Rick Aguilera, sometime past midnight October 26, 1986, after giving up two runs in the top of the 10th inning only to see the Mets come back to score three runs and win Game Six of the 1986 World Series.1

“Maybe this is the best thing for me. Actually, I don’t remember what it feels like to start. But if I keep getting the ball in important situations, fine. I can get as much satisfaction out of a save as I used to get when I won as a starter.”

Rick Aguilera of the New York Mets, June, 19892

Largely remembered as an ace reliever for the Minnesota Twins, Rick Aguilera first came to the major leagues as a starter with the New York Mets and was their fifth starter as they cruised to the 1986 National League Eastern Division championship and went on to win the World Series against the Boston Red Sox. Four years later he was in the bullpen in another city in another league.

Richard Warren Aguilera was born on December 31, 1961, in San Gabriel, California. In 1979, after batting .486 for Edgewood High School in West Covina, Aguilera was named to the All-California Interscholastic Federation second team as an infielder.

Originally selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 37th round of the 1980 amateur draft after he was MVP as a junior and senior in high school, Aguilera opted to attend Brigham Young University, where, when not on the ballfield, he majored in architectural design. At the collegiate level, his skills as an infielder were impeded by his slowness afoot. He remembered one of his coaches saying he “ran like a tombstone.” As a result, “By the end of my freshman year of college, I wasn’t getting a lot of playing time at third base, so they started working me off the mound. I’d always thrown the ball pretty hard, so that’s what made them think I could pitch.”3 In short order, Aguilera, who had had limited experience as a pitcher in high school and American Legion baseball, became a full-time pitcher, and was tutored by BYU pitching coach Bob Noel. He was noticed by the scouts, who were actually eyeing his teammates Cory Snyder and Wally Joyner.

After his junior year at BYU, where he spent the season coming out of the bullpen,4 Aguilera was drafted in the third round (58th overall) of the 1983 amateur draft by the Mets and signed by scout Roy Partee. He was still somewhat raw and had yet to show the composure that would later characterize his presence on the mound. He was described as a tense athlete who, BYU head coach Gary Pullins observed, “was ready to jump out of his skin in some of those close (relief) situations.”5

Aguiliera began his professional career in 1983 with Little Falls (New York) in the short-season Class-A New York-Penn League, going 5-6 with a 3.72 ERA. The following season, he moved up to Lynchburg in the Class-A Carolina League (8-3/2.34) and in June he was moved up to Jackson (Mississippi) in the Double-A Texas League. His first start for Jackson was not particularly good as he allowed three runs and three hits in his first inning of work against Shreveport.  In his next outing, against Arkansas, he allowed only two hits as Jackson won, 8-0.6 A month later, on July 29, Aguilera struck out 10 and did not allow a hit until the fifth inning as Jackson won 11-2. In his time with Jackson, he went 4-4, and over the course of the season, with Lynchburg and Jackson, struck out 172 batters in 155 innings. In 1985, Aguilera began the season at Triple-A Tidewater, where he recorded a 6-4 record with a 2.51 ERA before being called up to the Mets on June 10.

Aguilera’s first big-league appearance was in relief against the Philadelphia Phillies on June 12, 1985. He came into the game in the bottom of the 10th inning and retired all three batters. The Mets exploded for four runs in the top of the 11th, and Aguilera completed the game, striking out the last two batters for his first major-league win.

Aguilera started for the first time on June 16, losing to the Montreal Expos, 7-2. He remained in the starting rotation for the balance of the season. He pitched back-to-back complete-game wins on July 5 and 10, and went 3-1 with a 0.89 ERA in five July starts. He ended the year with a 10-7 record and 3.24 ERA while hitting an impressive .278.

As the Mets and Cardinals fought each other for the pennant, it became apparent that their three-game series in St. Louis in the last week of the season would be do-or-die. The Mets won the first two games to pull within one game of the division-leading Cardinals. Aguilera started the third game. Manager Davey Johnson observed, “I was asking a lot from a rookie pitcher. I was starting him in the most pressure-packed game we’ve played all year. He was pitching for the pennant in front of fifty thousand [the actual figure was 47,720] unruly Cardinal fans.”7

New York took the early lead when Keith Hernandez singled in Mookie Wilson in the top of the first inning. The Cardinals tied the game in the bottom of the second and took a 3-1 lead in the fourth. Aguilera left the game for a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning with the score 4-2 in favor of St. Louis. The Mets got within one run but lost the game, putting them two back with three to play. The Cardinals clinched the division two days later.

A year later, there would again be pressure, and the result would be much different, as Aguilera pitched in two games that no Mets fan of the era will ever forget. But to get to that point, the Mets would have to have their best regular season ever.     

Things started slowly for Aguilera in 1986. After three disappointing starts, during which he went 0-2 and failed to get past the sixth inning, he was moved to the bullpen, where he spent most of his time through the end of June. His low point came on May 13 against Atlanta in his second appearance in relief. Bruce Berenyi started for the Mets and New York led 3-2 after five innings. Aguilera entered the game to pitch the top of the sixth inning, and the Braves took the lead with three runs in the seventh inning. The turning point of the inning came when he was called for a balk, on a 3-and-2 pitch, by umpire Bob Davidson, and, in an unnerved state, gave up a home run to Claudell Washington on the next pitch.8 Aguilera stayed in the game until he was removed with one out in the ninth inning. He was charged with the loss and his record stood at 0-3 with an ERA of 8.38. He gave the folks behind home plate a good view of the back of his uniform as he allowed nine home runs in his first 18 innings of 1986.

Nevertheless, manager Johnson was not about to give up on him and, at the beginning of July Aguilera replaced Berenyi in the Mets’ starting rotation. He got his second win of the season on July 12, going seven innings as the Mets defeated the Braves 10-1. Johnson said, “That was the outing I was looking for. That was the Aguilera of last year. He was outstanding with everything. He mixed his pitches well … curve, split-finger fastball, and slider.” Aguilera said, “I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. It couldn’t come at a better time, and now I’m ready to make a contribution in the second half.”9

But there would be a brief and surprising interruption. On July 18, during a series in Houston, Aguilera and three teammates were in the wrong place at the wrong time. On a team known for its rowdiness, four of the more quiet players were Aguilera, Bob Ojeda, Ron Darling, and Tim Teufel. They went to a place called Cooters Executive Games and Burgers to celebrate Teufel’s becoming a father for the first time.10 As they left Cooters, Tuefel was holding his unfinished glass of beer and was confronted by local policemen who were providing security for Cooters. A scuffle ensued, and the four players were arrested. In January 1987, misdemeanor charges against Aguilera and Ojeda were dismissed.11

In the first game after the Cooters incident, Aguilera struck out a career-high nine batters and pitched eight innings as the Mets defeated Cincinnati 4-2. He reeled off five straight wins between July 12 and August 7. Over this stretch, his ERA was 1.33. Aguilera credited his renewed success to his “slow curve that I could use to keep the hitters off stride.”12

The Mets were on a roll, and so was Aguilera. But in mid-September, the Mets were having trouble nailing down the Eastern Division championship. They lost six of seven, but on September 16 Aguilera righted the ship with a 4-2 win over the Cardinals, and the following evening, at Shea Stadium, the Mets defeated the Cubs in the clincher. In the delirium that erupted at the end of the game, one of the 47,823 exuberant fans in attendance knocked Aguilera to the ground, and Aguilera suffered a severe bruise to his shoulder that resulted in his missing his next start.13

The injury proved not to be serious and over the balance of the season, Aguilera went 2-1, to bring his record to 10-7. In the League Championship series with Houston, Aguilera, the Mets’ fifth starter, spent his time in the bullpen and pitched in two games, including the clincher.

That clincher, Game Six at Houston, was one for the ages. The Mets considered it a must-win: Although they were leading three games to two, Houston had Mike Scott waiting to pitch a potential Game Seven and the Mets had not been able to figure out Scott’s sinker all season. Houston took an early lead with three first-inning runs against Bob Ojeda, and Aguilera was summoned in the sixth inning. In three innings he allowed only one runner to reach first base and the score was 3-0 going into the top of the ninth inning. Aguilera was scheduled to lead off the top of the ninth for the Mets. As a hitter, he posed a threat. He had homered twice during the season and over the course of his career posted a decent .201 batting average. But there were good bats on the bench and strong arms in the bullpen. Len Dykstra pinch-hit for Aguilera and his lead-off triple propelled the Mets to a three-run inning that tied the game. Seven grueling innings later, the Mets had won, 5-4, and were on their way to the World Series.

Aguilera’s World Series performance went from being mildly disappointing in Game Two to a Game Six appearance that in short order changed from despair to delight in a game where viewers still remember what they were doing when the game reached its climactic ending with the Mets on top.

In Game Two, the Mets trailed 6-3 when Aguilera entered the game and pitched a scoreless sixth inning. However, the game was blown open in the seventh inning when he surrendered five consecutive singles to the Red Sox, who went on to win 9-3 and take a Series lead of two games to none.

Aguilera’s next appearance was in Game Six. Aguilera entered the game in the ninth with the score tied. He pitched a scoreless ninth inning, but the wheels came off in the 10th and he gave up two runs. In the bottom of the inning, with two outs and a runner on first, Kevin Mitchell pinch-hit for Aguilera, singled to keep the Mets alive and scored the tying run. The game ended shortly when Bill Buckner booted Mookie Wilson’s groundball. The win went to Aguilera, who despite a 12.00 Series ERA won arguably the most critical game of the 1986 season.

After successive 10-7 seasons, Aguilera sought to improve his effectiveness in 1987 with a new pitch, the split-finger fastball. Eventually the pitch would turn Aguilera’s career in a new direction, but it would take a while.

Aguilera struggled with injuries over the next two seasons, appearing in only 18 games in 1987 and 11 in 1988. His problems in 1987 began on May 26 when he felt a pain in his elbow while warming up. His stint on the disabled list, during which time he spent some time rehabbing at Tidewater, lasted until August. Despite limited duty in 1987, he ran off a streak of seven straight winning starts that lasted from May 20 to September 19, and finished the season with 11 wins. In 1988 elbow problems resurfaced and Aguilera was put on the disabled list on April 19. He was sent to Port St. Lucie and Tidewater in June on rehab assignments, and eventually had arthroscopic surgery on July 13, at which point he had an 0-4 record and an 8.41 ERA. He returned to the Mets during the final weeks of the season and pitched in three games. In the League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, he pitched in three games, mostly in mop-up roles, as the Mets lost to the Dodgers in seven games.

The Mets moved Aguilera to the bullpen in 1989, and it was a successful transition. He got his first save on May 10 and eventually displaced Roger McDowell as the Mets’ closer. By mid-June Aguilera had a 3-1 record with six saves and a 0.84 ERA, with 51 strikeouts in 43 innings.

However, Aguilera was unhappy with the Mets. During the prior two seasons, when he was missing many games, his teammates were not conciliatory. As Howard Blatt of the New York Daily News noted, “He was painfully aware of the derisive whispers of his Mets teammates while he was sidelined with elbow pain in 1987 and 1988. Perhaps he even knew that some of them referred to him as ‘The Bearded Lady’ because of how they believed he babied his talented right arm.”14

In a season that saw much disassembling of the 1986 squad, Aguilera was dealt at the July 31 trading deadline, along with Kevin Tapani, David West, and Tim Drummond to the Minnesota Twins for Frank Viola and Jack Savage. At the time the Mets had lost seven games in a row, were looking to Randy Myers as their closer, and were in dire need, due to injuries to key personnel, of top-shelf starting pitching. In the long run, the Twins got the best of the deal as Aguilera and Tapani helped celebrate a world championship in 1991, while Viola, after winning 20 games in 1990, sank to 13-15 in 1991 for the fifth-place Mets, and left for free agency after the season.

On arrival in Minnesota, Aguilera was moved into the Twins’ starting rotation and he compiled a 3-5 record with a 3.21 ERA in 11 games. Those 11 starts were his last with the Twins for seven seasons. Before the 1990 season Aguilera got a call from Twins manager Tom Kelly. With the departure of Jeff Reardon to free agency, the Twins needed a closer. With the Mets, Aguilera’s bullpen role had been ill-defined. He had been a closer, but had also been used in long relief and as a mop-up man. With the Twins he would be the closer, but he still had some doubts. “Deep down, when I was first told by T.K. (Kelly) that I was going to be in this short role, I wondered if I would be able to handle the pressure of the job,” he said.15

As the Twins closer Aguilera got off to a spectacular start, saving four games in April and posting a 1.17 ERA. However, the team was not in contention and at the end of May was in sixth place, with a 23-25 record, trailing the first-place Texas Rangers by 5½ games. Then the Twins caught fire. From June 1 through 25, they won 21 of 23 games and took over first place. Aguilera pitched in 12 of the games and earned 10 saves. By season’s end he was third in the league with a career-high and team record 42 saves. He had his career best 2.35 ERA, and the Twins won their division by eight games. Aguilera was named to the first of three consecutive All-Star teams and finished 18th in the MVP balloting.

In the American League Championship Series, Aguilera pitched in three games and saved all three, including the decisive Game Five. In his 3⅓ innings of work he allowed no runs and one hit.

Aguilera pitched in four World Series games against Atlanta. He saved the first two games at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. Game Three was tied 4-4 and went into extra innings. In the top of the 12th inning, the Twins mounted a threat. They loaded the bases with two outs and pitcher Mark Guthrie was scheduled to hit. Aguilera was warming up to take the mound in the bottom of the inning but his warmups were rushed to an unexpected conclusion. Manager Kelly was out of pinch-hitters and needed Aguilera’s services as a batter. He had not swung a bat in a game since leaving the Mets. Aguilera recalled the moment. “After I got the phone call, I wondered why they wanted me to hit. Then I realized we didn’t have any players left. It was definitely a little surprising but looking back at it now, there were not a whole lot of other alternatives.”16 He got good wood on the ball and it sailed to center field, but disappeared into the glove of Ron Gant. Aguilera then pitched the bottom of the 12th and, with two outs, gave up a game-winning single to Mark Lemke.

