Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Be safe, eat, drink, watch some football and nap (always works for me!).
Let’s
cap-off the brilliant Major League playing career of Felipe Alou, who
would go on to also have a brilliant managerial MLB career later on,
giving us a true baseball “lifer”:
Alou would only appear in three games with the Milwaukee Brewers in
1974, playing one game at right field while pinch-hitting as well.
It would be the finale of an excellent career that saw him bat .286 over
17-seasons, leading the National League in hits twice while collecting
over 2000 hits and 200 home runs in 2082 games.
He would also get to play MLB ball alongside his two brothers, Matty and
Jesus, while also seeing his cousins Jose Sosa pitch, and eventually
seeing his son Moises become an all-star player himself, while having
his nephew Mel Rojas pitch in relief! Incredible baseball family tree
hardly seen before or since!
During the height of his playing career, with the Milwaukee/Atlanta
Braves in the 1960’s, Alou topped 20 homers four times, topping .300
three times, and also led the league in total bases in 1966 with 355
when he topped 30 homers for the only time in his career.
As stated earlier, he would eventually move on to an excellent
managerial career in 1992, managing the Montreal Expos for ten seasons
through 2001, including the heart-breaking 1994 season when the team was
steam-rolling through the Summer before the baseball strike killed the
organization.
He would move on to the San Francisco Giants in 2003, leading them to a
100-win season and first place finish in the National League West, and
guide them through the next three seasons before leaving the managing
life after 2006.
A great baseball figure from an incredible baseball family!