Sandy Alomar, Jr.
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| Sandy Alomar, Jr. | ||
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| Catcher | ||
| Born: June 18, 1966 Salinas, Puerto Rico |
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| Batted: Right | Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | ||
| September 30, 1988 for the San Diego Padres |
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| Final game | ||
| September 30, 2007 for the New York Mets |
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| Career statistics | ||
| Batting average | .274 | |
| Home runs | 112 | |
| Runs batted in | 588 | |
| Teams | ||
| Career highlights and awards | ||
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Santos "Sandy" Alomar Velazquez, Jr. (born June 18, 1966 in Salinas, Puerto Rico) is a former Major League Baseball catcher who played for the San Diego Padres (1988-1989), Cleveland Indians (1990-2000), Chicago White Sox (2001-2002, 2003-2004) and (2006), Colorado Rockies (2002), Texas Rangers (2005), Los Angeles Dodgers (2006), and New York Mets (2007). He is the son of former major leaguer Sandy Alomar, Sr., and the brother of former second baseman Roberto Alomar. He is currently the catching instructor for the New York Mets.
Alomar was a highly regarded catcher in the San Diego organization after being named Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year in both 1988 and 1989, but he was stuck behind Benito Santiago at the Major League level. After two short call-ups with the Padres, he finally got his chance at an everyday job after being traded to Cleveland after the 1989 season along with Carlos Baerga and Chris James, in exchange for power-hitter Joe Carter. Once in Cleveland, he established himself immediately, becoming the first rookie catcher to start an All-Star game and winning both Rookie of the Year honors and a Gold Glove Award. Despite All-Star appearances in 1991 and 1992, Alomar began to lose more and more time due to injuries and failed to realize his potential for several seasons. He came back strong in the first half of 1996 to make his fourth All-Star team, but then faded in the second half.
In 1997, everything finally came together for Alomar. He batted .324, was the MVP of the All-Star game in his home ballpark, put together a 30-game hitting streak (one short of Nap Lajoie's Indians record and four short of his former teammate Benito Santiago's record for catchers), and helped lead Cleveland to their third straight postseason appearance. In the Division Series against the New York Yankees, Alomar hit .316 with two home runs, including a game-tying shot off Mariano Rivera in the eighth inning of Game 4. Though he was less effective against the Baltimore Orioles in the ALCS, he still provided a game-winning hit in the ninth inning of Game 4. The Indians lost the World Series to the Florida Marlins, but not on account of Alomar who hit .367 with two home runs.
Although Alomar was selected to his sixth All-Star team in 1998, he turned in a mediocre season overall and then had injury problems again in 1999. He left the Indians as a free agent after the 2000 season and has played in a limited role with the Chicago White Sox, Colorado Rockies, Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Dodgers, and New York Mets since then.
On February 15, 2008, Alomar was named the catching instructor for the New York Mets, effectively ending his playing career. [1]
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
| Preceded by Gregg Olson |
American League Rookie of the Year 1990 |
Succeeded by Chuck Knoblauch |
| Preceded by Mike Piazza |
Major League Baseball All-Star Game Most Valuable Player 1997 |
Succeeded by Roberto Alomar |
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