The Braves won the remaining two games at Atlanta and the teams returned to the noisy confines of the Metrodome with Atlanta needing one win to gain the championship. Game Six went into extra innings with the score tied 3-3, and Aguilera came on to pitch in the 10th inning. In two innings he allowed no runs and two hits. Both runners were erased; Terry Pendleton on a double play, and Keith Mitchell, pinch running for Sid Bream, caught stealing. In the bottom of the 11th, Kirby Puckett’s leadoff homer secured the win for the Twins and forced Game Seven. Only one pitcher was needed by the Twins in Game Seven as Jack Morris beat the Braves 1-0, and the Twins were the world champions.

Over the next two seasons Aguilera continued to excel and was named to two more All-Star teams. In his three All-Star games, all won by the American League, he pitched three innings, struck out five, and had a 3.00 ERA. The only blemish was a home run by Will Clark in 1992.

In 1992 for the second-place Twins, Aguilera pitched in 64 games and had 41 saves with an ERA of 2.84. He followed that up with 65 appearances and 34 saves in 1993, but the Twins dropped to fifth place. On June 6 of that season, Aguilera began a stretch that bordered on the unfathomable. He retired all four Cleveland batters he faced for his 16th save of the season. Over his next eight appearances Aguilera faced 23 batters, retired them all, and earned five saves. In the month of June he faced 42 batters in 13 games, and allowed but two hits and one walk. His ERA for the month was 0.00.

In the strike year of 1994, Aguilera pitched in 44 of the Twins’ 113 games, saving 23. He said he achieved success as a closer by not trying “to show any emotion at all, whether positive or negative, and that’s what works best for me. I don’t want to try to put any more importance on the last three outs of the game than the first three outs.”17 Life was good in Minneapolis. Rick and his wife, the former Sherry Snider, who had been his childhood sweetheart, had moved to Minneapolis with their young daughter and Sherry had gotten into the act when she contributed a recipe to a book called Home Plate Hits, Recipes from the Kitchens of the Minnesota Twins’ Wives, Players, and Staff, that was published early in 1994.18 And then, things would change. Before the strike in 1994, the Twins had a losing record, and things were not going well in 1995.  

A July 6, 1995, trade brought Aguilera to the Boston Red Sox, and at the time of the trade, the Red Sox were playing at Minneapolis. The timing and circumstances of the trade were steep with irony. Aguilera was, at midnight, to become a 10-and-5 man (10 years in the majors and 5 with the Twins), and have the right to veto a trade. As the trade was being finalized he was waiting his turn in the bullpen to go into a game against the Red Sox. Within 24 hours, he made his first appearance with Boston, and it was against his former teammates. The Red Sox took a 5-4 advantage into the top of the ninth inning, and Aguilera retired his former mates in order after surrendering a leadoff single to Chuck Knoblauch. His first save with the Red Sox was his 13th of the season and gave Boston a three-game lead in the AL East. He was 2-2 with 20 saves with the Red Sox in 30 appearances, as Boston won the American League East by seven games.

In the playoffs the Red Sox faced the Indians and were swept in three games. The first game of the series went into extra innings and after the Red Sox took the lead in the top of the 11th inning on a home run by Tim Naehring, Aguilera came in for the save but yielded a tying homer to Albert Belle. Cleveland went on to win the game in the 13th inning on a home run by Tony Peña off the Red Sox’ Zane Smith. That was Aguilera’s only appearance in the series.

Aguilera returned home to the Twins as a free agent the next year, signing a three-year contract, and was not only put in the rotation but was counted on to lead the staff.19 But an injury, alleged to have occurred when he picked up a suitcase during spring training, delayed his return and, except for a three-inning stint on April 20, he did not pitch regularly until  June. After an 8-6 campaign as a starter, he moved back to the bullpen in 1997. In 1998, he had a subpar season. In May 1999, with his potential free agency looming, he was traded to the Chicago Cubs with pitcher Scott Downs for pitchers Kyle Lohse and Jason Ryan. His 254 saves for the Twins were the franchise record until 2011, when he was passed by Joe Nathan.

With the Cubs Aguilera was reunited with former Mets teammate Ed Lynch, now the general manager of the Cubs. He was also reunited with Kevin Tapani.

Aguilera went 6-3 with eight saves for the Cubs in 1999, and was re-signed after the season, spending one more year in the majors. It was an unhappy and disappointing season for the Cubs and Aguilera. His season highlight came on June 2, when he recorded his 300th career save. But by July, there was frustration in Aguilera’s voice when he said, “Coming out of camp this year, or even when I was traded (to Chicago) last year, you think, ‘This is a good team.’ Then things fall apart. You find yourself shaking your head and saying, ‘What happened?’”20 After the season he retired.

After his playing days, the Aguileras returned to California to raise their family, which included a daughter Rachel Rae, born in 1991, and a son Austin, who was born in 1997. In 2008 Aguilera was elected to the Twins’ Hall of Fame. At the time he was the head baseball coach at the Santa Fe Christian School in Solana Beach, California. He held that position while his children attended school there.

When Aguilera retired after the 2000 season, he was eighth on the all-time saves list with 318. In 1998, as he was passing Dan Quisenberry on the list, Quisenberry was battling cancer. Putting things into perspective, Aguilera said, “Are we playing for glorification through numbers, or are we playing the game for the love of the game?”21

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author also relied on:

Baseball-Reference.com

Smith, Claire. “Aguilera, a Quick Study in Relief, Is Now at the Head of the Class,” New York Times, October 20, 1991: S8.

Aguilera’s file at the Baseball Hall of Fame Library.

Notes

1 Malcolm Moran, “Even Mets Are Amazed,” New York Times, October 26, 1986: S-1.

2 Dan Castellano, “Amazing Transition,” The Sporting News, June 26, 1989: 14.

3 J.G. Preston, “Fire and Ice,” Twins Magazine, September 1993: 21.

4 Omaha World-Herald, May 13, 1983: 33.

5 Preston, 23.

6The Sporting News, July 16, 1984: 43.

7 Davey Johnson with Peter Golenbock, Bats (New York, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1986),  314.

8 Murray Chass, “Aguilera Falters as Mets Lose,” New York Times, May 14, 1986: D-29.

9 Los Angeles Times, July 13, 1986: 5.

10 Mookie Wilson with Erik Sherman, Mookie: Life, Baseball, and the ’86 Mets, (New York: Berkley Books, 2014), 137.

11 Joseph Durso, “Darling, Teufel Get Probation; Charges Dismissed for Two Others, New York Times, January 27, 1987: A-19.

12 Jack Lang, The Sporting News, July 28, 1986: 23.

13 Michal Martinez, “Aguilera Sits Out; Mets Lose,” New York Times, September 22, 1986: C-4.

14 Howard Blatt, “Aguilera Has Last Minny Ha-Ha,” New York Daily News, July 15, 1990: 48.

15 Preston, 21.

16 Jayson Stark, “Twins’ Aguilera a Pitcher Who Was Caught in a Pinch,” Philadelphia Inquirer, October 24, 1991.

17 Preston, 25.

18 Ann Burckhardt, Minneapolis Star Tribune, April 13, 1994: 4T

19 Jon Souhan, Minneapolis Star Tribune, February 19, 1996: 1C.

20 Jon Souhan, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, July 14, 2000: 9C.

21 La Velle E. Neal III, Minneapolis Star Tribune, July 21, 1998: 4C.

Roberto’s father, Sandy Alomar, spent 15 years as a major-league infielder, and Roberto and his brother, also Sandy, spent most summers in major-league locker rooms. It was during these times that the brothers learned the intricacies of the game from the best players in the world – Nolan Ryan taught 4-year-old Roberto how to pitch while Ryan was a teammate of Sandy, Sr.’s on the Angels.1 Perhaps just as important, they also learned how to handle themselves like major-league ballplayers. The offseason brought with it the Puerto Rican Winter League (in which his father and three of his uncles all starred) and the annual Caribbean World Series.2 Roberto frequently made the trek to games with his father, sometimes completing his homework in the dugout.3

Roberto Alomar was born on February 5, 1968, in Ponce, on Puerto Rico’s south coast, to Santos (Sandy) and Maria (Velasquez) Alomar. He had an older brother, Santos Jr. (Sandy), and a sister, Sandia. They grew up in Salinas, 20 miles from Ponce. Roberto’s baseball ability and instincts were evident even as a boy. When he was 6 a scout reportedly saw him playing pepper and inquired of his father (presumably tongue in cheek) if he could sign him.4 By the age of 7, Roberto was selected as an all-star for the Salinas little league, but was declared ineligible when it was discovered that he was too young to play in the league.5 The time for Roberto to sign his first professional contract came soon enough. When he was 16 he signed with Caguas in the Puerto Rican Winter League, where he was managed by Felipe Alou.6 Alou later said that Roberto “was the best I had ever seen. He was a natural and definitely had the instincts that you just don’t teach.”7

On February 16, 1985, shortly after he turned 17, Roberto signed with the San Diego Padres – the same club for which his father was a coach and with which Sandy Jr. had signed two years earlier. While other teams (most notably Toronto) had expressed interest in the middle infielder and made higher offers than the approximately $50,000 Roberto received, Sandy Sr. had given his word to family friend and Padres scout Luis Rosa that Roberto would sign with the Padres.8

Unlike many newly signed minor leaguers, Roberto did not have to adjust to living on his own for the first time. He was assigned to the same team, Class-A Charleston in the South Atlantic League, for which his father was a coach and to which Sandy Jr. was also assigned. His mother also made the trip and the family lived together and provided a stable foundation as Roberto’s professional career began to flourish.9 Roberto hit .293 and stole 36 bases for Charleston, and his manager Jim Skaalen recalled that “He was tearing up the league against older college players.”10

Skaalen moved up along with Roberto the next season to Reno in the Class-A California League.11 His brother and father, however, did not. Sandy Jr. was ticketed for Double-A Wichita (Texas League) and Sandy Sr. was promoted to coach with the Padres. Roberto later recounted the challenges of his time in Reno: “In the minor leagues everything is different. I was making $700 a month. I had to pay for rent, utilities, food, clubhouse dues. All I had in the house I rented was a mattress on the floor, not even a table. I had no car and had to walk everywhere.”12

Skaalen, though, saw him maturing on and off the field: “He seemed more relaxed away from his dad and brother. He got stronger and seemed to be enjoying every day. He was far ahead of the rest of the talent at that level, and I began to see the good, solid major-league player he was going to become.”13 Whatever the challenges off the field, Alomar’s play certainly did not suffer. He led the league after 90 games with a .346 average and 123 hits, earning him a promotion to Double-A Wichita (and a reunion with Sandy Jr.).14 Sharing a one-bedroom apartment with his brother, Roberto continued his torrid pace and finished the season hitting .319 with 12 home runs and 43 stolen bases.15

Roberto’s minor-league success provided real hope going into the spring of 1988 that he could break camp with the Padres. His performance did nothing to dampen that enthusiasm, as he hit .360 and put together a 10-game hitting streak.16 Padres manager Larry Bowa noted that “this kid is a finished product. All he has to do is go out there and play. He has all the tools; just turn him loose.”17 The Padres, though, had been burned each of the prior two seasons when they tried to promote second basemen (Bip Roberts and Joey Cora) from Double A to the big leagues, and Bowa was directed to give Roberto the bad news that his season would begin at Triple-A Las Vegas, not San Diego.18 The 20-year-old Roberto took the news hard, tearfully retreating to the training room, where he was consoled by his father along with several teammates.

For his part, Bowa had no explanation for the sentence he was ordered to deliver: “I told him he did everything I asked,” said Bowa. “I just told him to keep his head up, that it’s a long season. The chances of Robbie coming to the big leagues in 1988 are pretty good.”19 They were pretty good indeed, as Roberto made quick work of the Pacific Coast League and was leading the league with 14 runs batted in when he was called up to San Diego 2½ weeks into the season.20

On April 22, 1988, Roberto stepped into the batter’s box as a major leaguer for the first time. On the mound was none other than Nolan Ryan – the same Nolan Ryan who had helped teach him to pitch as a toddler. Unfazed, he beat out an infield single in his first major league at-bat.21 Roberto finished the season with 145 hits, a .266 batting average, and 24 stolen bases, finishing fifth in the National League Rookie of the Year voting. He was even stronger the next season, his first full year in the big leagues, batting .295 with 42 stolen bases in 158 games.

