Felipe Alou

Full Name: Felipé Rojas Alou	Primary Position: OF,RF,1B,CF,LF
Height/Weight: 6' 0"/195	First Game: June 8, 1958
Birthdate: May 12, 1935	Final Game: April 24, 1974
Birthplace: Haina, Distrito Nacional (Dominican Republic)	MLB Experience: 17 years
Bat/Throw: Right/Right

Rate this Player

3.31

(59 votes)

1 Biography
2 Playing career
3 Managing career
4 Career Highlights
5 Statistics
- 5.1 Batting Stats
- 5.2 Fielding Stats
6 Transactions
7 Trivia
8 Video Gallery
9 Picture Gallery
10 See Also
11 Categories

[edit] Biography

Felipe Rojas Alou (born May 12 1935 in Bajos de Haina, Dominican Republic) is a former outfielder and first baseman in Major League Baseball and the current manager of the San Francisco Giants. The first Dominican to play regularly in the major leagues, he is the most prominent member of one of the sport's most notable families of the late 20th century: his younger brothers Matty and Jesús were both longtime National League outfielders, and his son Moises is a current outfielder with the Giants; all but Jesús have been named All-Stars at least twice.

During his 17-year career spent with the Giants, Milwaukee & Atlanta Braves, Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, Montreal Expos, and Milwaukee Brewers, Alou played all three outfield positions regularly (736 games in right field, 483 in center, 433 in left), and led the National League in hits twice and runs once. Batting regularly in the leadoff spot, he hit a home run to begin a game on 20 occasions. He later became the winningest manager in Expos history, leading the team from 1992 to 2001 before rejoining the Giants in 2003.

[edit] Playing career

Alou lived in poverty in the Dominican Republic and dreamed of escaping it by becoming a doctor. However, a last minute switch from track and field to baseball at the Pan-American Games revealed a talent for the game as the Dominican team took gold. He still pursued a university career a while longer, but was finally forced to sign with the Giants in November 1955 for only $200 due to family financial problems.

Alou made his major league debut in 1958 and was an All-Star in 1962, when he batted .316 with 25 home runs and 98 RBI.

In 1959, Alou was joined by both of his brothers, who became the first all-brother outfield and the first brothers to bat and be retired in order.

Alou was traded to the Braves before 1964. Two years later he enjoyed his best season, when he batted .327 with 31 home runs and led the league in runs (122), hits (218), at bats (666), and total bases (355); he finished second in the batting race to his brother Matty. He also had a good year in 1968, batting .317 and leading the league in hits (210) and at bats (662); he made the All-Star team both years. Alou continued to play with several more teams through 1974, though he never again approached this level of success.

[edit] Managing career

After the end of his playing career, Alou became a batting coach and a minor league manager in the Montreal system. The Giants offered him the manager's spot in 1985, but he remained with the Expos out of loyalty; this paid off in 1992 when he became the Expos manager. The team was developing a core of young talent during this period, including Larry Walker, John Wetteland, Delino DeShields, and Alou's own son, Moisés. In 1994 the Expos had the best record in the major leagues; however, the strike that year denied the Expos a chance at getting to their first World Series, and ownership soon began dealing all their young talent to cut payroll. Alou was named the NL Manager of the Year. The Los Angeles Dodgers tried to lure him away in 1998, but he declined to leave Montreal. Eventually, Alou became the winningest manager in team history.

Despite Alou's popularity in Montreal, the Expos' dismal record eventually led to his dismissal by new owner Jeffrey Loria, who replaced him with Jeff Torborg during the 2001 season. Several teams tried to lure Alou out of retirement, including the Boston Red Sox, but he would not budge. He finally agreed to serve a single year as the bench coach for Detroit Tigers rookie manager Luis Pujols (2002). Prior to the 2003 season, Alou was named manager of the Giants, the team where he began his professional baseball career, replacing Dusty Baker who had left to manage the Chicago Cubs. In his first season in San Francisco, he managed his team into the playoffs, where they were defeated by the Florida Marlins in the NL Division Series in 4 games. The Marlins went on to win the World Series.

