.”

As solely a defender and arbiter of the running game, Maldonado has given Luhnow and the Astros precisely what they envisioned. Luhnow acknowledged the club has received more than it anticipated offensively from Maldonado, he of a career .639 OPS.

The numbers are not robust — he has just a .655 OPS as an Astro — but his production is timely and bat skills adept. In his first career playoff game, Game 1 of the ALDS against the Indians, Maldonado hit a solo home run.

“You’ve seen me hit-and-run with him, you’ve seen me bunt with him.” Hinch said. “Sometimes guys have too much pride to do stuff like that. He does not. He’s willing to do whatever it takes to advance runners, move guys, he obviously has home run power. He’s a really, really smart player.”

Maldonado’s assimilation among baseball’s best pitching staff was swift. Playing the last season and a half within the American League West as an Angel aided the transition.

“Right when he first came in, after we got him, he went right to the starting staff and the bullpen guys and acted like he had been there for a couple years,” Dallas Keuchel said. “He watched a lot of video already.”

“He slid right in,” starter Charlie Morton added. “He’s a pro. I think people that are like that you have certain expectations and hold them to a higher standard. He’s certainly been all that and more.”

The arm with an alias attracts most of the attention. The Indians led the majors in stolen bases in the regular season. During the ALDS, they did not attempt a stolen base.

Eight opponents have tried to steal bases against Maldonado as an Astro. He’s thrown out five.

Houston pitchers still place a premium on holding runners. Maldonado’s presence can offset the momentary lapses, whether it be unknowingly holding the baseball too long or being a tad more deliberate to the plate.

Lance McCullers Jr. surmised that any delivery time under 1.3 seconds suffices when Maldonado is on the mound.

If not?

“He’s like an emergency button,” Collin McHugh said.

Patrolling base stealing is but one facet of neutralizing a running game. Secondary leads shorten when Maldonado catches. Without that extra step or two, advancing on shallow base hits becomes arduous. Teams second-guess hit-and-run calls, too, cognizant of their fate if a hitter does not execute. A would-be base-stealer is hung out to dry.

“The cop doesn’t have to pull you over, he just has to be there and you’ll slow down,” Hinch said. “It’s the same thing.”

A season and a half in the opposing dugout lent Hinch and most others in the organization a portrait of Maldonado. The Angels relied on him ruthlessly. Just two catchers — Buster Posey and JT Realmuto — played more games than Maldonado in 2017.

One year later, at the time he was traded to Houston, Maldonado — a pending free agent — had again played the third-most games of any major league catcher.

“You could tell the guy was a grinder,” McCullers said. “He’s one of the guys you watch from the other dugout and you have respect for immediately.”

Since his arrival in Houston, he’s played just 41 games. In the regular season, Brian McCann and Max Stassi were able to split reps. Luhnow said lessening Maldonado’s workload has helped “quite a bit.”

His shift into the Astros’ clubhouse was seamless. A wide collection of witty t-shirts and hoodies draw constant smiles. “Everything Hurts,” one reads plainly. “Always Hungry,” says another.

“I told (Carlos) Correa and all these guys a long time ago I would love to pitch to him one day,” McCullers said. “When you get him and you really just kind of have a better appreciation for the appreciation he puts into it.”

“The level of respect and admiration I had for him even before I played with him has (now) grown through the roof. Hopefully we re-sign him. I think he’s one of the best catchers around.”

Chandler.Rome@chron.com

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