Continuing his ascent onto the national radar, Roberto was selected for his first All-Star Game in 1990. What made the honor even more special was that Sandy Jr. (who had been traded to Cleveland), was also selected. The two became the first pair of brothers to be selected for an All-Star Game since Jim and Gaylord Perry in 1970.22 Sandy Sr. reflected on the accomplishments of his two sons: “People have to realize I’m very proud of my kids for the way they act as persons. And they have talent and know how to display that talent.”23

While it appeared that Roberto had established himself as a core piece of the Padres’ future, the Padres had other ideas. After the 1990 season the Padres and Blue Jays struck a blockbuster deal that sent Alomar and outfielder Joe Carter to Toronto in exchange for Fred McGriff and Gold Glove shortstop Tony Fernandez.24 Along with Alomar and Carter, Blue Jays general manager Pat Gillick had also added center fielder Devon White days earlier as Toronto worked to position itself in the competitive American League East.25 Padres’ general manager Joe McIlvaine said, “We just felt it was something we wanted to give a shot to. It was kind of a gutsy trade on both ends.”26 Roberto was shocked: “I didn’t expect it; I didn’t understand it,” he later recalled.27

Surprised or not, Roberto joined a collection of talented players in Toronto and paid immediate dividends north of the border, putting together an early six-game hitting streak as the Blue Jays streaked to the top of the American League East.28 In May, however, Roberto once again ran into the task of facing Nolan Ryan – now pitching for the Texas Rangers. With two outs in the top of the ninth, the 44-year-old Ryan was one out away from his seventh no-hitter when Roberto strode to the plate. As the Fort Worth Star Telegram put it 25 years later, “[T]he kid he’d once coached stood between Ryan and history.”29 Ryan had the last laugh; he struck out Alomar on a 2-and-2 fastball to end the game.30

Later in the season, Roberto was once again elected to the All-Star Game, this time as an American League teammate of Sandy Jr. The long ovation he received from the Toronto crowd served as confirmation of how the city had taken to him: “When I was introduced they gave me such a long, loud ovation, I never expected it,” Roberto said.31

As the season wore on, Alomar kept hitting and the Blue Jays kept winning, clinching the American League East. In his first postseason, Alomar’s.474 batting average could not keep Toronto from being eliminated in five games by the Minnesota Twins. Alomar won his first Gold Glove, and it was clear that the Blue Jays were set to contend in the years to come. The offseason brought with it new riches as well: a three-year, $14 million contract that was the highest at the time on three fronts – for a second baseman, for a player 24 or younger, and for a player with four years or less in the major leagues.32 The average annual value of $4,666,667 made Alomar the ninth-highest paid player in the game.33

Bolstered by the acquisition of Dave Winfield in the offseason and David Cone in August, the Blue Jays again clinched the American League East in 1992. At midseason Alomar returned to San Diego for the first time since being traded and participated in the All-Star Game – once again with Sandy Jr. as a teammate.34

Alomar was named the most valuable player in the ALCS, with the most memorable moment being his game-tying two run home run off A’s closer Dennis Eckersley in the ninth inning of Game Four. He relished the opportunity to be part of the first Blue Jays team to reach the World Series: “I wasn’t here when they didn’t win in the past. … I just want to be here in the present when we win the big one, so we won’t have to hear anymore about the past.35 Alomar continued his clutch hitting and superb defense in the World Series, and helped the Blue Jays defeat Atlanta for their first championship. Alomar’s contributions led Dave Winfield to comment that “You’re one of the best players I’ve ever seen.”36 Manager Cito Gaston agreed: “I could talk about Robbie for an hour,” he said.37

After a slow start in 1993, the Blue Jays took off yet again and Alomar had career highs in numerous categories, including 55 stolen bases and 17 home runs. In the ALCS against the Chicago White Sox, he stole four bases as the Blue Jays won, four games to two. In the World Series, against the Philadelphia Phillies, Alomar hit .480 and drove in six runs as the Blue Jays, on Joe Carter’s game-winning home run in Game Six, won the World Series for the second year in a row.38

With two World Series titles in his back pocket, it was hard to imagine things ever going wrong for Alomar in Toronto. But go wrong they did. After a strike-shortened 1994 season, the Blue Jays began to take a step back in 1995 and look toward the future. This included trading veteran David Cone in July – a move that Alomar protested by sitting out the next game.39 Alomar was also removed from a game in early July when a fan, Tricia Miller, walked into the Skydome hotel where he lived and told employees that she planned to kill him.40 Alomar said, “I wasn’t shaken by it. I never knew that person. I never really knew what was happening. Cito told me in the dugout. They took me out of the game, but they had caught her by then, so I don’t know why.”41

By the end of the season, with rumors swirling about his future, Alomar was unhappy with what he felt was unfair treatment by the Toronto front office and local media:

“I never said that I want to be traded. … They made it sound like I said, ‘Trade me now, I want out of here.’ And the fans believed what they read in the papers. When I stood out on the field in Toronto and heard them booing me, I knew they didn’t understand or know what the truth was. I hadn’t said anything like what the writers wrote. But I could do nothing about it, and I learned how the media is.”42

With no offer from the Blue Jays, Alomar was ready to hit free agency: “If [the Blue Jays] had offered me something before the All-Star break, then maybe I would’ve thought about it and gone for it. Now you’re in the last week of the season. … Now maybe it’s time for me to try the market.”43

At 27 years old and already a six-time All-Star, Alomar inked a three-year, $18 million contract with the Baltimore Orioles in December 1995.44 He was thrilled to team up with fellow All-Star Cal Ripken Jr.: “I never expected to play alongside one of the legends of baseball. … It’s going to be like a dream come true for me.”45

Alomar carried his winter-ball success (he led the league in hitting) over to Baltimore, going on a tear to begin the season, hitting .410 in the beginning part of June.46 Former teammate Tony Gwynn heaped praise on the player Alomar had become, saying, “He has the ability to hit a home run, or work the count and hit a double down the opposite line and do whatever he wants to do. He’s probably the best all-around player in the game.”47 Alomar went on to make his seventh consecutive All-Star Game, collect his sixth consecutive Gold Glove and set numerous career highs as the Orioles clinched the American League wild-card playoff spot.48

Perhaps the most memorable moment of the season, however, occurred during a late-September game in Toronto. After being called out on strikes in the top of the first, Alomar argued with home-plate umpire John Hirschbeck on his way back to the dugout. When Hirschbeck threw him out of the game, Alomar returned to the field. During the course of the argument, Alomar took offense to being called a derogatory name, and spit in Hirschbeck’s face.49

Alomar apologized and donated $50,000 toward research into Lou Gehrig’s disease, which Hirschbeck’s son had.50 This did nothing to prevent his being relentlessly booed for the remainder of the season and the playoffs, or from receiving a five-game suspension to be served at the start of the 1997 season.51

Alomar delivered a game-tying two-out single in the deciding Game Four of the Division Series against Cleveland, and then hit the game-winning home run in the 12th inning.52 Brother and Indians catcher Sandy Alomar Jr. said, “He’s my brother and with all the things that happened with this incident, I felt kind of sorry for him.”53 Roberto was ready to turn the page on the incident: “I’ve been going through a tough time. … Human beings make mistakes. I apologized to the umpire, his family, and all of baseball. It’s time to move on.”54 The Orioles did move on to the ALCS, but were eliminated in five games by the New York Yankees on their way to the World Series title.

The fact that Alomar was even allowed to play in the playoffs did not sit well with many, including major-league umpires. When it was announced that his suspension would be delayed until the next season, the umpires voted to not work the playoffs unless the suspension was changed to apply to the first round.55 The boycott was abandoned, however, when an agreement was worked out in a Philadelphia federal court.56

After he served his five-game suspension to start the 1997 season, Alomar helped the Orioles to 98 wins and the American League East crown. He also took the first step toward putting the spitting incident behind him, publicly shaking hands with Hirschbeck near first base in April before the first Orioles game Hirschbeck called since the incident.57 Several nagging injuries pestered Alomar throughout the season, including a nagging groin injury in late July that made him miss close to a month of playing time. Alomar said the injury “made me grow up. I now knew what it was like to be hurt and what you had to do to come back.”58 After defeating the Mariners in the Division Series, the Orioles came up short of the World Series yet again, this time losing to Sandy and the Cleveland Indians in six games.

The Orioles were nowhere near contention in 1998. The season was not without its highlights though, as Roberto collected three hits (one of them a home run) and the All-Star Game MVP award in Denver, making the Alomar brothers back-to-back winners of the award since Sandy had won the year before. As his three-year contract with the Orioles came to a close, Roberto once again found himself on the free-agent market.

It did not take long for Roberto to find a new home. He signed a four-year contract with the Indians, reuniting with Sandy.59 “It means a lot to be beside my brother, not only to me but to my family,” Roberto said.60 Indians general manager John Hart stated the obvious: “We are elated to have the Alomar brothers in the Indians family.”61 In addition to Sandy, the move to Cleveland also allowed Roberto to team with shortstop Omar Vizquel, who along with Roberto had also won six Gold Gloves. “It would be worth the price of a ticket just to watch Omar and Robbie turn a double play,” said Hart.62

Free from the injuries that plagued him in 1998, Alomar made an immediate impact on the Indians. “Robbie is one of the few players in the game that can make everybody around him better,” Indians manager Mike Hargrove said.63 The Indians had compiled an enviable offense that exploded out of the gates, and Alomar ended the year with what proved to be a career high 24 home runs. He finished third in the MVP voting (the highest he would ever finish). His hot hitting continued in the playoffs; he went 5-for-8 while the Indians surged to a 2-0 series lead over the Red Sox in the ALDS.64 The Tribe would not win again, however, and fell in five games.65

Although things did not turn out as hoped in October, a late-season meeting helped Alomar to finally turn the page on the spitting incident, which had continued to follow him through the jeers of fans around the country. On September 5, during a rain delay at Camden Yards, John Hirschbeck and family came knocking on the visitor’s clubhouse door, asking for Roberto. Hirschbeck’s 13-year-old son was a fan, and wanted to meet Roberto. The moment together allowed both families to heal. “I don’t see why he should be booed,” Hirschbeck said afterward. “If he and I can forgive and forget, why not everyone else?”66

The next two seasons also ended in disappointment for the Indians. In 2000 they missed the playoffs altogether despite winning 90 games. They charged back to the playoffs in 2001, but fell in five games in the ALDS to the Seattle Mariners. Alomar won Gold Gloves and was an All-Star in both seasons, and stole a combined 69 bases. He still looked to be in his prime with one year left on his contract. But another change of scenery was in store.

On December 11, 2001, the Indians traded Alomar, pitcher Mike Bacsik, and first baseman Danny Peoples to the New York Mets in exchange for outfielders Matt Lawton and Alex Escobar, relief pitcher Jerrod Riggan, and two players to be named later.67 While the move was designed to clear payroll and acquire younger talent, Indians general manager Mark Shapiro knew that the deal would not sit well with all fans. “I think I’ll need a flak jacket when I get off the plane [from the winter meetings], probably,” he said.68 Alomar said he was “kind of disappointed … I was real happy in Cleveland and thought I did a great job.”69 Mets General Manager Steve Phillips was elated: “We sit up in that room and all we do is dream all day about different scenarios,” he said, adding that “I have to admit that I thought this was a long shot.”70

But what had seemed like a dream scenario for Phillips at the Winter Meetings would soon turn into a nightmare. The Mets came nowhere near meeting expectations, finishing in last place in the National League East, 26½ games out of first place. Alomar also began to show the first sign of decline, hitting .266 and snapping his 12-year streak of appearances in the All-Star Game. The 2003 season began much the same way, with Alomar hitting.262 on July 1 when the Mets shipped him to the White Sox for three prospects.71

All told, Alomar played only 222 games for the Mets, and for his part understood that he did not perform at the high level that the Mets, and he himself, had expected. “Sometimes, you put too much pressure on yourself in New York, and maybe I did that,” he said.72 Along with providing a change of scenery, joining the White Sox allowed him to reunite again with Sandy.73 But Roberto hit only .253 down the stretch and the White Sox finished in second place in the American League Central, missing the playoffs.

A free agent once again, Alomar signed a one-year deal in the offseason with the Arizona Diamondbacks in the hopes of rejuvenating his career. “If I can get in good shape, I think I can play the way I used to play,” he said.74 Despite missing 56 games with a broken right hand suffered when he was hit by a pitch in late April, he did indeed experience a resurgence of sorts in his limited time on the field with Arizona, carrying a .309 batting average into early August.75 With the Diamondbacks hopelessly out of contention, Alomar was once again an attractive commodity for teams looking to add a veteran presence for the stretch run. So it was that the White Sox acquired him for the second consecutive season. Alomar struggled mightily in sporadic action, though, batting only .180 in 65 plate appearances as the White Sox once again missed the playoffs.

After multiple seasons of declining performance, Alomar made one last run at extending his career, this time with Tampa Bay, signing a one-year, $600,000 contract in January.76 When he committed multiple errors in one inning of a spring training game, however, he decided it was time to walk away. “I played a lot of games and I said I would never embarrass myself on the field,” he said, adding, “I had a long career, but I can’t play at the level I want to play, so it’s time to retire. I just can’t go anymore. My back, legs and eyes aren’t the same.”77 Alomar concluded his 17-year career with a .300 batting average, 2,724 hits, 210 home runs, and 474 stolen bases to go along with 12 All-Star Game selections and 10 Gold Glove awards.

There was no question that Cooperstown would be the final stop of Alomar’s career. With some Hall voters still holding the Hirschbeck incident against him, though, he came up eight votes short of admission in his first year of eligibility, in 2010. “I feel disappointed, but next year hopefully I make it in,” he said, adding that “at least I was close.”78 Some sportswriters were not as gracious in their assessment of the snub. The Chicago Tribune’s Phil Rogers wrote, “If anybody didn’t vote for Robbie because of the spitting incident, then shame on them.”79

Whatever the concerns some Hall voters had in Alomar’s first year of eligibility, resistance to his election was all but nonexistent the next year. He was named on 90 percent of the ballots, far over the 75 percent needed for induction into the Hall of Fame.80 Even Alomar was surprised by the drastic increase in support from the previous year. “I didn’t expect to get that many votes,” he said.81

Alomar, who went into the Hall wearing a Blue Jays cap, opened his induction speech in Spanish and spoke fondly of his father’s and brother’s impact on his life and career.82 Sandy Jr. recounted the brothers’ year-long wager as teammates/roommates for Class-A Charleston: “We said whoever had the best game, would get the bed. I slept on the couch the whole year.”83 He added, “We didn’t win a championship together but we won this together. And this is a big one. In my heart, you are a Hall of Famer.”84

Statistics aside, it is the way Alomar’s former teammates describe him that truly tells the story of the player that he was. Toronto teammate Pat Hentgen, asked how he described Alomar to present-day players, said, “I tell them Robbie was a career .300 hitter, a clutch hitter, a guy who could hit for power, a great baserunner and basestealer … and (pause) his best asset of all was his glove.”85 The Orioles’ B.J. Surhoff perhaps best summed up Alomar’s baseball career: “Robbie could beat you with the bunt, with the extra base, with the homer. He could beat you with a stolen base. He could beat you by going from first to third, a baserunning move. He could beat you by making plays in the field. Robbie’s a baseball player. And a damn good one at that.”86

Alomar continued to be involved in baseball after his retirement. In January of 2016, he and his wife, Kim, launched Foundation 12, a Canadian charitable organization serving youth baseball players, though the organization does not appear to be currently active as of 2022. In 2021, Alomar was placed on the ineligible list by Major League Baseball following an investigation into a 2014 sexual assault allegation.87 Alomar stated that he was “disappointed, surprised, and upset” with the decision, and that he would “continue to spend my time helping kids pursue their baseball dreams.”88

Last revised: March 9, 2022

Notes

1 “25 Years Later, Nolan Ryan Remembers His Seventh No-Hitter,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram, April 30, 2016, star-telegram.com/sports/mlb/texas-rangers/article74925477.html.

