Cooperstown Chronicles – Roberto Alomar
Photo courtesy of TSN Archives/Icon SMI
Leafs7420, a friend of mine from Sporting News, wanted me to profile Roberto Alomar. Here are my findings.
Photo courtesy of John Biever/SI/Icon SMI
The Numbers
2379 Games (81st All-time)
9073 At Bats (57th All-time)
.300 Batting Average
1508 Runs (61st All-time)
2724 Hits (51st All-time)
504 Doubles (43rd All-time)
80 Triples
210 HR
1134 RBI
4018 Total Bases
474 Stolen Bases (40th All-time)
Playoffs: 58 Games, 72 hits in 230 At Bats (.313), 32 Runs, 17 Doubles, 1Triple, 4 HR, 33 RBI, 20 SB
Awards
1992 ALCS MVP
1998 All-Star MVP
10 Gold Gloves
4 Silver Sluggers
12 All-Star Appearances
MVP Votes in 7 Seasons
Top Ten Finishes
Batting Average – Five times
On Base % – Five times
OPS – Once
Runs - Six times (Led league in 1999)
Hits - Seven times
Doubles - Three times
Triples – Five times
RBI – Once
Walks – Once
Stolen Bases - Seven times
Games – Three times
At Bats – Twice
Roberto Alomar was an unbelievable player. He was easily one of the best at his position in his era, and likely any era. He was equally as talented on offense as he was on defense. The only thing that is keeping him from being a first ballot guy in my book is he wasn’t at the very top of certain categories (hits, batting average, runs, doubles, triples) as often as I figured he would. Of course there was the spitting incident, but that isn’t enough to keep him waiting too long for the call in my opinion, especially when you consider what players of his era were doing. This one is a lock for me.
Be sure to check out RobertoAlomar.com for more information.
References
Baseball Reference
Past Chronicles
Bert Byleven
Andre Dawson
Dale Murphy
Mark McGwire
Bobby Matthews
Tommy John
Buck O’Neill & Minnie Minoso
Jim Rice
Ted Simmons
Lee Smith
Jack Morris
Al Oliver
Steve Garvey
Jim Kaat
Pete Ro$e
Shoeless Joe Jackson
Dave Concepcion
Lou Whitaker
Alan Trammell
Ron Santo
Ron Guidry
Gil Hodges
Dave Parker
Tony Mullane
Keith Hernandez
Don Mattingly
Dwight Evans
Ralph Houk (Manager)
Jimmie Dykes (Player/Manager)
Charlie Grimm (Player/Manager)
Billy Martin (Player/Manager)
Harold Baines
Gene Mauch (Manager)
Whitey Herzog (Manager)
Tom Kelly (Manager)
Joe Carter
Rusty Staub
Gary Gaetti
Jimmy Ryan
George Van Haltren
Roger Maris
Lance Parrish
Mo Vaughn
Mark Grace
Dennis Martinez
Chuck Finley
Fred McGriff
Wes Parker
Steve Finley
Orlando Cepeda
Albert Belle
Willie Randolph
Graig Nettles
Luis Gonzalez
Lefty O’Doul
Rocky Colavito
Boog Powell
Jerry Koosman
Mike Cuellar
Edgar Martinez
Brooks Robinson
Terry
April 9th, 2008 at 3:45 pm #
While i agree that his stats for his position compare favorably to others in the Hall, I do have some anti-Alomar bias and it has nothing to do with the spitting incident. As any Mets fan would attest, his seasons with the Mets made him almost unrecognizable from the player in Cleveland. Nobody know why, but he was incredibly mediocre and very un-Hall worthy befoe his career completely faded into obscurity.
Larry Novak
April 9th, 2008 at 3:48 pm #
I do agree with your review. I was going to suggest that you review him,
He was the top 2nd baseman for about a 6 year period, but injuries and the spitting incident did derail his career somewhat. But I do believe he did more than enough to get in.
I do think the spitting incident will delay him by 2 to 5 years.
Ryan Lester
April 9th, 2008 at 5:03 pm #
terry – i hear you, but he was 34 and wasn’t the only underachiever (Mo Vaughn)
larry – maybe so. he’ll still get in though.
Terry
April 9th, 2008 at 5:07 pm #
Ryan,
Just bringing up the name Mo Vaughn brought on a stomach pain! Suffice to say, the mid 90s were a very forgettable period for Mets fans:(
Ryan Lester
April 9th, 2008 at 5:32 pm #
Sorry Terry. See I have the pleasure of still liking Mo.
Luis
April 10th, 2008 at 7:56 am #
i agree with you as well… he is a lock. when you think about the best second basemen of all time he has to rank right up there with ryan sandberg and joe morgan. true the latter third of his career is tainted with some take the money and run seasons, but its hard to overlook how great he truly was.
Ryan Lester
April 10th, 2008 at 8:04 am #
Let’s face it. After a great career, who wouldn’t take the big payout on your way out?
Luis
April 10th, 2008 at 9:48 am #
hahahaha… very true. i wonder if there is a big payout for a graphic designer somewhere?
Ryan Lester
April 10th, 2008 at 9:51 am #
Luis – Maybe Michael Jackson will have a computer installed as his face, and then you can design his daily look. that would pay big.
Protege
July 15th, 2008 at 12:38 pm #
Roberto just launched his website. Check it out!
http://robertoalomar.com
LestersLegends
July 15th, 2008 at 12:42 pm #
Protege – cool.