Roberto Alomar (2011)


Date of Birth: 2/5/1968
Birthplace: Ponce, Puerto Rico

Roberto Alomar's father and his older brother (Sandy Sr. and Jr.) both had long and successful major league baseball careers. His father played for 15 years in the major leagues and his brother, who was a catcher, played for 20 seasons. Sandy Alomar Jr. won the All Star game MVP award two years before Roberto won it. All three Alomars played for the New York Mets and the Chicago White Sox, with Roberto and Sandy Jr. playing together in 1988 and 1989 with the San Diego Padres and in 2003 and 2004 with the White Sox.

San Diego Padres

Roberto Alomar signed with the Padres in 1985 at the age of 17. He spent two years in the minor leagues before starting with the Padres in 1988. In his first season in the major leagues, Alomar batted .266 with 145 hits, 24 doubles, and 24 stolen bases in 143 games. In December, 1990, the Padres traded Alomar to the Toronto Blue Jays.

Toronto Blue Jays

Alomar played with the Blue Jays from 1991 through 1995. During that time, he won five Gold Gloves, a Silver Slugger award, and the American League Championship Series MVP award.

In his first season with the Blue Jays, Alomar batted .295 with 188 hits, 41 doubles, 53 stolen bases, 69 RBIs, and 86 strikeouts to 57 walks in 161 games. He excelled defensively in 1991, winning his first Gold Glove. As the Blue Jays' second baseman in 160 games, he made 447 assists, 79 double plays, 333 putouts, and 15 errors and he had a .981 fielding percentage.

Alomar won his first Silver Slugger award in 1992 for batting .310 in 152 games. He had 177 hits, 27 doubles, 49 stolen bases, and 76 RBIs. He struck out 52 times and walked 87 times. He had another great defensive season, winning his second Gold Glove and leading the AL in fielding percentage. As a second baseman in 150 games, he made 378 assists, 66 double plays, 287 putouts, and 5 errors, and he had a .993 fielding percentage.

Alomar excelled also in the postseason in 1992. He won the ALCS MVP award that year. In 12 postseason games, he had 16 hits, 2 doubles, 2 home runs, 7 stolen bases, 4 RBIs, and a .320 batting average in 50 at-bats. He struck out 4 times and walked 5 times.

Alomar continued to play well for the Blue Jays in 1993, 1994, and 1995. He won Gold Gloves in each of those seasons for his outstanding defense at second base.

In 1993, Alomar had 192 hits, 35 doubles, 17 home runs, a career high 55 stolen bases, 93 RBIs, 67 strikeouts to 80 walks, and a .326 batting average in 153 games. The following season was a shortened one due to a players strike. Alomar finished the 1994 season, with 120 hits, 25 doubles, 19 stolen bases, 38 RBIs, 41 strikeouts to 51 walks, and a .306 batting average.

Alomar batted .300 in 1995. He finished the season with 155 hits, 24 doubles, 30 stolen bases, 66 RBIs, and 45 strikeouts to 47 walks in 130 games. Defensively, he led the AL in putouts with 272 and in fielding percentage with .994.

Baltimore Orioles

After the 1995 season ended, Alomar signed with the Baltimore Orioles. He played with the Orioles from 1996 through 1998 and won two more Gold Glove awards and his second Silver Slugger award.

In his first season with the Orioles, Alomar won his second Silver Slugger award, batting .328 that year. He had career highs in hits with 193 and in doubles with 43. He stole 17 bases, hit 22 home runs, and drove in 94 runs. He struck out 65 times and walked 90 times. He also excelled at second base, winning his sixth Gold Glove.

Alomar played in just 112 games in 1997. He finished the season with 137 hits, 23 doubles, 14 home runs, 9 stolen bases, 60 RBIs, 43 strikeouts to 40 walks, and a .333 batting average.

Alomar's batting average dropped to .282 in 1998, but he still had a good season with 166 hits, 36 doubles, 14 home runs, 18 stolen bases, and 59 RBIs in 147 games. He won the All Star game MVP award that season. Defensively, he once again won a Gold Glove and he led the AL in assists with 449.

Cleveland Indians

In November, 1998, Alomar signed a four-year contract with the Cleveland Indians. During his time in Cleveland, he won the last three of his ten Gold Glove awards and two more Silver Slugger awards.

Alomar had a strong first season with the Indians, winning his third Silver Slugger award in 1999. He had career highs in home runs with 24, RBIs with 120, and walks with 99 (to 96 strikeouts). He batted .323 with 182 hits and 40 doubles in 159 games. He won his eighth Gold Glove and he again led the AL in fielding percentage with .992.

Alomar had another good year both offensively and defensively in 2000. He won his fourth and last Silver Slugger award, batting .310 in 155 games. He had 189 hits, 40 doubles, 19 home runs, 39 stolen bases, and 89 RBIs. He won his ninth Gold Glove and he led the AL in assists with 437.

In 2001, Alomar had career highs in hits (193), triples (12), and batting average (.336). He also had 34 doubles, 20 home runs, 30 stolen bases, and 100 RBIs in 147 games. Defensively, he won Gold Glove number ten and he led the AL in fielding percentage with .993.

Alomar struggled in his last season in Cleveland, finishing the 2002 season with 157 hits, 24 doubles, 53 RBIs, and a .266 batting average in 149 games. He was traded to the New York Mets after the season ended.

Final Years as a Player

Alomar played on three teams in his last two seasons in the major leagues. After 73 games with the Mets in 2003, they traded him to the Chicago White Sox. The following season, he signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks but a broken right hand kept him on the disabled list for two months and he played in only 38 games with the team. On August 5, 2004, they traded him back to the White Sox and Alomar finished his major league career with 18 games in Chicago. The following March, he officially retired even though he had signed a one-year contract with the Tampa Bay Rays for the 2005 season.

Awards

  • ALCS MVP
  • All Star Game MVP
  • 10 Gold Gloves
  • 4 Silver Slugger awards

Career Statistics

Batting statistics for Alomar in 17 seasons (1988-2004) in the major leagues include:

  • 12 seasons with over 150 hits, with highs of 192 in 1993 and 193 in 1996 and 2001
  • 7 seasons with over 30 doubles, with a high of 43 in 1996
  • 10 seasons with over 20 stolen bases, with highs of 53 in 1991 and 55 in 1993
  • 9 seasons with a batting average of .300 or better, with a high of .336 in 2001

Career batting statistics for Alomar include:

  • 2,379 games played
  • 2,724 hits
  • 504 doubles
  • 474 stolen bases
  • 1,140 strikeouts to 1,032 walks
  • .300 batting average
  • .371 on-base percentage
  • .814 OPS

Career fielding statistics for Alomar at second base include:

  • 1,573 games played
  • 100 errors
  • 4,376 assists
  • 1,010 double plays
  • 2,867 putouts
  • .986 fielding percentage

Postseason statistics for Alomar include:

  • 7 postseasons
  • 58 games played
  • 230 at-bats
  • 72 hits
  • 16 doubles
  • 1 triple
  • 4 home runs
  • 19 stolen bases
  • 33 RBIs
  • 32 strikeouts to 27 walks
  • .313 batting average

Post Playing Years

Alomar was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2011 on the second ballot with 90.0% of the vote.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Roberto Alomar
ESPN - Roberto Alomar
Baseball Reference - Roberto Alomar

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