2 Norman L. Macht, Roberto Alomar (Childs, Maryland: Mitchell Lane Publishers, Inc., 1999), 9-11.

3 Macht, 3.

4 Macht, 10.

5 “Like Father Like Son?: Padres Think Roberto Alomar Is a Bit More Than a Chip Off the Old Block,” Los Angeles Times, April 22, 1988, articles.latimes.com/1988-04-22/sports/sp-2096_1_roberto-alomar.

6 Macht, 15.

7 Macht, 15.

8 Macht, 16.

9 Macht, 16.

10 Macht, 17.

11 Macht, 18.

12 Macht, 18.

13 Macht, 19.

14 Macht, 19

15 Macht, 21.

16 “Padre Notebook: Few Except Feeney Appear Satisfied as Roberto Alomar Is Sent Down,” Los Angeles Times, March 26, 1988, articles.latimes.com/1988-03-26/sports/sp-354_1_roberto-alomar.

17 Macht, 23.

18 “Padre Notebook.”

19 “Padre Notebook.”

20 “Like Father Like Son?”

21 Macht, 25-26.

22 “Alomars an All-Star Family: Padres: Roberto Alomar, Along With Teammate Tony Gywnn, Is Named an NL Reserve. Brother Sandy Had Already Been Selected as The Starting AL Catcher for Tuesday’s Game,” Los Angeles Times, July 6, 1990, articles.latimes.com/1990-07-06/sports/sp-113_1_sandy-alomar-jr.

23 “Alomars an All-Star Family.”

24 “Blue Jays Land Carter, Alomar From Padres San Diego Gets Fernandez and McGriff in Deal,” Baltimore Sun, December 5, 1990, articles.baltimoresun.com/1990-12-06/sports/1990340005_1_blue-jays-fred-mcgriff-tony-fernandez.

25 “Blue Jays Land Carter, Alomar From Padres San Diego Gets Fernandez and McGriff in Deal.”

26 “Blue Jays Land Carter, Alomar From Padres San Diego Gets Fernandez and McGriff in Deal.”

27 Macht, 31.

28 “Padres Winning December Deal Looks Like Tie With Blue Jays in April,” Baltimore Sun, April 21, 1991, articles.baltimoresun.com/1991-04-21/sports/1991111135_1_blue-jays-roberto-alomar-deal.

29 “25 Years Later.”

30 “25 Years Later.”

31 Macht, 33.

32 “Cadaret and 8 Others Settle Contract,” New York Times, February 8, 1992, nytimes.com/1992/02/08/sports/baseball-cadaret-and-8-others-settle-contracts.html.

33 “Cadaret and 8 Others Settle Contract,”

34 Macht, 35.

35 “Blue Jays Eck Out a 7-6 Victory in 11: AL Game 4: Alomar’s Two-Run Homer Off Eckersley Ties It in Ninth as A’s Blow 6-1 Lead,” Los Angeles Times, October 12, 1992, articles.latimes.com/1992-10-12/sports/sp-138_1_blue-jays.

36 Macht, 37.

37 “Alomar’s MVP Play Points to New Star,” Baltimore Sun, October 15, 1992, articles.baltimoresun.com/1992-10-15/sports/1992289072_1_alomar-blue-jays-toronto.

38 Macht, 42.

39 Macht, 43-44.

40 “Orioles’ Multitalented Alomar Is Second to None,” Washington Post, March 31, 1996, washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1996/03/31/orioles-multitalented-alomar-is-second-to-none/b8cd697d-9630-464e-bcd9-84d6ba8db8cf/?utm_term=.9d34bd1c1107.

41 “Orioles’ Multitalented Alomar Is Second to None.”

42 Macht, 44.

43 “Jays’ Alomar in No Rush to Decide ’96 Destination He, Molitor Express Interest in Joining Ripken,” Baltimore Sun, September 27, 1995, articles.baltimoresun.com/1995-09-27/sports/1995270116_1_alomar-blue-jays-second-baseman.

44 “O’s Wave Money Wand Building Winner: Signing Six-Time All-Star Roberto Alomar Adds Exclamation Mark to New General Manager’s Swift Revamping of Orioles,” Baltimore Sun, December 22, 1995, articles.baltimoresun.com/1995-12-22/news/1995356066_1_gillick-orioles-roberto-alomar. New manager Davey Johnson was informed of the signing in the dentist’s chair when he answered a call from General Manager Pat Gillick who said, “Well, you’ve got yourself an All-Star second baseman.” Johnson claimed to not feel any pain for the remainder of the day. “Alomar finds O’s 2nd to none Six-time All-Star signs, three-year, $18 million deal,” Baltimore Sun, December 22, 1995, articles.baltimoresun.com/1995-12-22/sports/1995356093_1_roberto-alomar-cone-orioles.

45 Macht, 47.

46 Macht, 46, 51-52.

47 “Alomar Hitting His Prime at Plate,” Los Angeles Times, May 28, 1996, articles.latimes.com/1996-05-28/sports/sp-9201_1_alomar-hitting.

48 Macht, 51-52.

49 Macht, 52-53.

50 Macht, 54.

51 Macht, 54.

52 “Alomar Shows Some Spit and Polish,” Los Angeles Times, October 6, 1996, articles.latimes.com/1996-10-06/sports/sp-51279_1_sandy-alomar.

53 “Alomar Shows Some Spit and Polish.”

54 “Alomar Shows Some Spit and Polish.”

55 “Umpires Vote to Boycott Over Alomar,” New York Times, October 1, 1996, nytimes.com/1996/10/01/sports/umpires-vote-to-boycott-over-alomar.html.

56 “Umpires Abandon Boycott,” Los Angeles Times, October 2, 1996, articles.latimes.com/1996-10-02/sports/sp-49681_1_umpires-working-game.

57 Macht, 57.

58 Macht, 59.

59 Macht, 62.

60 “Cleveland Lures Roberto Alomar,” CBS News, November 23, 1998, cbsnews.com/news/cleveland-lures-roberto-alomar/.

61 “Cleveland Lures Roberto Alomar.”

62 “Cleveland Lures Roberto Alomar.”

63 “Alomar: Villain Turned Hero in Cleveland,” Los Angeles Times, June 27, 1999, articles.latimes.com/1999/jun/27/sports/sp-50609.

64 “Baines Goes Deep as Indians Move One Game From Sweep,” Baltimore Sun, October 8, 1999, articles.baltimoresun.com/1999-10-08/sports/9910080129_1_roberto-alomar-baines-cleveland.

65 “Red Sox Ace Out Indians,” Los Angeles Times, October 12, 1999, articles.latimes.com/1999/oct/12/sports/sp-22770/2.

66 “Score One for Friendship,” Baltimore Sun, October 27, 1999, articles.baltimoresun.com/1999-10-27/news/9910270108_1_roberto-alomar-john-hirschbeck-holy-water/3.

67 “Indians Trade Alomar to Mets,” Southeast Missourian (Cape Girardeau, Missouri), December 12, 2001, semissourian.com/story/54375.html.

68 “Indians Trade Alomar to Mets,” CBC Sports, December 11, 2001, cbc.ca/sports/baseball/indians-trade-alomar-to-mets-1.257404.

69 “Indians Trade Alomar to Mets,” CBC Sports.

70 “Indians trade Alomar to Mets,” Southeast Missourian, December 12, 2001, www.semissourian.com/story/54375.html.

71 “Mets Trade Roberto Alomar to White Sox,” New York Times, July 1, 2003, nytimes.com/2003/07/01/sports/baseball/mets-trade-roberto-alomar-to-white-sox.html.

72 “Mets Trade Roberto Alomar to White Sox.”

73 Sandy Alomar signed with Chicago prior to the 2003 season.

74 “Alomar Jr. Joins Diamondbacks, CBC Sports, January 7, 2004, cbc.ca/sports/baseball/alomar-jr-joins-diamondbacks-1.516620.

75 “Diamondbacks Trade Alomar to White Sox,” Orlando Sentinel, August 6, 2004, articles.orlandosentinel.com/2004-08-06/sports/0408060185_1_dominican-republic-clemens-white-sox.

76 “Notebook: Roberto Alomar: “It’s Time to Retire,” Seattle Times, March 20, 2005, seattletimes.com/sports/notebook-roberto-alomar-its-time-to-retire/.

77 “Notebook: Roberto Alomar: “It’s Time to Retire.”

78 “Hall Passes: Alomar 8 Short,” Baltimore Sun, January 7, 2010, articles.baltimoresun.com/2010-01-07/sports/1001060140_1_hall-s-veterans-committee-john-hirschbeck-roberto-alomar.

79 “Hall Passes: Alomar 8 Short.”

80 “Alomar, Blyleven Elected to Hall of Fame,” Baltimore Sun, January 5, 2011, articles.baltimoresun.com/2011-01-05/sports/bs-sp-hallofame-01-20110105_1_sandy-alomar-sr-pitcher-bert-blyleven-induction.

81 “Alomar, Blyleven Elected to Hall of Fame.”

82 “Alomar, Blyleven and Gillick Enter Baseball Hall of Fame,” USA Today, July 24, 2011, usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/hallfame/2011-07-24-hall-of-fame-alomar-blyleven_n.htm.

83 “Alomar, Blyleven and Gillick Enter Baseball Hall of Fame.”

84 “Alomar, Blyleven and Gillick Enter Baseball Hall of Fame.”

85 “Robbie Was Best of the Best,” Toronto Sun, July 16, 2011, torontosun.com/2011/07/16/robbie-was-best-of-the-best.

86 “Alomar Falls Just Short in First Bid for Hall of Fame,” Baltimore Sun, January 7, 2010, articles.baltimoresun.com/2010-01-07/sports/bal-sp.alomar07jan07_1_roberto-alomar-greatest-second-basemen-ballot/2.

87 Keegan Matheson, “MLB Puts Roberto Alomar on Ineligible List,” MLB.com, April 30, 2021. https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-puts-roberto-alomar-on-ineligible-list

88 “MLB puts Roberto Alomar on Ineligible List.”

One of the reasons for the Tribe’s success was the unlikely power coming from the bat of Sandy Alomar Jr. The veteran backstop started the season in fine fashion, as he slugged a home run in five consecutive games from April 4-8. His 11 home runs at the break matched his season total of the season before and were just three short of his career-high 14 homers in 1994. “I’m in a zone,” said Alomar. “Everything looks like a beach ball.”1

But it was more than the long ball that Alomar was contributing to the team’s fortunes. He owned the second-longest hitting streak in franchise history, 30 games (from May 25 through July 6). The streak, in which Alomar batted .429, was second only to Nap Lajoie’s 31-game streak in 1906. “It’s been a remarkable run for him,” said the Twins’ Paul Molitor. “To be able to have the mind-set to call a game (as catcher) and still be able to do that. …”2  

For the All-Stars on July 8, pitching was the name of the game. The teams battled to a 1-1 tie through the top of the seventh inning. Each team scored its tally on a home run. Edgar Martinez, who was the first designated hitter elected to the All-Star Game, socked a 2-and-2 offering from Greg Maddux into the left-field plaza in the bottom of the second frame. In the top of the seventh, Braves catcher Javy Lopez led off with a solo shot off the Royals’ Jose Rosado.

Jim Thome led off the bottom of the seventh inning by grounding out. Bernie Williams walked and with two outs took second base on a wild pitch by the Giants’ Shawn Estes. Alomar, who had replaced Ivan Rodriguez in the bottom of the sixth inning, stepped to the plate. “When Sandy went to the plate, Paul O’Neill turned to me and said, ‘If all things were fair, Sandy would hit a homer and win the ballgame,’” said Indians manager Mike Hargrove, one of manager Joe Torre’s coaches for the game.3 Sandy sent a 2-and-2 pitch from Estes on a line into the left-field bleachers. “I felt like I was flying,” said Alomar. “I’ve never run the bases so fast on a home run.”4

The 3-1 AL advantage stood up, as the junior circuit snapped a three-game losing streak. The NL was held to three hits. Alomar became the first Indian to homer in the All-Star Game since Rocky Colavito in 1959. Alomar was voted the game’s MVP, the first Indian to be so honored and the first player ever to win the award in his home ballpark. “This is a dream I don’t want to wake up from,” said Alomar. “You probably only get one chance to play an All-Star Game in your home stadium.”5

“It was another of those storybook things,” said Torre. “I had one last fall [the 1996 World Series], and now this. I was happy for Sandy to win it in his own park.”6 

Santos (Velazquez) Alomar was born on June 18, 1966, in Salinas, Puerto Rico. He was the middle child (older sister Sandia, younger brother Roberto) born to Santos and Maria Alomar. Sandy Sr. suited up for six different teams over a 15-year career in the major leagues. He had a career batting average of .245. He was mainly a second baseman, although he also saw time at shortstop. After his playing days, Alomar coached 15 years on the big-league level. In addition to his time in the major leagues, Sandy Sr. also managed the Puerto Rican National Team.

