Family Ties - Part II

By Evan Pritchard
Posted Wednesday, April 4, 2007

Newest Met Moises Alou Has a Long Family History With the Mets

Yes, the Mets’ pitching situation is iffy, with several relievers gone the way of Chad Bradford, and blessed with pitchers who are scheduled to appear and disappear like planets in the celestial sphere over the course of the coming months. (We’re sure that pitching coach Rick Peterson is publishing his own ephemeris next week). USA Today’s Sports weekly made our “makeshift” pitching rotation into a cover story two weeks ago. But we’ve got all the right-handed hitting a basefall fan could want, and a lot of those right-handed hits should be coming from newcomer Moises Alou, if he stays healthy.

Moises Alou is a great power hitter with over 300 homers, and some great post-season history behind him. Moises’ father Felipe was the “Dominican Republic’s Jackie Robinson.” He was the first Dominican player to start in a major league game. Although the two were never close during Moises’ childhood (I’m told Felipe had four wives and four divorces during that time) Moises grew up with Matty (.307 lifetime) and Jesus (.280 lifetime) Alou as uncles! There are few baseball families like the Alous! In fact Jose Sosa is a relative (but not Jorge Sosa apparently, who is trying out for the team).

Moises’ cousin is Melvin Rojas, who was a pitcher with a 3.82 lifetime ERA who was traded to the Mets in 1997 with Turk Wendell, (for Lance Johnson) and was then traded for Bobby Bonilla after the 1998 season. In fact, each of the famous Alous, Filipe, Matty, Jesus, and Moises were all born with the last name “Rojas.”

Young Moises grew up with an interest in many sports, especially basketball, but baseball was not a passion for him, and it was only in college when coaches recognized that he had inherited his father’s quick hands and feet that he was asked to focus on baseball. Although he had never been trained by his dad, (there is some dispute about this) he was the second overall pick in the amateur draft, and chosen by the Pirates in 1986. He did not make it into the majors until July 26th, 1990, just after his 24th birthday. That Pirate lineup included Mets Bobby Bonilla, and Wally Backman. After only two games with Pittsburgh, ironically, he was traded from the Pirates to the Montreal Expos, who were being coached by none other than his father Felipe. (He became full manager in 1992 according to Wikipedia) Apparently destiny had quite a bit more in store for the two baseball giants. It was a joyous reunion, and father Felipe did all he could to make up for the lost years between them. Cousin Mel Rojas was also with that team.

Moises Alou did not appear in 1991 at all, but received more training in the Expos farm system, finally getting the Alou training his father felt he needed. Moises played for the Expos in ’92 and 93. In 1992, as an Expo, Moises had both Gary Carter and Rick Cerone as teammates, a former Mets and former Yankee catcher, respectively. In 1993, they were joined by a talented 21 year old named Cliff Floyd.

In 1994, the Expos had the best record in the majors, but a strike prevented the father-son team from making it to the World Series. Father Felipe won NL Manager of the Year that year, and the team was named “The Best In Baseball” as a consolation. Moises batted .339 with 22 homers and 78 RBIs in only 107 games, that year, and might have been World Series MVP if it had been played. Many players and managers were hurt by that strike, but none more than Moises and Felipe. On that ill-fated team were not only Moises Alou, and Cliff Floyd, but his cousin Melvin Rojas, plus 22 year old fellow Dominican Pedro Martinez.

In 1995, Moises, Pedro, Cliff, and Mel were joined on the team by Tony Tarasco, the player who got into legal troubles while with the 2002 Mets. Moises stayed with Montreal with Floyd, Martinez and Rojas in 1996, then moved to Florida to play for the Marlins in 1997, the year he won the Babe Ruth award. On that team were future Mets World Series Ace Al Leiter, former Mets star (and former teammate) Bobby Bonilla, Cliff Floyd, and other memorable players such as Robb Nen, Felix Heredia, and Luis Castillo. In the 1997 NLDS versus the Giants, he batted .214. He did not get a hit in the NLCS versus Atlanta, but the team was successful, and he had a sensational World Series versus the Cleveland Indians. In that series, he collected 9 hits, including 2 doubles, 3 homers, 9 RBIs, with a .321 batting average and a slugging percentage of .714!

In 1998 Moises moved to Houston, experiencing his three greatest seasons there, batting .312 in 1998 with 38 homers, .355 in 2000 with 30 homers, and .331 in 2001 with 27 homers. In 1998, his teammates there included future best friend Jeff Bagwell, current Met hopeful Jose Lima, former Met star Mike Hampton, future Yankee star Randy Johnson, and OMG, 26 year old Billy Wagner, who went 4-3 and had a great year on the mound, with a 2.70 ERA with 97 Ks to only 25 walks in 60 innings. In 1998, Houston lost to the Padres in the NLDS, and Moises batted .188 with 3 hits. Richard Hidalgo was on that team, also Derek Bell and Carl Everett.

Billy Wagner and Alou were teammates in Houston from 1998 to 2001. In 2001, Moises’ teammates in Texas included former Marlin teammate Vinny Castillo, and also future Mets pitcher Pedro Astacio (2001-2002) and Ron Villone. Richard Hidalgo was on that team as well. That 2001 Astros team played unsuccessfully against Atlanta in the NLDS, in which Moises (batting against Tom Glavine etc.) got two hits and an RBI.