In 2005, the Giants signed Moisés Alou to a one-year contract with an option for the 2006 season, reuniting him professionally with his father after seven seasons apart. The two plan to finish their respective careers together.

Despite his team's poor performance, the Giants signed the elder Alou to a one-year contract extension midway through the 2005 season, bringing him back for his fourth season as the team's manager. During the 2005 season, Alou and some Giants players, such as Omar Vizquel, were publicly offended by racially inflammatory comments made by local radio host Larry Krueger towards Giants hitters of Caribbean/Latin origin. In response, Alou refused to accept Krueger's apology and called him "this messenger of "Satan".

Most people believe that Felipe Alou's best season was 1966, when he slugged 31 home runs, hit for a .327 average and knocked in 74 runs.

[edit] Career Highlights

3 Time All-Star: 1962, 1966, 1968
1994 Manager of the Year

[edit] Statistics

[edit] Batting Stats

Year	Team		G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG	OBP	SLG	2B	3B	BB	SO	HBP	SH	SB	IBB	GDP
1958	SF	N	75	182	21	46	4	16	.253	.325	.390	9	2	19	34	1	1	4	2	1
1959	SF	N	95	247	38	68	10	33	.275	.318	.466	13	2	17	38	0	1	5	1	5
1960	SF	N	106	322	48	85	8	44	.264	.299	.410	17	3	16	42	2	3	10	1	9
1961	SF	N	132	415	59	120	18	52	.289	.333	.465	19	0	26	41	2	2	11	2	11
1962	SF	N	154	561	96	177	25	98	.316	.356	.513	30	3	33	66	5	2	10	2	4
1963	SF	N	157	565	75	159	20	82	.281	.319	.474	31	9	27	87	6	5	11	3	13
1964	MIL	N	121	415	60	105	9	51	.253	.306	.395	26	3	30	41	4	1	5	5	5
1965	MIL	N	143	555	80	165	23	78	.297	.338	.481	29	2	31	63	5	4	8	4	6
1966	ATL	N	154	666	122	218	31	74	.327	.361	.533	32	6	24	51	12	2	5	6	11
1967	ATL	N	140	574	76	157	15	43	.274	.318	.408	26	3	32	50	7	1	6	7	10
1968	ATL	N	160	662	72	210	11	57	.317	.365	.438	37	5	48	56	4	0	12	14	10
1969	ATL	N	123	476	54	134	5	32	.282	.319	.345	13	1	23	23	4	4	4	4	7
1970	OAK	A	154	575	70	156	8	55	.271	.308	.367	25	3	32	31	1	4	10	6	13
1971	OAK	A	2	8	0	2	0	0	.250	.250	.375	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0
1971	NY	A	131	461	52	133	8	69	.289	.334	.410	20	6	32	24	2	1	5	3	15
1971	TOT	A	133	469	52	135	8	69	.288	.333	.409	21	6	32	25	2	2	5	3	15
1972	NY	A	120	324	33	90	6	37	.278	.326	.395	18	1	22	27	2	1	1	1	8
1973	NY	A	93	280	25	66	4	27	.236	.256	.321	12	0	9	25	0	0	0	5	4
1973	MON	N	19	48	4	10	1	4	.208	.240	.292	1	0	2	4	0	0	0	1	3
1973	Total		112	328	29	76	5	31	.232	.254	.317	13	0	11	29	0	0	0	6	7
1974	MIL	A	3	3	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
Total	NL		1579	5688	805	1654	180	664	.291	.333	.449	283	39	328	596	52	26	91	52	95
Total	AL		503	1651	180	447	26	188	.271	.309	.376	76	10	95	110	5	7	16	15	40
Total			2082	7339	985	2101	206	852	.286	.328	.433	359	49	423	706	57	33	107	67	135