The elder Alomar did not push his sons into baseball. “The only influence is from them seeing me play,” he said.7 The life of a ballplayer means a lot of travel and time away from the family. Sandy Sr. credited his wife, Maria, with raising their three children, saying, “She deserves more credit than me. I was a ballplayer and couldn’t be around that much. She stayed home and raised those kids. That’s why they’re the kind of people they are.”8

Roberto Alomar took to baseball right away. He had the natural ability to play the game and at age 7 he made Sandy’s little league team for 9-to-12-year-olds. But for Sandy, he had other interests to keep him busy. “Sandy left the game at age 12 and got into dirt-bike riding and karate,” said his father. “He was doing dangerous things, more or less. He said the only way he could find excitement in baseball was to become a catcher.”9

Young Sandy took to catching and was signed as an amateur free agent on October 21, 1983, by the San Diego Padres. After graduating from Luis Munoz Rivera High School in Salinas, Alomar began his journey to the major leagues. It was a long climb indeed. At first, the going was rough for the young catcher, who hit a combined .221 through his first three years in the minor leagues. But like most talented players, Alomar put in the work and by 1987 he blossomed into a coveted prospect in the Padres chain. It became a family affair of sorts, as Roberto joined his older brother on multiple minor-league squads. Sandy Sr. joined San Diego manager Steve Boros’ coaching staff in 1986.

In 1988 Alomar was named co-Minor League Player of the Year by The Sporting News (with Gary Sheffield of Denver). Alomar, who was the catcher for the Las Vegas Stars of the Pacific Coast League, batted .297 and had career highs in home runs (16) and RBIs (71). “I didn’t expect to hit like that,” said Alomar. “As the season started, I struggled a little bit, but then I started swinging harder and pulling the ball more and hitting more home runs.”10

It was reported that 22 of the other 25 major-league clubs were interested in acquiring Alomar. The Padres already had their catcher of the future in Benito Santiago. The time looked right to possibly trade their star prospect and get plenty in return. While Santiago was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1987, Roberto was promoted to the Padres in 1988 and became their starting second baseman. Sandy was frustrated, feeling there was nothing more he could do on the minor-league level. Rumors persisted that he would be traded, or that Santiago might be moved. One rumor had Alomar headed to Atlanta for All-Star Dale Murphy. “Every organization in the league would love to have a Sandy Alomar,” said Atlanta general manager Bobby Cox.11

But no deal was ever made and Alomar returned to Las Vegas in 1989. He started the season poorly, batting .242 up to June 5, and then he became a man possessed, batting .351 the rest of the way. For the season, Alomar batted .306, with 13 home runs and 101 RBIs. He showed value behind the plate as well, fielding his position at a .984 clip, and throwing out 34 percent of would-be basestealers (25 of 74). He was once again honored by The Sporting News and Baseball America as the Minor League Player of the Year. “It means a lot to me,” said Alomar of the award. “The way I felt, I was so frustrated. I figured there was no way I’d win it again.”12

When the Cleveland Indians front office offered slugging outfielder Joe Carter a multiyear deal at the end of the 1989 season, Carter said, “No thanks.” He could be a free agent at the end of the 1990 season, and was looking forward to leaving Cleveland, and getting a fresh start – not to mention snagging a boatload of cash. Alomar, who was getting frustrated with his situation in San Diego, was just hoping for a chance to play in the big leagues. After all, he had accomplished all he could in the minors, and it really did not matter to him whose uniform he was wearing. On December 6, 1989, at the annual winter meetings, Cleveland GM Hank Peters and San Diego GM Jack McKeon hammered out a deal that sent Carter to the Padres and Alomar, infielder Carlos Baerga, and outfielder Chris James to Cleveland.

Alomar was penciled in as the starting catcher as soon as the ink was dry on the trade. He did not disappoint. Cleveland manager John McNamara praised his young backstop in all facets of his game. “To me, he’s very, very impressive at blocking balls,” said McNamara. “He does it even when there’s no need, when nobody is on base. Sandy’s been taught well. He’s absorbed the teaching, put it to good use.

“Sandy is hitting for a better average than I expected at this stage of his career. He’s adjusted very well to major-league pitching. I never had any doubt about his catching, but you just never know about his hitting.”13              

McNamara was not the only person to notice the outstanding play of his prized rookie. All of baseball took notice when Alomar was voted the starting catcher for the American League in the All-Star Game. He was the first rookie catcher ever to start in an All-Star Game. The game would be extra-special, as Roberto, then with San Diego, was also named an All-Star and Sandy Sr. would also join his sons as a coach for the NL at Wrigley Field for the midsummer classic.    

Sandy’s season was capped off with his being the unanimous choice for the AL Rookie of the Year. “This award means more to me than the All-Star Game,” said Alomar. “You have a lot of chances to be in the All-Star Game, but you’ve only got one chance to win this award. I was supposed to be Rookie of the Year, and that made it tough. I was traded for Joe Carter, and that made it tough. But the manager and the rest of the guys on the team really helped me.”14 Alomar was the fourth Indian to win the award. He was also awarded a Gold Glove for excellence in fielding his position. He was the first Indian to be so recognized since Rick Manning in 1976.

Alomar was instantly a fan favorite among Indians fans. However, the injuries began to pile up beginning in 1991, his second season. Though Alomar was selected to start the All-Star Game in both 1991 and 1992, he was dealing with myriad setbacks that included back surgery, injuries to his right rotator cuff, his right hip flexor, his right knee (two, caused by sliding), and the webbing between the fingers on his right hand (also twice). The 132 games Alomar played in his rookie year were the most of his career.

The Indians moved across downtown to their new ballpark, Jacobs Field, for the 1994 season. Alomar, despite missing time on the disabled list with the torn webbing on his right hand, was putting together a wonderful season, batting .288 with 14 home runs and 43 RBIs, when the players’ strike on August 11 led to the remainder of the season being canceled.

Perhaps because Alomar suffered so many injuries, Cleveland signed Tony Peña before the 1994 season. For the next three seasons, the veteran provided solid leadership and was a reliable substitute for Alomar. It was a great free-agent signing for the Indians, as Alomar was recuperating from knee surgery and did not return to the active roster until June 29, 1995. Still, he batted .300 in 54 starts at catcher that season. The Indians, who sported one of the most potent lineups in baseball, moved Alomar to the bottom of their lineup.  “I think Sandy can still hit 10 to 15 homers this year,” said manager Mike Hargrove. “He has that kind of power. The thing that is really impressive is the way he’s accepted hitting ninth. The number 9 hitter is usually the weakest hitter in the lineup, but that’s not the case with this team.”15

The Indians returned to the postseason for the first time in 41 years, winning their division by 30 games. They marched through the American League playoffs before losing to Atlanta in the World Series.

The Indians won the AL Central from 1995 to 1999. In 1997 they advanced to the World Series again, only to lose to Florida in seven games. Alomar’s power surge in 1997 continued in the postseason, as he hit two home runs in the ALDS, one in the ALCS, and two in the World Series.

In 1999 Alomar was reunited with brother Roberto, who signed a free-agent contract with Cleveland. Together with Omar Vizquel, they formed one of the better middle-infield defenses in the big leagues. But Sandy missed most of the season after surgery on his left knee (he started 35 games), and in 2000 he split time with Einar Diaz at catcher. That season he batted .289 and drove in 42 runs.

But the end of an era was near as Alomar and the Indians were unable to negotiate a contract after the 2000 season. Alomar, ever the classy player, took the “life goes on” route and signed with the Chicago White Sox. He split time with Mark Johnson at catcher.

But the White Sox were just as interested in Alomar’s ability to teach their young receivers and work with their green pitching staff. He was traded to Colorado in 2002, but returned to the South Side for the 2003 and 2004 seasons. “I got kind of teary-eyed when he got traded,” said pitcher Mark Buerhle. “I’m still learning (from him). I’m out there thinking, ‘I’m going to throw this pitch,’ and he puts something else down. I’m not going to shake him off because he’s been around the league a long time.”16 

The White Sox made it clear that they wanted Alomar to work with Miguel Olivo, a catching prospect for whom the front office had high hopes. In 2003 Sandy was reunited again with Roberto, who by this time in his career was serving as a utility player for Chicago.

Alomar spent the remaining years as a backup catcher with Texas (2005), the Los Angeles Dodgers and the White Sox (2006), and the New York Mets (2007). He retired with a .273 batting average in a 20-year career. He hit 112 home runs and 249 doubles, and drove in 588 runs. He threw out just over 30 percent of baserunners, and fielded at a .991 clip at catcher for his career.

Alomar stayed with the Mets as a catching instructor in 2008 and 2009. Manny Acta was hired to replace Eric Wedge as Cleveland’s manager in 2010. Acta offered Alomar a job as his first-base coach. “I jumped at it,” said Alomar. “For me, it was coming home. No place in baseball means as much to me as Cleveland.”17

Acta was fired near the end of the 2012 season. Alomar was named interim manager, and looked to be the favorite until Terry Francona’s name was thrown into the mix of candidates. “I knew they’d hire him if he wanted the job,” said Alomar. “I don’t blame them. I understand. He’s won two World Series. He’s a heck of a guy.”18   

As of 2025, Alomar is still Cleveland’s first-base coach. Francona, who played for the Indians in 1988, was a teammate of Alomar’s in winter ball with Ponce in the Puerto Rico League. When the Indians acquired Alomar in 1989, Francona gushed at the young man’s ability. “He’s the best catcher I’ve ever played with,” said Francona. “He’s better than Gary Carter when Carter was good. Sandy might not drive in 100 runs like Carter did in his prime, but overall he’s a better ballplayer. He’s the best defensive catcher I’ve ever seen. His arm is almost incredible.”19  

When Francona insisted that Sandy Alomar be a part of his staff, he knew exactly what he was getting. Even way back when.     

Last revised: June 1, 2018

This biography appeared in “Puerto Rico and Baseball: 60 Biographies” (SABR, 2017), edited by Bill Nowlin and Edwin Fernández. It also appeared in “1995 Cleveland Indians: The Sleeping Giant Awakes” (SABR, 2019), edited by Joseph Wancho.

Photo credit

National Baseball Hall of Fame Library.

Notes                                        

1 Bill Livingston, “Sweet Sandy! AL Triumphs on Alomar Blast,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, July 9, 1997: 1A. 

2 Mel Antonen, “Sandy Alomar’s Streak Hits 30,” USA Today, July 7, 1997: 1C.

3 Paul Hoynes, “Sandy Steals the Show; Alomar’s Home Run Lifts AL,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, July 9, 1997: 1D.

4 Ibid.

5 Ibid.

6 “Sweet Sandy.”

7 Chuck Johnson, “Alomar Sons Deepen Roots in Baseball,” USA Today, July 13, 1990: 2C.

8 Ibid.

9 Ibid.

10 “Big League Awards in the Minors,” The Sporting News, December 5, 1988: 46.

11 Barry Bloom, “Alomar Hopes That His ‘First’ Won’t Last,” The Sporting News, December 4, 1989: 52.

12  Ibid.

13 Sheldon Ocker, “Alomar More Than Lives Up to Hype,” The Sporting News, July 2, 1990: 12. 

14 Paul Hoynes, “It’s Unanimous! Indians Catcher Alomar Is Rookie of the Year,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, November 8, 1990: 1F.

15 Paul Hoynes, “Deep Thunder Alomar Homers Twice at Bottom of Order,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, July 21, 1995: 1D.

16 Nancy Armour (Associated Press), “Sandy Ready to Teach,” Elyria (Ohio) Chronicle-Telegram, March 3, 2003: C4.

17 Terry Pluto, “Playing, Coaching for Tribe ‘Paradise,’ Cleveland Plain Dealer, April 3, 2013: C3.

18 Ibid.

19 “Alomar Draws Praise From Former Mate,” The Sporting News, March 19, 1990: 30. 

Asked about the game over the years, he would repeat, “It was a gift from God.”1 Indeed, it seems it was.

Wilson Álvarez became the fourth youngest pitcher in history to accomplish the feat.2 He was the 13th Chicago White Sox pitcher to throw a no-hitter, and his was the 14th hitless game in franchise history. It was the first for a Venezuelan pitcher. And this was just his second major-league start.

The world of major-league baseball first heard the name of left-hander Wilson Álvarez in July 1989, when the Texas Rangers called him up for a spot start on July 24. In his native Venezuela, Álvarez was already a well-known name, mostly in Maracaibo, his hometown, where he had been in the news since he was a boy starring in the little leagues.

Wilson Álvarez was born in Maracaibo on March 24, 1970, the son of William Álvarez, an upholsterer, and Ada Álvarez, a homemaker. Maracaibo is one of the most baseball-crazy corners of the world, the place where Luis Aparicio became an idol and where every kid dreams about being a major-leaguer. Wilson and his three brothers, William, Walter, and Willy, were no different. (There was also a daughter, Wendy.)

It was Ada who took the time to take her sons to the Santa Lucía Little League field every weekend for games and during the week for practice.

Maracaibo is the epicenter of the Little League system in Venezuela, home to the Coquivacoa Little League, the first Venezuelan league affiliated with the Williamsport, Pennsylvania-based organization. In 1955 Frank Poteraj, an American oil worker, committed to bring organized baseball for boys to the area and founded the league, encouraging the subsequent affiliation of other leagues. As of 2017, 23 of the 37 affiliated leagues in the country actively operate in the state of Zulia, and of the five Latin American teams that have won the Little League World Series title, two have been from Maracaibo.

It was in these challenging and competitive surroundings that Wilson Álvarez grew up, learned baseball, and began to shine. While in Little League between the ages of 11 and 16, he pitched 12 no-hit games, gaining notoriety as a top prospect.

In August 1984 Venezuela celebrated the induction of Luis Aparicio to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The National Sports Institute issued a commemorative magazine.3 Aparicio’s picture was on the cover and most of the issue was dedicated to his legacy. The last page, however, showed a picture of 14-year-old lefty Wilson Álvarez, who had recently thrown a 21-strikeout no-hitter in a national youth baseball tournament.

Aparicio’s induction in Cooperstown was celebrated on August 11, 1984. Exactly seven years later, and around the same time in the afternoon that Aparicio made his acceptance speech, the kid from the back cover was pitching a no-hitter, and for one of Aparicio’s old teams, the White Sox.

