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Sandy Alomar, Jr.
Catcher
Born: June 18, 1966 (1966-06-18) (age 43) Salinas, Puerto Rico
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 30, 1988 for the San Diego Padres
Last MLB appearance
September 30, 2007 for the New York Mets
Career statistics
Batting average	.274
Home runs	112
Runs batted in	588
Teams
San Diego Padres (1988–1989) Cleveland Indians (1990–2000) Chicago White Sox (2001–2002) Colorado Rockies (2002) Chicago White Sox (2003–2004) Texas Rangers (2005) Los Angeles Dodgers (2006) Chicago White Sox (2006) New York Mets (2007)
Career highlights and awards
6x All-Star selection (1990, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1997, 1998) 1990 AL Rookie of the Year 1997 MLB All-Star Game MVP

Santos "Sandy" Alomar, Jr., or in the Spanish naming system Santos Alomar Velázquez (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 now the first base coach for the Cleveland Indians.

[edit] Major league career

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.

Alomar was selected as an All-Star in 1991 and 1992. However, his 1992 season was largely lost due to injuries, and he finished the year with zero home runs and only seven RBIs in 199 at-bats. Over the next few years, Alomar suffered several injuries and failed to realize his potential. 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]

On August 1, 2009, The Cleveland Indians inducted Sandy Alomar Jr. to their Hall of Fame during a ceremony before their game against the Detroit Tigers.

On November 17, 2009, Sandy Alomar Jr. was hired as the first base coach to manager Manny Acta's staff of the Cleveland Indians.

[edit] Knee saver

Sandy Alomar Jr. was the first player in the major leagues to use the knee saver. He stated that it added 6 years to his playing career.

[edit] Family

Alomar Jr. and his wife, Margred have five children, Marcus Xavier (born 2-14-1990), Marissa Danielle (9-25-1992), Leanna April (4-18-1998), Brianna Maria (12-2-2000) and Isabella Simone (4-22-2004)^[2].

[edit] See also

• List of second generation MLB players

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
• The Ballplayers - Sandy Alomar, Jr. | BaseballLibrary.com