| Moisés Alou | |
|---|---|
 Alou with the San Francisco Giants in 2005 | |
| Outfielder | |
| Born: (1966-07-03)July 3, 1966 (age 59) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| July 26, 1990, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| June 10, 2008, for the New York Mets | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .303 |
| Hits | 2,134 |
| Home runs | 332 |
| Runs batted in | 1,287 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Moisés Rojas-Alou Beltré (/ˈmɔɪzɪsəˈluː/;Spanish:[mojˈsesaˈlow]; born July 3, 1966) is an American former professionalbaseballoutfielder who has played 17 seasons inMajor League Baseball (MLB) from 1990 to 2008. He played in MLB for thePittsburgh Pirates,Montreal Expos,Florida Marlins,Houston Astros,Chicago Cubs,San Francisco Giants, andNew York Mets.
He is a member of one of the sport's most notable families of the late 20th century, being the son of famed first baseman and managerFelipe Alou. Known mainly for his offensive abilities, Alou was a six-timeAll-Star, a two-timeSilver Slugger Award winner, and a1997 World Series champion.
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Alou was more interested in playingbasketball during his youth and did not play organized baseball until he attendedCañada College inRedwood City, California, at the age of 18. It was there that baseball scouts noticed his bat speed and speed on the base paths. In1986, Alou was the second overall pick in the MLB January Draft, chosen by thePittsburgh Pirates.
Alou is one of the few modern baseball players who hit withoutbatting gloves. Instead, he would urinate on his hands to toughen them up.[1]
In1990, he was traded to theMontreal Expos where he would later play under his father while he managed the Expos.
Alou suffered a severe ankle injury in1993 that would rob him of his speed and force him to become strictly a corner outfielder. He recovered in1994, hitting .339 and had the game-winning hit in that year'sAll-Star Game. For the next two seasons, he would enjoy success at the plate in Montreal, although surgery to both shoulders prematurely ended his1995 season.[2]
Prior to the1997 season, Alou signed as afree agent with theFlorida Marlins, where he led the team with 23home runs and 115RBIs. The Marlins made the playoffs as awild card team and defeated theSan Francisco Giants in theNational League Divisional Series. The Marlins then defeated theAtlanta Braves in theNational League Championship Series before going to theWorld Series, which Florida won in seven games. Alou led the team by hitting .321 with 3 home runs and 9RBI in the World Series (although, pitcherLiván Hernández, by virtue of his wins in Games 1 and 5, was named theSeries Most Valuable Player instead).
Before the1998 season, the Marlins traded Alou to theHouston Astros. In his first season with the team, Alou hit a career-high 38 home runs and drove in 124 runs while leading the Astros to a then-franchise record 102 wins. However, he tore hisanterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in atreadmill accident in the offseason and missed the entire1999 season. Once recovered, he returned to the Astros lineup to hit .355 in2000 and .331 in2001, while driving in at least 108 runs in each season. After the 2001 season, the Astros did not offer Alou a new contract due to budget constraints, making him afree agent.[3]
In December 2001, he signed a three-year, $27 million contract with theChicago Cubs.
At the start of the 2002 season Alou again ended up on thedisabled list, and once healthy, he hit .275 and 15 home runs. After the 2002 season, Alou hired a personal trainer and dedicated himself[vague] to returning to his old form. In the2003 season, Alou batted over .300 for most of the season before a late-season slump dropped his season batting average to .280, with 22 home runs and 91 RBI. Alou went on to lead the team in batting average in its two series against the Atlanta Braves and Florida Marlins.
In Game 6 of theNational League Championship Series against theFlorida Marlins that year, Alou was involved in theSteve Bartman incident, in which Cubs fan Steve Bartman deflected a foul ball landing one row into the stands. Bartman's deflection prevented Alou, who reached into the stands, from attempting to catch the ball for an out that could have been the second out of the 8th Inning. However, the Marlins went on to score eight runs in the inning, in which the Cubs had been ahead 3–0. The Cubs, who had led the series 3–2, lost the game 8–3 and eventually lost the series in 7 games. Alou openly admitted later in interviews that while he was frustrated at the moment, he could not have made the catch anyway.[4] Later, Alou denied making such a statement and said if he had, it was only to make Bartman feel better.[5]
In2004, Alou set new career highs in home runs (39) and doubles (36), while driving in 106 runs. However, the Cubs missed the playoffs after losing seven of their last nine games. The Cubs refused to offer arbitration and let him go, citing numerous fights with umpires who, he claimed, had a vendetta against him.[6]
In October 2004, Alou announced that he had talked to his father,Felipe, about possibly playing for him and the Giants next season. In December 2004, he signed a one-year deal with the Giants worth $13.5 million, with a player option for a second year. Alou was expected to regularly play in right field for the first time since 2001, but because of injuries to left fielderBarry Bonds, he started most games in left field. Alou had stated that he would retire if the Giants won the World Series in2005. They did not, and Alou exercised his option to stay with San Francisco in the2006 season, hitting 22 home runs and 74 RBI.
On November 20, 2006, theNew York Mets signed Alou to a one-year contract worth $7.5 million with a club option for2008. After hitting .318 in his first month as the regular left fielder, Alou suffered a torn quadriceps muscle and was forced out until August. Upon his return, Alou led the Mets with a .345 batting average and had a 30-game hitting streak. The streak was the longest streak of the2007 season, was the longest hitting streak by a player over age 40, and broke the Mets' overall and single-season hitting streak records. On October 31, 2007, the Mets exercised their option on Alou's contract for the 2008 season.
On March 5, 2008, Alou underwenthernia surgery and missed the start of the 2008 season. On July 9, Alou suffered a torn right hamstring playing in the outfield for AABinghamton inNorwich, Connecticut. Mets general manager Omar Minaya stated in a press conference the following day that Alou would likely need surgery and miss the remainder of the 2008 season, which ended his career.[7][8]
On March 5, 2009, Alou announced that he would retire after theWorld Baseball Classic.[9]
In 2014, in his first year ofHall of Fame eligibility, Alou received six votes (1.1%) and was dropped from subsequent ballots.[10]
He is the youngest of three sons born to Felipe and his first wife Maria Beltre, who raised him in the Dominican Republic after his parents divorced when he was two.[11][12]
His fatherFelipe, who managed Moises with theExpos from 1992 to 1996 and theGiants from 2005 to 2006, as well as unclesMatty andJesús, and cousinMel Rojas, all had long careers in Major League Baseball. In 2008, he was one of four active major leaguers (along withPrince Fielder,Ken Griffey Jr., andDaryle Ward) to hit 20 home runs in a season whose fathers had also hit 20 home runs in an MLB season.
His half-brother,Luis Rojas, was the manager of theNew York Mets in 2020 and 2021.
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