After the hype surrounding his amateur career, the 16-year-old Álvarez was signed on September 23, 1986, by the Texas Rangers as an international free agent and was assigned to Águilas del Zulia of the Venezuelan Winter League. In his first season, he started one game, had nine appearances as a reliever, and allowed 12 runs in 9⅓ innings pitched, finishing his first professional season with a record of 0-1 and an 11.57 ERA.

A couple months after the winter season Álvarez traveled to his first spring training in the United States and was assigned for 1987 to the White Sox’ team in the Gulf Coast League. He posted a record of 2-5, 5.24 in his first 10 starts. He was promoted to the Class-A South Atlantic League, going 1-5 with a 6.47 ERA in six starts for the Gastonia Rangers. He finished his first year with a combined 3-10 won-lost record and a disastrous rate of 5.2 walks per nine innings.

“Those days were tough,” he recalled. “It was tough to adapt to a new culture, new friends, language, food and all. The expectations were high back home and I felt things were not going on the right direction, although I trusted that I could pitch and do my job.”

Álvarez grew to become 6-feet-1 and 175 pounds.

Álvarez was always a very shy person, very quiet. Some people confused his lethargy with laziness. During his first two years in the minors, the results were disappointing, but only in terms of stats – something not overly significant for a minor leaguer; the “stuff” was there. His fastball was lively; he was working on his command, curveball, and slider.

The level of play in the Venezuelan League was higher than rookie ball and Single-A. During those years, a mix of major leaguers and top-ranked prospects made this winter circuit one of the most competitive. It is not a secret that the aim of Caribbean baseball is winning, not on player development as in the minor leagues.

Between 1987 and 1990 Álvarez’s game was getting shaped by the competitiveness of winter baseball. He became a fan favorite with Zulia, a team managed by Manny Trillo in ’87, Pete Mackanin in ’88 and ’89, and Rubén Amaro Sr. in 1990.

In 1989 Mackanin took the team and his star young arm to another level, winning the league title and the 1989 Caribbean Series in Mazatlán, México. Led by catcher Joe Girardi and first baseman Carlos Quintana, the team also featured top-caliber major-league prospects including Phil Stephenson, Cris Colón, Pete Castellano, Eddie Zambrano, and major-league journeyman infielder Angel Salazar.

Playing with bright major-league prospects and for coaches like Trillo, Amaro, and Mackanin helped shape Álvarez’s character. “Zulia was a very competitive team,” he recalled. “Those guys played with hard-core passion for the game and for the franchise. Most of them were hometown locals just like me and it was a matter of pride to win. It was a completely different scenario than what we were seeing in those years in the minors. The Venezuelan League was about passion. It was tough baseball. Many, many good players were there … major leaguers, foreign players, people wanted us to win and there was a lot of pressure and fun and they had confidence in me, which I always appreciated.”

The Rangers sent Álvarez to Triple-A Oklahoma City for a brief stint in 1988, but he spent most of the season with Class-A Gastonia, where he was 4-11 but recorded a 2.98 ERA. He started 1989 in the Florida State League for the Port Charlotte Rangers, where, going 7-4 with a 2.11 ERA in the first half of the season, he showed at age 19 that his three years of professional experience were really paying off. His strikeout-to-walk ratio improved and his curveball and changeup command was effective after coming back from the Winter League. He was promoted to Double A, joining the Tulsa Drillers of the Texas League the first week of July.

The big-league club was challenging Oakland in the divisional race and after several years the White Sox had a shot at the postseason. They knew their farm system was loaded with great talent from Latin America thanks to the labors of assistant GM Sandy Johnson.

Rangers general manager Tom Grieve decided to start showing off his talent pool by calling up players who could either help or become fodder for trades. In June the White Sox called up 20-year-old Dominican outfielder Sammy Sosa. And on July 24, after just three weeks in Tulsa, Álvarez was called up to start against the Toronto Blue Jays in place of the injured Charlie Hough. The 19-year-old became the first player born in the 1970s to play in the major leagues.

Álvarez’s first pitch, to Junior Félix, was a strike. On his fifth pitch, Félix hit a single to center field. Tony Fernández was up next and he hit a home run to left. On a 2-and-2 count, Kelly Gruber went back-to-back deep to center field. George Bell walked. Fred McGriff got four balls in a row. Manager Bobby Valentine took Álvarez out of the game, bringing in Dominican veteran Cecilio Guante in relief.

The rookie departed after facing five batters and surrendering three hits and two walks for three runs. Having recorded no outs, he carried an earned-run average of infinity.

“Most people thought (calling up Álvarez) was because (White Sox GM Larry Himes) was at the game,” Grieve told the Chicago Tribune. “The purpose of that callup was to win that game and he was the best one we had for that job.”4

“They called me up to show me so they could trade me,” Álvarez declared. “I was devastated. I thought it was going to be almost impossible to get back to the majors. The next day they sent me down back to Tulsa and the day after they told me I was traded to the Chicago White Sox.”

Álvarez took the news badly. His confidence was hurt. The Rangers needed to add a veteran bat for the rest of the season and the White Sox were an aging team with a poor farm system. Chicago sent veteran All-Star Harold Baines and Venezuelan infielder Fred Manrique to Texas for Álvarez, skinny outfielder Sammy Sosa, and infielder Scott Fletcher.

A few days later Álvarez was pitching for the Birmingham Barons of the Double-A Southern League. He pitched just six more games the rest of the season and then returned to Zulia, where his confidence returned with the comfort of playing at home.

The 1990 season offered a fresh start for the lefty and after his solid performance in Venezuela he was sent to Triple-A Vancouver. That year he married Daihanna, who was pregnant; he started the season with a record of 7-7 and an ERA of 6.00. He was demoted to Double-A Birmingham by midseason.

On the personal side, his wife gave birth prematurely to their first child, a boy. After complications from a pulmonary infection, the baby died on August 11, just five days old.

“That was hard. We were so excited for the birth of the baby. I couldn’t concentrate on baseball. Losing a child was something we couldn’t understand and we were both so young and hopeful that all was going to be fine with my career, our family. But it wasn’t.”

Álvarez finished the season with seven more starts in Double A, going 5-1 and improving his ERA to 4.27. Birmingham pitching coach Rick Peterson helped him face his emotional struggles.

By spring training of 1991 Álvarez was coming off his best season in winter ball, having gone 3-3 in nine starts for Zulia with an ERA of 1.38, establishing himself as one of the top hurlers of the circuit at the age of 20. He looked like a veteran on the mound and was ready to prove to the White Sox that he belonged in the majors. His fastball was in the mid-90s, and he had better command of his slider and curveball. The White Sox assigned him again to Birmingham and after 23 starts, he was 10-6 with a 1.83 ERA and 165 strikeouts in 152⅓ innings. The stuff was there and the moment to return to the majors was getting close. The White Sox were reshaping their team, and Álvarez was in their plans.

To ensure that Álvarez was fit for the job, the White Sox called him up on August 11. He would face the Baltimore Orioles that Sunday afternoon at Memorial Stadium. It was his second major-league start.

“I couldn’t believe I was getting back and pitching on the same day when we lost our baby,” he said. “I had a million things on my mind, I was nervous because I was afraid that I was not going to be able to make an out like in 1989. I didn’t know what to think or do because of the chance to pitch back on this level. When we arrived on the bus to the ballpark I realized I had left my bag with all my clothes and equipment at the lobby of the hotel. The team sent a person to get my stuff where my wife was waiting. When the bag arrived I got dressed and ran to the bullpen with the belt on my hand to prepare for the game and only was able to warm up for a half-hour.”

That afternoon the baseball gods were behind Álvarez. Facing a tough Orioles lineup with hitters like Cal Ripken, Randy Milligan, Chris Hoiles, and Dwight Evans, he managed to make outs step-by-step, with his solid fastball, circle change, slider, and splitter. Everything worked just fine. The White Sox scored twice in the top of the first and Álvarez struck out the side, all three swinging, in the bottom of the inning. The White Sox scored two more runs in the second, and after walking Dwight Evans in the second, Álvarez resumed mowing Baltimore batters down. The next baserunner reached on a walk in the sixth. Álvarez walked five batters in all, and his catcher, Ron Karkovice, made an error in the seventh, but Álvarez didn’t give up a hit. The White Sox defense did its part with a memorable sliding catch in the seventh inning by center fielder Lance Johnson that helped preserve the gem. Álvarez had himself a no-hitter.

“He didn’t realize he was there,” recalled teammate and countryman Ozzie Guillén. “I’d heard about his performance in the little leagues in Venezuela and in Chicago we knew him as the kid we got in the Harold Baines trade. I never got to actually know him until that day when we needed a pitcher and he came over for a start. I always think that he didn’t believe he was pitching that day and he just let go all his talent from the mound.”5 It was a historic achievement for a Venezuelan pitcher. The whole country watched the game on television and the no-hitter became a national storyline of pride and greatness – a mark for a whole generation.

For the next seven days, every major newspaper in Venezuela sold out their advertising pages to one company or another, each congratulating Álvarez for his game. Even a month after the game, the congratulatory messages were around – billboards in streets with his picture and graffiti on walls with thank-you messages. Everybody was part of the celebration.

Álvarez was the second major-league pitcher to hurl a no-hitter in his second major-league start. He stayed with the White Sox for the rest of the season and established himself in the pitching rotation. He ended his major-league season with a record of 3-2 in nine starts, with a 3.51 ERA.

After his no-hitter, Venezuelan fans followed every game that Álvarez pitched over the next 12 years, hoping to see another no-hitter. It became part of the fan psyche.

After the season Álvarez went back to Venezuela to pitch for Zulia and was received as a hero in his hometown. For Zulia he became the first winner of the pitching Triple Crown, leading the league in wins (8-0), ERA (1.47), and strikeouts (64). He was named the Pitcher of the Year and led the Águilas to the league championship and a spot in the 1992 Caribbean Series.

After his 8-0 record and extraordinary year of 1991, Álvarez became better known as El Intocable (The Untouchable).

Álvarez started the 1992 season as a reliever for the White Sox but he struggled, in large part due to a walk rate of almost six per nine innings. He joined the rotation in mid-June and ended the season with an ERA of 5.20, starting only 9 games out of 34 appearances. That winter he returned to Venezuela; he pitched six games with a 4.08 ERA.

By this time, major league baseball had become more and more aware of the workload of Latin players and began limiting performances in winter ball for key players. The White Sox saw Álvarez as an important part of their plans, and fans in Venezuela had to adjust to seeing fewer major-league stars.

“I wanted to pitch every year and all season in Venezuela,” said Álvarez. “The (White Sox) considered that pitching in Venezuela was a risk, but also necessary to keep in shape during the off months. For me it was a continual growing but also a matter of pride, to be able to pitch in front of my family and friends and for the team who gave me so much. Even with limitations, I tried by all means to pitch back home.”

Álvarez was excited to pitch in “El Juego de la Chinita,” a celebratory game honoring the Virgin of Chiquinquirá, the patron of Maracaibo. This game has been played on November 18 since 1933; Luis Aparicio made his debut in professional baseball in El Juego in 1953, playing for Gavilanes.

“It was special to pitch that day. It’s a spiritual thing. It’s the energy of the fans. The ballpark is packed with over 25,000 people all excited and being part of the celebration that embraced the city. Those games were special and it was an honor for me and for my family to be in the center of the mound representing what we are,” Álvarez said.

In 1993 Álvarez was a full-time starter for the White Sox alongside Jack McDowell (Cy Young Award winner in 1993), Cuban-American prospect Alex Fernandez, and Jason Bere. This quartet won 67 out of the White Sox’ 92 victories as they clinched the AL West. Álvarez (15-8) led the starters with a 2.95 ERA.

The White Sox advanced to the ALCS, against Álvarez’s nemesis, the Toronto Blue Jays, who won the first two games of the series. Álvarez took the mound for Game Three.

“It was a huge game for me, for all people behind me, and I always remembered when I could not record an out in 1989. It was the time to be the face of my team and step up,” he said.

Álvarez threw a real gem, a complete-game 6-1 win at SkyDome, allowing only seven hits and two walks. The win lifted morale and Chicago won the next game, but couldn’t contain the Blue Jays’ offense in the final two games. The Blue Jays won the ALCS and followed with a World Series victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.

In 1994 Álvarez was named to the American League squad for the All-Star Game. He pitched the bottom of the eighth inning, retiring the side in order. For the season he was 12-8, 3.45.

Álvarez spent 1995 and 1996 as a solid member of the White Sox rotation, starting 64 games. He improved his strikeout-to-walk rate and won 23 games (8-11 and 15-10, with ERAs of 4.32 and 4.22).

At the July trading deadline in 1997, Álvarez was 9-8 with a 3.03 ERA. The White Sox looked revamp the team with a younger roster. It was Álvarez’s final year before free agency. Rather than lose Álvarez the White Sox traded him to the San Francisco Giants along with pitchers Danny Darwin and Roberto Hernández in a nine-player deal.

“I was not comfortable with the Giants,” Álvarez said. It was a difficult change switching leagues. I struggled. I never felt comfortable in the dugout. Roberto and I got into a place where we never felt totally welcome. Barry Bonds was not the nicest person in the world and he was the leader of that clubhouse. Overall it was not a good experience.”

During his time with the White Sox, Álvarez was 67-50 but lost 30 games in which the team scored two or fewer runs. After his stint with the Giants he became one of the most sought-after lefties in baseball. The New York Yankees were a top contender for his services, but he chose to sign with the expansion Tampa Bay Devil Rays for five years and $35 million.

Álvarez said, “Signing with Tampa Bay was a decision my family and I took. We stayed living in the Sarasota area after signing with the White Sox and being close to home was the most important factor in place. My daughters were going to school and I was just several miles from the new ballpark. They also offered me the chance of being the number-one starter in the rotation. It was a new challenge and I took it.”

