Felipe Alou

Infobox MLB retired
name=Felipe Alou


width=250
caption=Alou (right) as manager of the San Francisco Giants, 2005
position=Outfielder / First baseman / Manager
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1935|5|12
city-state|Haina|Dominican Republic
debutdate=June 8
debutyear=by|1958
debutteam=San Francisco Giants
finaldate=April 24
finalyear=by|1974
finalteam=Milwaukee Brewers
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.286
stat2label=Home runs
stat2value=206
stat3label=Runs batted in
stat3value=852
teams= As Player
* San Francisco Giants (by|1958-by|1963)
* Milwaukee Braves (by|1964-by|1965)
* Atlanta Braves (by|1966-by|1969)
* Oakland Athletics (by|1970-by|1971)
* New York Yankees (by|1971-by|1973)
* Montreal Expos (by|1973)
* Milwaukee Brewers (by|1974)As Manager
* Montreal Expos (by|1992-by|2001)
* San Francisco Giants (by|2003-by|2006)
highlights=
* 3x All-Star selection (1962, 1966, 1968)
* 1994 NL Manager of the Year
* Managerial Statistics

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 former manager of the San Francisco Giants and Montreal Expos. 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 Moisés is a current outfielder with the New York Mets; all but Jesús have been named All-Stars at least twice. The family name in the Dominican is Rojas, but Felipe Alou and his brothers became known by the name Alou when the Giants' scout who signed Felipe mistakenly thought his matronymic was his father's name.

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.

Playing career

Alou lived in poverty in the Dominican Republic and dreamed of escaping it by becoming a doctor. However, a 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 by|1955 for only $200 due to family financial problems.

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

Alou was joined by his brothers, Matty in by|1960, and Jesus in by|1963, who became the first all-brother outfield.

Alou was traded to the Braves before by|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 by|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 by|1974, though he never again approached this level of success.

Managing career

After the end of his playing career, Alou joined the Montreal Expos organization in 1976, becoming a batting coach and a minor league manager. The Giants offered him the manager's spot in by|1985, but he remained with the Expos out of loyalty. On May 22, by|1992, Alou was promoted from the Expos bench coach to field manager, becoming the first Dominican-born manager in MLB history.cite book
author = Montreal Expos
authorlink = Montreal Expos
title = Expos Media Guide 1996
year = 1996 ] 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 by|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 by|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 by|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 (by|2002). Prior to the by|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 by|2005, the Giants signed Moisés Alou to a one-year contract with an option for the by|2006 season, reuniting him professionally with his father after seven seasons apart.

Managerial Statistics

ee also

*Players from Dominican Republic in MLB
* Top 500 home run hitters of all time
* List of major league players with 2,000 hits
* List of Major League Baseball runs scored champions
* List of second generation MLB players
* Montreal Expos all-time roster
* List of Major League Baseball managers in 2006

References

External links

* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/a/aloufe01.shtml career statistics @ Baseball-Reference.com] & [http://www.baseball-reference.com/managers/aloufe01.shtml managing record @ Baseball-Reference.com]
* [http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=aloufe01 Baseball Almanac]
* [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/A/Alou_Felipe.stm Baseball Library]