In 2002, Moises joined the Chicago Cubs, and played three years there, ’02, ’03 and ’04, though not his best years. He shared the outfield during that time with fellow Dominican Sammy Sosa. 2002 was a tumultuous year for the Cubs. Don Baylor (who had succeeded Felipe as NL Manager of the Year in 1995) had managed the team until July, and Bruce Kimm was the interim manager, both banished from Chitown in the end. The new Cubs manager was Dusty Baker, (who preceeded Felipe as NL Manager of the year in 1993) who had just managed the Giants. His successor in Frisco? None other than Moises’ father Felipe Alou. Also, remember that Don Baylor went on to become the bench coach for the Mets under Art Howe. Small world.

In 2003, in the NLDS, Moises significantly helped Chicago defeat Atlanta, batting .500 with 3 RBIs, .550 slugging, 10 hits, 1 double and a stolen base. In the NLCS that followed, versus Florida, Moises Alou hit .310 with 2 homers, 5 RBIs, 9 hits, and 1 double. Unfortunately, the Cubs did not advance to the World Series. With one out in the eighth, Moises was reaching into the stands for a foul pop, when young Chicago fan Steve Bartman reached out to catch the ball, and arguably interfered with Alou’s efforts to catch the ball. The Cubs were five outs from clinching their first National League pennant since the 1940s, but that play changed the course of history. The Cubs are still waiting for that World Series.

Currently Alou’s post-season batting average lifetime is .270 with 5 homers. It looks from here like he’d like to up those figures with the Mets.

In 2005 Moises went to San Francisco and became a Giant, the team that his father and former Giants’ World Series star Felipe had managed since 2003. Moises batted .321 and .301 in two injury shortened seasons. In 2005, he was teammates with Edgardo Alfonzo, (the great Mets infielder from the 2000 series), and also Ray Durham. Moises batted .403 in day games that year, and appeared in his sixth All Star game, with his fifth team. His father Felipe, was a coach in that game. With Bonds injured, the younger Alou was the Giants’ offensive leader that season, and only All Star. On his birthday, the day he was named to the All Star team, he made a reference to playing with his dad in a little league game, but baseball beat writers have suggested they rarely saw each other during those early years. We may never know.

In 2006, Moises played at the same time with Barry Bonds and Steven Finley all over 40, the oldest outfield in history. His father, the manager, was 70, the oldest manager. Moises only appeared in 98 games, but hit 22 homers, with 75 RBIs, 25 doubles and one triple, plus two stolen bases.

On April 13th, 2006, his mother’s birthday, Moises hit his 300th homer. It was at the Giants’ home field. As he crossed the plate he got a hug from the bat boy, his son, Moises Jr. Then the manager, his father Felipe Alou, shook his hand. His wife and two other children were in the stands. Later on, in the clubhouse, father and son bonded even closer, as Felipe handed him the home run ball which he had chased down. He also handed him the lineup card, and the bat. Of all the famous Alous, Moises was the first to hit 300 homers. In fact, no Giant had crossed that mark in ten years since Barry Bonds did it. Felipe said, “I’m glad it happened here for him, and I saw it….It wasn’t a cheapie!”

Father and son told the press they intended to end their careers together, and it was during those seasons that Moises passed many of his father’s career stats. Felipe was fired as manager on October 3rd, 2006, the day before the Mets began their NLDS sweep of the Dodgers, and when former teammate (1993-96 Expos, 1997 Marlins) left fielder Cliff Floyd’s Achilles’ heel finally gave out a few days later, Moises knew what fate had decided for him. It was time to become a Met. He signed for $7.5 million, joining former teammates Billy Wagner, and Pedro Martinez. Welcome home Moises!

Moises was destined to best his father in almost every category. Moises to date has scored 1054 runs scored, (69 ahead of his father) with 2005 hits (he may get his 2007th hit on Opening Day, and tie his father with 2101 with his 96th hit on or about September 1st—the number of hits he got in his first full season with the Expos) 400 doubles, (41 more than his father) 38 triples, (11 more to go to match his fleet-footed father) and 319 homers lifetime so far (113 ahead of Felipe). He has 1229 RBIs, (377 more than dad) and 102 stolen bases (five short of his father; he will probably pass that mark this year) with a lifetime batting average of .301 (15 points higher than his dad, so far).

His father only appeared in three All Star Games, 1962, 1966, and 1968. Moises made the All Star team in 1994, 1995, 1998, 2001, 2004, and 2005, six different years, with five different teams, one of only two players to do so with five teams.

Moises Alou stole 5 bases in 2005. If he can do that again, he will have tied or passed his father in every major offensive category except for triples by the end of this season. If he bats .301 this year, he will end the season in the 300 300 400 100 club; 300+ average, 300+ homers, 400+ doubles, and 100+ stolen bases lifetime. That would be an historic achievement, one for which his father would be proud.
 

Evan Pritchard is the creator of http://Amazine1.blogspot.com and author of a book on the 2006 Mets, soon to be available via this website. He can be reached at rezman7777@earthlink.net.