Álvarez became the first starter in the Devil Rays’ history and threw the first official pitch at Tropicana Field. But his season didn’t go as planned. He ended up with a 6-14 record and an ERA of 4.73. Again run support was lacking, perhaps understandably on an expansion team. Álvarez felt some pressure from fans who were expecting a solid performance from the new team and their highly-prized free agent.

Tampa Bay was an inconsistent team. The Devil Rays had signed big names such as Álvarez, Roberto Hernández, sluggers Fred McGriff and José Canseco, and future Hall of Famer Wade Boggs. The rotation was not deep and the bullpen was inconsistent, and the team finished with a 63-99 record. The Devil Rays improved to 69-93 in their second season. Álvarez was 9-9 (4.22).

Álvarez came back to Venezuela and played winter ball in 1999, winning some key games for Zulia, including five games in the postseason that helped the team reach the finals. Zulia won the title, Álvarez’s fourth title with the team. He pitched the opening game for the 2000 Caribbean Series, but lost the game on unearned runs.

When the 2000 season arrived, expectations were high for the Devil Rays but injuries plagued their roster. Five days before the start of the season, Álvarez was placed on the disabled list with shoulder tendinitis.6 He had to undergo arthroscopic surgery. The 18-month rehab process cost him two seasons; he pretty much had to learn again how to throw a baseball. Returning to the field in 2002, he was able to pitch in only three games before June.

“It was the most frustrating time of my life” Álvarez said. “I didn´t think it was too bad at the beginning but then the recovery was not progressing and the surgery was the option. It was hard for me because I wanted to show fans in Tampa that I could bring something for the team, but my condition was not there. I had to relearn how to pitch, how to gain velocity, how to move my arm. The process is long and painful and sometimes you feel like quitting, but my family supported me at all times to go back and compete. I gave everything I could to Tampa Bay, but the injury came in a very wrong time for me and for the team. I understand the frustration of fans and the organization.”

In 2002 Álvarez was able to pitch only 75 innings in 23 games; it was more of a process to regain confidence in his pitches and to work on a change of approach. He was no longer the power lefty and was about to become a specialist. He had to rely more on location.

By the end of the season Álvarez had reinvented himself as a pitcher, with a fresh shoulder, but the Devil Rays released him. He signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers who planned to use him as a reliever. He turned in a solid performance, posting a record of 6-2 with a 2.37 ERA in 21 games, assuring himself a spot in the bullpen as a lefty specialist and occasional starter. In 2004 he pitched in 40 games, 15 of them as a starter.

After signing a new free-agent contract with the Dodgers after the 2004 season, Álvarez was set back again with shoulder injuries in 2005 and on August 1 he opted for retirement instead of another surgery.

On December 30, 2005, Álvarez pitched one last time for Zulia, taking the mound before a handful of fans in Maracaibo with the team eliminated from contention. He wore his number-47 jersey for the last time and retired the side in one inning of work. It was a sentimental afternoon in honor of a local boy who had reached the highest levels of the game.

After Álvarez’s no-hitter, five more Venezuelan-born pitchers (as of 2017) pitched no-hit games: Anibal Sánchez in 2006 for the Marlins, Carlos Zambrano in 2008 for the Cubs, Johan Santana in 2012 for the Mets, Félix Hernández, a perfect game in 2012 for the Mariners, and Henderson Álvarez in 2013 for the Marlins. (The list should be six: Armando Galarraga lost his perfect game for the Tigers in 2010 when umpire Jim Joyce incorrectly called a batter safe at first base.7) For each one of these pitchers, Wilson Álvarez was an inspiration due both to his successful 14-year major-league career and the impact the no-hitter had in a baseball crazed-country.

Wilson Álvarez was the first Venezuelan pitcher with over 100 wins in the major leagues, compiling a record of 102-92 with a 3.96 ERA in 355 games. He made the All-Star team in 1994. In Venezuela he pitched for 12 seasons with a record of 29-18 and a career ERA of 2.49. He was elected to the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011 and the Caribbean Series Hall of Fame in 2010.

After retiring Álvarez became the pitching coach for the Gulf Coast League Orioles (Rookie) near his residence in Sarasota, Florida. He and his wife, Daihanna, had three daughters, Vivianna, Vanessa, and Valentina. He has returned to the Venezuelan League as a pitching coach for Caribes de Anzoátegui and Águilas del Zulia, where he remained a fan favorite and an icon of the team, being part of four of the five titles in the history of this franchise.

Álvarez reflected, “When you retire it is like all that attention that you had, is gone, from one day to another and it never comes back. So another stage of your life begins and you discover it while still being young.”8

In the 2016-17 season, Álvarez as pitching coach helped guide a young staff to a solid season. Zulia went to the finals for the first time since 2000 and won the title in six games over Cardenales de Lara. In the Caribbean Series the team lost to the Criollos de Caguas of Puerto Rico in the semifinals.

Álvarez’s number-47 jersey remained one of the top sellers among fans, and on December 14, 2016, the team officially retired his number.

“This is the most important moment of my life because I’m here with my family, my teammates, my friends and my beloved team,” Álvarez responded.9 His parents and siblings were at the ceremony, after which he threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

Álvarez established a music label, “47Music,” run by his wife, to support new artists in the Latin Pop genre.

Despite the passage of time, new generations of fans in Venezuela still hear the echoes from August 11, 1991, when a country shouted together: “Wilson threw a no-hitter!”

From Álvarez: “It was a gift from God.”

Sources

This article draws on personal interviews and both on- and off-record conversations with Wilson Alvarez between 1995 and 2017.

The author also consulted ¡A La Carga!, the official magazine of Águilas del Zulia (Maracaibo, Venezuela: Tripleplay Sports Productions, 1997-2002), Baseball Zone (Maracaibo: Tripleplay Sports Productions, March 2001), Diario Panorama (Maracaibo) and the Dallas Morning News.

Notes

1 All quotations by Wilson Álvarez are from interviews with the author unless otherwise attributed.

2 The younger ones were Amos Rusie (7,367 days), John Ward (7,411 days), and Vida Blue (7,725 days.) Alvarez was 7,810 days old.

3 Revista IND. (Caracas, August 1984).

4 Alan Solomon, “Alvarez: The Making of the Sox’ No-Hit Kid,” Chicago Tribune, August 13, 1991: B1.

5 Conversation with Ozzie Guillén about Álvarez’s no-hitter, March 24, 2017.

6 articles.latimes.com/2000/apr/01/sports/sp-14936.

7 See Andres Galarraga and Jim Joyce, with Daniel Paisner, Nobody’s Perfect (New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2011).

8 eljuegoperfecto.blogspot.com/2010_01_01_archive.html.

9 noticiaaldia.com/2016/12/wilson-alvarez-este-es-el-momento-mas-importante.

Outside of Anderson’s 50-homer campaign in 1996, he never went deep more than 24 times in any other season. That gave rise to suspicion of illegally enhanced performance, which Anderson firmly denied. “Nothing can be considered a fluke that takes six months to accomplish,” he said. “Rather it was a culmination of all my athleticism and baseball skills and years of training peaking simultaneously.”2

On January 18, 1964, in Silver Spring, Maryland, Brady Kevin Anderson was born two months prematurely, weighing just four pounds.3 He was the only child of Jerry Anderson and the former Sharon Brady, and he grew up in Southern California after moving there during infancy. Jerry operated his own nursery business before becoming a financial planner, while Sharon was an insurance underwriter. They divorced when Brady was three.

Anderson remained close to both of his parents, but he was mainly raised by his father, who had run track at the University of California, Santa Barbara.4 Jerry’s younger brother Kevin became a world class fastpitch softball player. Between his father and his uncle, Brady – the type of boy who enjoyed playing sports more than watching them – rarely lacked for a willing partner. “We wouldn’t let him just win,” Jerry said. “And he loved it.”5 Jerry coached several of his son’s teams and declined a career promotion that would have cut into their time together. “From the time he was three ’til Brady’s junior year of college, I didn’t miss one of his baseball games,” he said.6

Growing up, Anderson tried surfing, skateboarding, ice hockey, and tennis. He was briefly a Pop Warner League quarterback but two exits from the field on a stretcher wearing a neck brace ended his football career.7 At Carlsbad High School, located about 35 miles north of San Diego on the Pacific coast, Anderson earned three letters as a guard in basketball, but baseball was his primary sport. He was the Lancers’ most valuable player as a freshman and sophomore and received All North County recognition as a junior and senior.8 While Anderson was listed at 6-foot-1, 199 pounds in the majors, he weighed just 145 at the time, and he wasn’t drafted despite compiling a .511 batting average as a 1982 senior.9 He accepted a scholarship to attend the University of California, Irvine (UCI), and majored in economics.10

UCI did not post a winning record in any of his three seasons.11 But Anderson impressed from his first practice, charging into fences in pursuit of fly balls. “He was such a scrawny kid, but he was a gem,” recalled Anteaters coach Mike Geragos.12 Anderson, a lefty-hitting and throwing outfielder-first baseman, batted a team-leading .345 as a 1984 sophomore, prompting Geragos to call him a “genuine pro prospect.”13 Following Anderson’s junior year, the Boston Red Sox selected him in the 10th round of the June 1985 amateur draft. He was signed by scout Joe Stephenson.14

Anderson reported to the Elmira (New York) Pioneers and led the rookie-level New York-Penn League with 67 walks in his 71 games, good for a .437 on-base percentage. On July 29, he joined the Red Sox for the annual Hall of Fame Game exhibition at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown. He hit the ball hard twice and threw out a runner at home plate.15 His overall batting average for Elmira, however, was just .256. “I found out that really there’s not that big a difference in talent in the minor leagues,” he said. “A lot of it depended on how hard you want to work.”16 That offseason, Anderson eliminated fats and simple sugars from his diet, opting for greens and protein shakes over fast food and sodas. He lifted weights and hired a track coach for $200 per session to help him improve his speed.17

With the Winter Haven Red Sox in 1986, Anderson was voted the best power hitter, defensive outfielder, and baserunner in the Class-A Florida State League.18 In 126 games, he hit .319 with 44 steals and an FSL-leading .963 OPS.19 “To watch him defensively is more of a treat than to watch his offensive capabilities,” remarked Winter Haven GM Dick Radatz Jr. “He’s consistently spectacular.”20

Anderson advanced to the Double-A Eastern League in 1987 with the New Britain (Connecticut) Red Sox. His manager, Dave Holt, described him as “very intense. … It’s more like leadership by example than voice. But he makes plays that can fire up an entire team or stadium.”21 Mark Grace of the Pittsfield Cubs said, “Me and my manager [Jim Essian] were talking today and he said, “I wish I had nine Brady Andersons on my team.’ I couldn’t agree more.”22 Anderson severely sprained his right ankle lifting weights in the clubhouse on June 5 and was limited to 52 games.23 After healing, he was promoted to the Triple-A International League and finished the season by hitting .380 in 23 contests with the Pawtucket (Rhode Island) Red Sox.

During the winter of 1987-88, Anderson joined the Potros de Tijuana of the Mexican Pacific League and batted .345 in 37 games.24 Baseball America rated Anderson the American League East Division’s top prospect for 1988.25 “He’s going to become a fan favorite,” raved Red Sox GM Lou Gorman. “He’s a dirty uniform kind of guy.”26 Anderson’s mother – who’d grown up as a Red Sox fan in Marblehead, Massachusetts – obtained an autographed baseball from Carl Yastrzemski inscribed, “You have a fine son.”27

Following Ellis Burks’s spring-training ankle surgery, Anderson led off and played center field on April 4, 1988, at Fenway Park. He thus became the first Boston player to make his big-league debut on Opening Day since Joe Lahoud in 1968. The Red Sox lost to the Detroit Tigers, but Anderson singled three times against future Hall of Famer Jack Morris.

Anderson started 41 of Boston’s first 49 games, but a slump sank his batting average to .230. He was demoted to Pawtucket and hit .287 in 49 contests through July 29, when he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles for former 20-game winner Mike Boddicker. Boston had recently climbed back into contention. “I hope Brady Anderson becomes a great player, but we have a chance to win a pennant,” Gorman explained.28

“One day, they’ll regret the way they handled Brady,” predicted Curt Schilling, the Double-A pitcher whom Boston also included in the deal. “I just hope I’ll be able to do enough to make it doubly bad for them.”29 Schilling went on to win 216 games in the majors – just one for Baltimore – while Boddicker helped Boston win two division titles. Anderson finished the season as the Orioles’ primary center fielder and batted .198 in 53 games. “The Baltimore players didn’t quite know what to make of Anderson when he arrived,” recalled beat writer Tim Kurkjian. “He was very quiet, and he caried a black bag that contained vitamins and a blender, in which he mixed health drinks.”30 Overall, Anderson legged out six bunt singles and ranked sixth in the AL with 11 sacrifice hits.31

After a promising beginning to 1989, Anderson slumped his way into reserve duty by midseason, followed by a demotion to the IL’s Rochester (New York) Red Wings for the last three weeks of August. After suffering 107 losses the previous year, the Orioles contended for the AL East title until the final weekend, but Anderson started just three times after July 31 and batted .207 in 94 games.

Entering 1990, righty-hitting Mike Devereaux and future five-time Gold Glover Steve Finley were Baltimore’s top center field options. Anderson – limited by a spring training shoulder injury, an ankle sprain in June, and the presence of veteran Phil Bradley in left – made just 60 plate appearances before the All-Star break.32 After the sub-.500 Orioles traded Bradley on July 30, Anderson started most of the remaining games, but he batted .174 after August 1.

In January 1991, Baltimore traded Finley, Schilling, and pitcher Pete Harnisch to the Houston Astros for slugging first baseman Glenn Davis. Center field still belonged to Devereaux, though, and converted first baseman Randy Milligan and veteran Joe Orsulak both received left-field trials before May 28, when Anderson went onto the disabled list with a pulled hamstring and a .147 batting average.33 Anderson wasn’t much better after returning, and the Orioles demoted the 27-year-old to Triple-A on August 20.

