Sunday, October 16, 2022

Alomar Brothers

Imagine this:

You're a youngster growing up in 1970s Puerto Rico with your older brother, Sandy. Your dad, Sandy Sr., plays professional baseball in the States, and you and big bro want to do that, too. Both of you show great baseball instincts, and over the summer, when school is out, you spend a lot of time in major league locker rooms with dad and all his teammates. You soak it all in. The skills, the way they all talk, the way they all work. And it only makes you better.

The new decade arrives, and dad has made the transition from player to coach, first working with the Puerto Rican national team and then with a minor-league affiliate of MLB's San Diego Padres. Scouts know all about you and your brother, and in 1983, Sandy Jr. is signed by that same Padres organization as an amateur free agent. Two years later they scoop you up, too.

Your first assignment is Class-A ball in Charleston of the South Atlantic League. The transition to pro ball is not easy, but dad is a coach for that same team. Mom also makes the trip to Charleston, and living with your parents helps you excel on the field.

A couple of years pass and things go well for everyone—so much so that by 1988 you, your older brother, and dad are all brought up to the big club. There's enough fanfare and history surrounding the occasion that Bowman makes a card just for the three of you.

 
1989 Bowman #258 Sandy Alomar (coach), ft. Roberto (left) and Sandy Jr. (right)


Your brother only gets into one game that year (Benito Santiago is the man behind the plate in San Diego at the time), but you put in a solid year, and finish 5th in NL Rookie of the Year voting behind some big names like Mark Grace and Ron Gant. The next year you step up your game even more, and you're well on your way to success.
 
Brother Sandy still doesn't get much game action that next year (7 games total), but he'll soon be off to Cleveland where he'll start to shine, winning the AL Rookie of the Year award in 1990 and adding a Gold Glove and an All-Star selection.
 
Soon you'll also be moving along, signing with the Toronto Blue Jays, and that's where you really take off. It's almost a constant stream of Gold Gloves, Silver Sluggers, and All-Star game selections. And best of all, you help the Blue Jays to two straight World Series championships. In the 1993 finals against Philadelphia you put up especially impressive numbers, going 12-for-25 with 5 runs scored, 6 RBI, and 4 stolen bases.
 
Those championships are things that dad and big bro never experienced, but it's surely a family celebration.

Here are some numbers for the Alomars, including dad: Pedro Martinez

 

 

CAREER TOTALS

 

 

SANDY SR.

(15 seasons)

SANDY JR.

(20 seasons)

ROBERTO

(17 seasons)

GAMES PLAYED

1481

1377

2379

AT-BATS

4760

4530

9073

RUNS

558

520

1508

HITS

1168

1236

2724

DOUBLES

126

249

504

TRIPLES

19

10

80

HOME RUNS

13

112

210

RBI

282

588

1134

STOLEN BASES

227

25

474

WALKS

302

212

1032

STRIKEOUTS

482

499

1140

BATTING AVERAGE

.245

.273

.300

OBP

.290

.309

.371

SLG

.288

.406

.443

 

 

 

BEST SEASON (career highs in bold, italic = led major leagues)

 

 

SANDY SR.

(1971, CAL)

SANDY JR.

(1997, CLE)

ROBERTO

(1999, CLE)

GAMES PLAYED

162

125

159

AT-BATS

689

451

563

RUNS

77

63

138

HITS

179

146

182

DOUBLES

24

37

40

TRIPLES

3

0

3

HOME RUNS

4

21

24

RBI

42

83

120

STOLEN BASES

39

0

37

WALKS

41

19

99

STRIKEOUTS

60

48

96

BATTING AVERAGE

.260

.324

.323

OBP

.301

.354

.422

SLG

.321

.545

.533

 


Roberto is a Hall-of-Famer (2011), 10x Gold Glove winner, 4x Silver Slugger, 12x All Star, and 2x World Series champion. Those 10 Gold Gloves came over a span of 11 seasons. During his career he played for the Padres, Blue Jays, Orioles, Indians, Mets, White Sox, and Diamondbacks.
 
Sandy Jr. is a 6x All-Star, Rookie of the Year Award winner, and Gold Glove winner. Over his career he suited up for the Padres, Indians, White Sox, Rockies, Rangers, Dodgers, and Mets.
 
So here's to the Alomars. An exceptional baseball family, and a great reunion in those early San Diego days.

15 comments:

  1. As a Roberto Alomar collector (let's not talk about his alleged extracurricular activities for the moment) , I can appreciate this post. Thanks!

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  2. It would have been cool to see the Alomar brothers hang out together in SD a little bit longer.

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    1. Right? At least they had a couple of years playing together in Cleveland later on. Thanks for reading, Fuji!

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  3. Yeah, but he intentionally spit on an umpire. Have any of the other thiusands of players done that? Probally not.

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    1. I prefer to focus on the positives, but to each his own!

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    2. Ignore this guy. he only surafces to shitpost.

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  4. I remember at the time believing Sandy Jr. was also on a Hall of Fame path with all those All-Star selections. It's tough for catchers to maintain a sustained level of success though.

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    1. Excellent point, Matt. Still a fantastic career, though!

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  5. Arguably the greatest all-around brother duo in history. Also that's one of the *very* few '89 Bowman cards I like.

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    1. They're definitely up there, I agree. And that card was definitely a fun one when it was released back then. Thanks for reading, Nick!

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  6. I don't think I ever finished it, but I did collect '89 Bowman way back when, and yet, I'm pretty sure that this is the first time that I've ever seen that Alomar card. Obviously that was one that I was missing; and now I kind of feel like I was ripped off for having never seen and/or pulled it all of those years ago.

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    1. Oh man, if I remember right, the Griffeys also have a card like that in the set. If I had an actual copy of either of them, I'd send them out to you. Unfortunately, that picture above is only from the internet.

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  7. Sandy Sr's 1971 numbers are nuts. He led the league in hits, but still only hit .260. He wasn't walking much, or striking out all that much. He put a huge number of balls in play! And he only grounded into 7 double plays all year! Granted, he was batting leadoff, so that removes at least one chance per game to do that, but if he'd had a better hitting coach, maybe he could have hit .300+ that year. Prime example of a contact hitter, but pity he wasn't hittin' 'em where they ain't.

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    Replies
    1. Right? That was quite a season. And he stole some bases, too!

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