Former large league outfielder Jesús Alou handed away in the present day at age 80, experiences Enrique Rojas of ESPN. The Dominican Republic native performed elements of 15 seasons within the majors in the course of the 1960’s and 70’s.
Alou was a member of one among baseball historical past’s most well-known households. The youthful brother of All-Stars Felipe Alou and Matty Alou, Jesús signed with the Giants headed into 1959. After three-plus seasons within the minors, Alou reached the majors throughout his age-21 marketing campaign in 1963. That was a 16-game cameo however made historical past when he joined his brothers within the San Francisco outfield throughout Jesús Alou’s rookie yr. Whereas Felipe would discover himself traded to Milwaukee the next offseason, Jesús and Matty Alou spent the subsequent few seasons as teammates in San Francisco.
Jesús Alou noticed pretty vital motion by his second season. He’d prime 100 video games yearly from 1964-71. Alou performed in San Francisco by means of 1968, hitting .279/.301/.348 in 633 video games in a Large uniform. In the course of the 1968-69 offseason, he went to the Expos as a part of the growth draft. Alou would by no means play a sport in Montreal, nevertheless. A pair months after deciding on him, the Expos dealt Alou with right-hander Jack Billingham and lefty reliever Skip Guinn to Houston for All-Star outfielder Rusty Staub.
Alou performed with the Astros till halfway by means of the 1973 season, when Houston bought his contract to the Athletics. He was a job participant for Oakland’s World Sequence successful golf equipment in 1973 and ’74. Whereas he solely acquired into 132 mixed video games in inexperienced and gold, he picked up a pair of championship rings. Alou signed with the Mets for the ’75 season and returned to Houston late within the decade in a minor function. He performed professionally in Mexico earlier than retiring after the 1980 marketing campaign.
In 1380 profession large league contests, Alou hit .280/.305/.353. By no means a lot of an influence menace, he solely related on 32 residence runs however he tallied 1216 hits and topped the double-digit mark in doubles in eight consecutive seasons. Whereas he by no means achieved the lofty heights his brothers reached as gamers, he spent a decade and a half as a significant leaguer and received a pair of World Sequence.
Alou’s baseball profession additionally went effectively past his enjoying days. He spent a while on the Houston teaching employees and ultimately transitioned into scouting roles with the Expos and Pink Sox. He’d labored for the Boston group since 2002 and ultimately spent greater than six many years within the sport. MLBTR sends our condolences to Alou’s household, family members, pals and colleagues all through the game.
