| Sandy Alomar Jr. | |
|---|---|
 Alomar with theCleveland Indians in 2012 | |
| Cleveland Guardians – No. 15 | |
| Catcher /Coach | |
| Born: (1966-06-18)June 18, 1966 (age 59) 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 | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .273 |
| Home runs | 112 |
| Runs batted in | 588 |
| Managerial record | 3–3 |
| Winning % | .500 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
As player
As manager As coach
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Santos Alomar Velázquez (Spanish pronunciation:[aloˈmaɾ],/ˈæləmɑːr/; born June 18, 1966), known asSandy Alomar Jr., is a Puerto Rican former professionalbaseball player,coach, andmanager. He played inMajor League Baseball as acatcher between 1988 and 2007, most notably as a member of theCleveland Indians where he was a six-timeAll-Star player and won twoAmerican League pennants. Alomar was inducted into the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame in 2009.[1]
He also played for theSan Diego Padres,Chicago White Sox,Colorado Rockies,Texas Rangers,Los Angeles Dodgers, and theNew York Mets.[2] He is the son of former major league playerSandy Alomar Sr. and the brother ofHall of Fame second basemanRoberto Alomar.[2]
Alomar was a highly regarded catcher in the San Diego organization after being namedBaseball America Minor League Player of the Year in both 1988 and 1989, but he was blocked behindBenito 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 withCarlos Baerga andChris James, in exchange for power-hitterJoe Carter. Once in Cleveland, he established his reputation as a skilled defensive player by becoming the first rookie catcher to start anAll-Star game, as well as winning bothRookie of the Year honors and aGold Glove Award.[3] He became the third catcher in Major League history to win a Gold Glove Award in hisrookie season, joiningJohnny Bench andCarlton Fisk.[4]
Alomar was selected as an All-Star in1991 and1992. However, his 1991 season was largely lost due to injuries, and he finished the year with no 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 fourthAll-Star team, but then faded in the second half.
In 1997, everything finally came together for Alomar. He batted .324 and was the MVP of theAll-Star game in his home ballpark (Jacobs Field), hitting a game-deciding two-run home run offShawn Estes to the left field bleachers in the bottom of the seventh inning of a 3–1 American League win; he was the first player to hit an All-Star game home run in his home stadium sinceHank Aaron in1972. He also put together a 30-gamehitting streak (one short ofNap Lajoie's franchise 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 theDivision Series against theNew York Yankees, Alomar hit .316 with twohome runs, including a game-tying shot offMariano Rivera in the eighth inning of Game 4. Though he was less effective against theBaltimore Orioles in theALCS, he still provided a game-winning hit in the ninth inning of Game 4. The Indians lost theWorld Series to theFlorida Marlins, but not on account of Alomar, who hit .367 with two home runs.
Although Alomar was selected to his sixthAll-Star team in 1998, he turned in a mediocre season overall and then had injury problems again in 1999. Alomar was the unofficially recognized team leader of the Indians during their 1995–99 run when they won two pennants.[5] He left the Indians as afree agent after the 2000 season and played in a limited role with theChicago White Sox,Colorado Rockies,Texas Rangers,Los Angeles Dodgers, andNew York Mets. On August 1, 2009, the Indians inducted Alomar to the organization'sHall of Fame.
On February 15, 2008, Alomar was named the catching instructor for the New York Mets organization. He spent the 2008 and 2009 seasons in that role.[6]
Alomar was hired in November 2009 as the first base coach on managerManny Acta's staff of theCleveland Indians.
During the 2010 offseason, Alomar was rumored to be one of four finalists, along withBrian Butterfield,DeMarlo Hale, andJohn Farrell, for theToronto Blue Jays managerial job.[7]
During the end of the 2011 season, Alomar was rumored to be on the shortlist of candidates for the vacantChicago Cubs andBoston Red Sox managerial positions.[8] On September 28, 2011, Alomar was promoted by the Indians to the position ofbench coach for the 2012 season. On September 27, 2012, the Indians promoted him to interim manager after firing Acta.[9] He finished his interim reign with a record of three wins and three losses.[10] On October 6, 2012, the Indians announced that the club had hiredTerry Francona to take over as manager.[11]
On October 31, 2012, the Cleveland Indians announced that Alomar would be back as the bench coach for the 2013 season under Francona. Alomar was replaced byBrad Mills as the bench coach and became their first base coach.[12]
On August 2, 2020, Francona left the team due to gastrointestinal trouble and Alomar served as acting manager until Francona returned on August 9. Francona left the team again on August 18 to have surgery and Alomar served as the acting manager for the remainder of the season.[13] In 46 games with Alomar acting as manager, the Indians went 28–18 (.609). The Indians were swept by theNew York Yankees in theWild Card Series.
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| CLE | 2012 | 6 | 3 | 3 | .500 | 4th in AL Central | – | – | – | – |
| Total[10] | 6 | 3 | 3 | .500 | 0 | 0 | – | |||
· Baseball Almanac| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Cleveland Indians/Guardiansfirst base coach 2010–2011 2014–present | Succeeded by Tom Wiedenbauer Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Cleveland Indiansbench coach 2012–2013 | Succeeded by |