[edit] Fielding Stats

Year	Team		POS	G	GS	INN	PO	A	ERR	DP	AVG
1958	SF	N	LF	28	4	95.2	33	0	2	0	.943
1958	SF	N	OF	70	43	436	126	2	2	1	.985
1958	SF	N	CF	3	3	24.1	9	0	0	0	1.000
1958	SF	N	RF	44	36	316	77	4	0	1	1.000
1959	SF	N	RF	59	46	432.1	86	1	2	0	.978
1959	SF	N	CF	11	7	61	20	1	1	0	.955
1959	SF	N	OF	69	55	518.1	111	2	3	0	.974
1959	SF	N	LF	4	2	25	4	0	0	0	1.000
1960	SF	N	OF	95	80	734.2	156	5	7	0	.958
1960	SF	N	CF	8	4	48	14	0	1	0	.933
1960	SF	N	LF	67	55	502.2	105	4	5	0	.956
1960	SF	N	RF	29	21	184	39	1	1	0	.976
1961	SF	N	LF	33	20	183.2	42	3	1	0	.978
1961	SF	N	OF	122	100	919	196	10	2	1	.990
1961	SF	N	CF	6	2	34	12	0	0	0	1.000
1961	SF	N	RF	86	78	701.1	140	7	1	1	.993
1962	SF	N	RF	140	129	1147	248	6	7	3	.973
1962	SF	N	LF	13	11	87	15	1	1	0	.941
1962	SF	N	OF	150	142	1249	262	7	8	3	.971
1962	SF	N	CF	2	2	15	3	0	0	0	1.000
1963	SF	N	OF	153	138	1286	279	9	4	2	.986
1963	SF	N	LF	7	3	28.2	6	0	0	0	1.000
1963	SF	N	RF	143	129	1186.1	251	7	4	2	.985
1963	SF	N	CF	14	6	71	21	1	1	0	.957
1964	MIL	N	LF	15	1	45.1	7	0	1	0	.875
1964	MIL	N	RF	28	22	194.1	52	2	0	0	1.000
1964	MIL	N	OF	92	80	728.2	191	2	5	0	.975
1964	MIL	N	1B	18	17	145	138	10	0	12	1.000
1964	MIL	N	CF	59	57	489	131	2	4	0	.971
1965	MIL	N	LF	67	55	480	95	2	2	0	.980
1965	MIL	N	3B	2	0	4	0	1	0	0	1.000
1965	MIL	N	OF	91	85	708	148	2	3	0	.980
1965	MIL	N	CF	25	24	170	46	0	1	0	.979
1965	MIL	N	SS	1	0	7	2	3	0	0	1.000
1965	MIL	N	1B	69	47	453.1	476	37	3	39	.994
1965	MIL	N	RF	7	6	58	11	0	0	0	1.000
1966	ATL	N	OF	80	71	635.2	164	8	3	0	.983
1966	ATL	N	RF	5	1	18	3	0	0	0	1.000
1966	ATL	N	LF	45	35	308.2	81	4	3	1	.966
1966	ATL	N	3B	3	0	10	1	1	0	0	1.000
1966	ATL	N	1B	89	82	713	769	53	10	63	.988
1966	ATL	N	CF	43	35	309	84	5	0	0	1.000
1966	ATL	N	SS	1	0	4.2	1	2	0	0	1.000
1967	ATL	N	1B	85	83	726.1	774	28	6	67	.993
1967	ATL	N	LF	24	20	192.2	32	2	3	0	.919
1967	ATL	N	OF	56	53	489	90	6	3	0	.970
1967	ATL	N	RF	5	3	30	3	1	0	0	1.000
1967	ATL	N	CF	31	30	266.1	54	3	0	1	1.000
1968	ATL	N	CF	158	156	1406.1	376	8	8	2	.980
1968	ATL	N	OF	158	156	1406.1	379	8	8	2	.980
1969	ATL	N	RF	16	12	111	18	0	1	0	.947
1969	ATL	N	OF	116	109	972	260	4	3	1	.989
1969	ATL	N	LF	3	0	8.1	0	0	0	0	.000
1969	ATL	N	CF	99	97	852.2	203	4	2	1	.990
1970	OAK	A	LF	106	64	641.2	133	6	3	2	.979
1970	OAK	A	1B	1	0	2	3	0	0	1	1.000
1970	OAK	A	RF	80	72	572	142	6	4	1	.974
1970	OAK	A	OF	145	141	1243.2	287	11	7	3	.977
1970	OAK	A	CF	5	5	30	9	0	0	0	1.000
1971	OAK	A	LF	2	2	17	7	0	0	0	1.000
1971	OAK	A	OF	2	2	17	7	0	0	0	1.000
1971	NY	A	1B	42	37	348.1	377	20	2	23	.995
1971	NY	A	OF	80	73	663	129	3	2	0	.985
1971	NY	A	CF	20	18	144.2	36	0	1	0	.973
1971	NY	A	RF	56	49	454.1	81	3	1	0	.988
1971	NY	A	LF	7	6	64	11	0	0	0	1.000
1971	TOT	A	OF	82	75	680	136	3	2	0	.986
1971	TOT	A	LF	9	8	81	18	0	0	0	1.000
1972	NY	A	1B	95	58	593.2	648	54	7	69	.990
1972	NY	A	RF	15	12	102	19	0	0	0	1.000
1972	NY	A	OF	15	12	102	21	0	0	0	1.000
1973	NY	A	1B	67	51	450	467	30	6	43	.988
1973	NY	A	DH	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
1973	NY	A	OF	24	20	196.2	45	1	1	0	.979
1973	NY	A	LF	1	0	8	1	0	0	0	1.000
1973	NY	A	RF	23	20	181.2	42	0	1	0	.977
1973	NY	A	CF	1	0	7	3	0	0	0	1.000
1973	MON	N	OF	15	7	94	28	2	0	0	1.000
1973	MON	N	1B	1	0	1	2	1	0	0	1.000
1973	MON	N	LF	15	6	78	24	2	0	0	1.000
1973	MON	N	CF	3	1	16	4	0	0	0	1.000
1973	Total		CF	4	1	23	7	0	0	0	1.000
1973	Total		LF	16	6	86	25	2	0	0	1.000
1973	Total		1B	68	51	451	469	31	6	43	.988
1973	Total		OF	39	27	290.2	73	3	1	0	.987
1974	MIL	A	OF	1	0	1	0	0	1	0	.000
1974	MIL	A	RF	1	0	1	0	0	1	0	.000
Total			1B	467	375	3432.2	3654	233	34	317	.991
Total			DH	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Total			RF	737	636	5689.1	1212	38	23	8	.982
Total			3B	5	0	14	1	2	0	0	1.000
Total			LF	437	284	2766.1	596	24	21	3	.967
Total			SS	2	0	11.2	3	5	0	0	1.000
Total			CF	488	447	3944.1	1025	24	19	4	.982
Total			OF	1534	1367	12400	2879	82	62	13	.979

[edit] Transactions

Signed as an amateur free agent by New York Giants (November 14, 1955).
Traded by San Francisco Giants with Ed Bailey, Billy Hoeft and a player to be named later to Milwaukee Braves in exchange for Del Crandall, Bob Shaw and Bob Hendley (December 3, 1963); Milwaukee Braves received Ernie Bowman (January 8, 1964).
Traded by Atlanta Braves to Oakland Athletics in exchange for Jim Nash (December 3, 1969).
Traded by Oakland Athletics to New York Yankees in exchange for Ron Klimkowski and Rob Gardner (April 9, 1971).
Claimed on waivers by Montreal Expos from New York Yankees (September 6, 1973).
Sold by Montreal Expos to Milwaukee Brewers (December 7, 1973).
Released by Milwaukee Brewers (April 29, 1974).

[edit] Trivia

[edit] Video Gallery

Add Videos

[edit] Picture Gallery

Add Pictures

[edit] See Also

[edit] Categories

Retrieved from "http://www.armchairgm.com/Felipe_Alou"

This page was last modified 05:22, 28 March 2008. Content is available under the GFDL.