Since Anderson had turned professional, people had tinkered with his swing, hoping to make better use of his speed. “We wanted him to be a Brett Butler type, hit ground balls the other way,” explained Baltimore manager Johnny Oates.34 Anderson reflected later, “It’s not like the coaches got together and said, ‘Let’s really mess up Brady’… I always tried too hard. I just needed to break everything down to its simplest components and let my ability take over.”35 At Rochester, he told manager Greg Biagini, “I’m sick of bunting; I’m sick of slapping the ball to left. I’m going to stand up straight, swing the bat hard, and let the ball go where it goes.”36 Anderson batted .385 after the Orioles recalled him in September, but it wasn’t enough to spare him a dubious distinction. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he’d become “the first outfielder in major-league history to bat .231 or lower in each of his first four seasons” while playing at least 60 games in the field.37 “Those struggles were actually the foundation for me as a ballplayer becoming even more determined,” Anderson said.38

When Anderson saw the movie Field of Dreams, a line that Burt Lancaster’s Moonlight Graham character uttered haunted him: “We just don’t know the most significant moments of our lives while they’re happening. At the time, you think there’ll be other days.”39 To play regularly, Anderson was willing to sign a two-year contract with a Japan Pacific League club that offseason, but the deal fell apart when the Orioles demanded more money than the agreed upon sum from the Lotte Orions.40 Meanwhile, Anderson cross-trained in California with his roommate and former teammate René Gonzales, mixing in track and field sessions with weightlifting, racquetball, and basketball.41 Anderson called it “one of the happiest athletic accomplishments of my life,” when he bested world-class sprinter Marty Krulee in three of four 40-yard races.42

When Anderson arrived at spring training in 1992, his new, long sideburns made an immediate impression.43 They made him resemble Luke Perry, one of the stars of the popular teen television drama Beverly Hills, 90210. “I’ve never seen that show. I’m not trying to look like Luke Skywalker in Beverly Hills Cop,” he insisted, crediting his “funky” barber for the change.44 The sideburns became Anderson’s signature look and appeared just in time for his breakout season.

Oates made Anderson the everyday left fielder and leadoff hitter and brushed off his early struggles by saying, “Don’t judge yet. Let’s see what he can do.”45 No Oriole had hit two triples in the same game since Al Bumbry in 1973, but Anderson did it twice in one week before April was over. By the time the All-Star Game was played that summer near Anderson’s hometown in San Diego, he’d earned a spot on the AL squad. The league’s managers voted him the third best defensive outfielder behind perennial Gold Glovers Ken Griffey Jr. and Devon White.46 Baltimore was just a half-game behind the first-place Toronto Blue Jays in September before finishing third, and Anderson topped the team with 100 runs scored. His 159 games and 98 walks were career highs and, by compiling 21 home runs, 53 stolen bases and 80 RBIs, he became the first player in AL history with at least 20/50/75 in the same season.47 That winter, Anderson won 100-meter and 200-meter sprint competitions at track meets in California.48

In 1993, the Orioles were nine games under .500 and 10 games out of first place by June 1, and Anderson’s batting average was .222. He heated up along with his teammates over the next three weeks, then contracted chicken pox and missed 15 contests.49 Baltimore finished third again after pulling within one game of Toronto on September 8. The Orioles rewarded Anderson with a three-year, $10.25 million contract after he wound up batting .263 with 13 homers and 24 steals following a strong second half.50

Anderson’s production was similar in 1994. After being thrown out on one-third of his stolen base attempts the previous year, though, he swiped 31 bags in 32 tries – the best success rate (96.9 %) in major-league history for a player with at least 25 steals.51 The Orioles were in second place behind the New York Yankees in August when the season ended prematurely because of a players’ strike.

On June 12, 1995, Anderson succeeded on his 34th straight steal attempt (dating back to the previous year) to break Tim Raines’s AL record. His string reached 36 before he was caught, but Raines reclaimed the mark that summer and extended it to 40.52 Anderson finished among the AL’s top 10 in runs scored, walks, doubles, and triples, and enjoyed one of his most memorable moments. On September 6 – the night that Cal Ripken Jr. surpassed Lou Gehrig by playing in his 2,131st consecutive game – Anderson honored his teammate with a three-minute speech before the sellout crowd at Camden Yards. It had taken him 10 hours to write, and he’d practiced it on the telephone with his mom.53 Since joining the Orioles as a rookie, Anderson studied Ripken’s practice habits and interactions with fans, and the pair had become close friends. “I asked myself, ‘How can he be so solid in everything he does?’” Anderson recalled. “We’re a lot alike in that neither of us needs to lean on other people.”54

That offseason, Anderson built a new home in Lake Tahoe with a gym in the basement.55 The Orioles moved him back to center field in 1996 and he went deep 11 times in April – including the only walk-off blast of his career, as well as homers to lead off a major-league record four straight games. By the time he started the All-Star Game in place of the injured Griffey on July 9, Anderson had already connected for a career-high 30 round-trippers, “Brady always had a fly-ball swing, which he was criticized for as a leadoff hitter, but that year he was right on the ball,” Ripken observed. “He was just in one of those grooves.”56

Following a victory in Boston on July 18, Anderson was hospitalized with a suspected case of appendicitis. Some doctors recommended surgery that could have sidelined him for up to two months.57 As it happened, he missed just four games and helped the Orioles rally from a sub-.500 record on July 26 to make the playoffs for the first time in 13 years. In the regular-season finale at Toronto, Anderson broke Bobby Bonds’ 1973 record by leading off his 12th game of the season with a home run.58 It was his 50th homer overall, surpassing Frank Robinson’s single-season Orioles’ mark, and making him just the second major-leaguer with at least 50 homers and 20 steals in the same season.59 He also became the first big-leaguer to record both a 50-steal and a 50-homer season.60 “[Anderson] revels in the fact that he can get us on the board real quick,” remarked Baltimore manager Davey Johnson.61 By coincidence, Anderson’s 34-homer increase over two seasons had only been exceeded by Johnson – who improved from five homers in 1972 to 43 in 1973.62

Anderson led the AL with 92 extra-base hits in 1996, and his 110 RBIs, 117 runs scored, and .297 batting average were personal bests. He homered three times in the postseason, including a leadoff shot in Game One of Baltimore’s Division Series victory over the Cleveland Indians, but he batted just .190 in the ALCS, and the Orioles fell to the New York Yankees. That fall, Anderson traveled to Japan with a team of major-leaguers and went deep at the Tokyo Dome.63

Back in Baltimore, Anderson made his annual appearance at local tennis pro Pam Shriver’s charity tournament and paired with teammate Roberto Alomar in a doubles match against women’s standouts Monica Seles and Mary Joe Fernández. He also sparred with a professional boxer. During the season, Anderson often in-line skated to home games. “I only see what he does in the clubhouse,” said Orioles pitcher Mike Mussina. “But apparently, Brady works out all the time.”64

Anderson’s unprecedented power surge caused speculation that he could be using performance-enhancing drugs. “There was a part of me that regarded the steroid talk as a compliment,” he reflected in 2004. “Sort of like when the Brewers came into town in ’96 and were snooping around for my bats to see if they were corked.”65 Since 1991, Anderson had been one of baseball’s pioneering creatine users. The legal supplement was an amino acid, found naturally in meat and fish, that was popular with sprinters, cyclists, and weightlifters.66 Creatine helped athletes build muscle mass and recover from workouts more quickly. “Like a carbohydrate for the anaerobic system,” explained Penn State applied physiology professor William Kraemer.67 In 2004, Ripken noted, “Brady always had a much more advanced concept of cross-training and plyometrics and his diet. He was just ahead of the curve.”68 Tests measured Anderson’s vision at 20/12 prior to his historic season, and an even better 20/10 the following year. “What do you expect?” quipped Orioles’ broadcaster Mike Flanagan. “Brady lives on carrot juice.”69

In January 1997, Anderson’s stardom expanded through his appearance on the sitcom Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and his MVP performance in the MTV Rock ‘n’ Jock celebrity softball challenge.70 On March 24, however, he cracked a rib on his left side diving into first base during spring training.71 Nevertheless, he started on Opening Day and played 151 games despite the injury’s lingering effects.72 He hit just seven first-half homers (and 18 overall), but fans elected him an All-Star Game starter; he played all nine innings and stroked two hits.

Baltimore led the AL East from wire to wire and finished with a league-best 98-64 record. Anderson paced the club in doubles – with 39, a personal best – as well as runs scored, on-base percentage, hits, triples, and steals. In 10 postseason games, he batted .357 with three homers. The Orioles ousted the Seattle Mariners in the Division Series, but lost the ALCS for the second straight year, this time to Cleveland. Anderson became a free agent, but signed a five-year, $31 million deal in December to remain with Baltimore.73

The Orioles won 10 of their first 12 contests in 1998, but Anderson sprained his sternoclavicular joint during the season-opening homestand and slipped into a deep slump. He was batting .077 when he was placed on the disabled list on April 20 because, as new Baltimore manager Ray Miller explained, “I heard him scream in the middle of a swing.”74 Anderson returned to the lineup on May 9, but the Orioles were already 17½ games behind the Yankees by the time he lifted his batting average over .200 six weeks later. On July 5, Anderson became the first Baltimore player to steal four bases in a game.75 On August 7, he matched a club record with 13 total bases in a 5-for-6 performance in Minnesota.76 Overall, he batted just .236 with 18 homers and 21 steals in 133 games as the Orioles tumbled to fourth place.

Baltimore finished fourth again in 1999, but Anderson rebounded by posting his second-highest single-season totals for homers (24), steals (36), runs scored (109) and walks (96). His career-best .404 on-base percentage was partially fueled by 24 hit-by-pitches – a record for AL left-handed hitters. Two of them occurred in the same inning, against the Rangers on May 23. On August 21 against the White Sox, Anderson led off both games of a doubleheader with homers, a feat that only Harry Hooper and Rickey Henderson had previously accomplished.77

In addition to his baseball skills, Anderson’s chiseled physique earned him admirers. “Gays Rooting for Slugger Brady” was a New York Post headline in the summer of 1999.78 The story described his popularity in Internet chat rooms and heavy traffic to his personal website – where a poster featuring Anderson wearing only shoes, socks and tight boxer underwear was for sale. However, an article in Out magazine chronicling Anderson’s “almost eerily loyal following” among homosexual men included this question from an Orioles spokesperson, “You do know he’s straight, don’t you?”79 When SPORT magazine asked him why he remained single in 1993, Anderson replied, “Well, I’m a bachelor and I like girls. What do you want me to say?”80 He dated several international beauties during his Baltimore career, including Belgian model Ingrid Vandebosch, American actress Ashley Judd, and South African tennis player Amanda Coetzer.81 (In 2021, Anderson was linked to actress and K-pop idol Stephanie [Kim].82)

Anderson batted .257 with 19 homers in 2000 while leading the fourth-place Orioles in runs scored and walks. In 2001, he delivered a game-ending RBI single in the bottom of the 11th to beat the Red Sox on Opening Day, but it was a rare highlight. Baltimore endured 98 losses in a campaign dominated by the retiring Ripken’s farewell tour. Anderson appeared in 131 games but made only four of his 108 non-DH starts in center field. He hit just .202 with eight homers and struck out to end the season finale with Ripken in the on-deck circle at Camden Yards.

Although Anderson had one year remaining on his contract, the Orioles released him on November 16. Six months later, the Washington Post’s Dave Sheinin recalled Anderson as “the Dean Martin to Ripken’s Frank Sinatra during their 14 seasons together in Baltimore.”83 When Ripken was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007, he referred to Anderson in his speech as “simply my best friend.”84

Cleveland signed Anderson as a free agent, but he batted just .163 in 34 games in 2002 before he was released on May 21. In 2003, Anderson opened the season with the Padres’ Triple-A Pacific Coast League affiliate, the Portland (Oregon) Beavers. Although he hit .294 in 23 games, his playing career ended when he was released again on May 3. San Diego’s poor start had made it clear that the 38-year-old wouldn’t be able to help them contend. That August, Anderson and Bulgarian model Sonia Vassi welcomed their daughter, Brianna.

In 1,834 major-league games, Anderson scored 1,062 runs, drew 960 walks, and batted .256 with 210 home runs. As of 2021, he is Baltimore’s all-time leader in stolen bases (307), Power/Speed Number (248.7), and hit-by-pitches (148).85 Anderson remains among the franchise’s top 10 in most offensive statistical categories. “Pushing myself to become a better athlete was truly my passion and still is.” he told the Baltimore Sun in 2004. “I know what I accomplished, am proud of it, and know that it was done with integrity.”86 The Orioles inducted him into their team Hall of Fame later that year. In presenting Anderson to the crowd before the pre-game ceremony at Camden Yards, Ripken remarked, “When we look back in Oriole history, we will probably remember him as the greatest leadoff hitter we ever had.”87

In 2010, the Orioles hired Anderson as a consultant for hitting instruction, and strength and conditioning training. Prior to the 2012 season, he was named the Special Assistant to Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations. Baltimore’s media guide explained, “[Anderson] assists Dan Duquette with player development and player relations and oversees conditioning throughout the organization.88 The description of his duties remained the same from 2013-2018, when Anderson’s title was Vice President, Baseball Operations. Beginning in 2015, the club’s media guides added that he collaborated on roster management with Duquette and manager Buck Showalter and oversaw the Orioles’ nutrition.89 When Baltimore hired Mike Elias to replace Duquette in 2019, Anderson was a fitness and conditioning advisor for one year before leaving the organization at the conclusion of the season.90

As of 2022, Anderson lives in Glendale, California. “When I hit 50 [homers], only 14 players in the history of the game had done it. Ted Williams didn’t. Joe DiMaggio didn’t. Hank Aaron never did,” he recalled late in his career. “When people ask why I never did it again, the question is why haven’t any of those guys done it at all. It usually doesn’t happen twice in a career. It just doesn’t. It’s too hard. And I did it.”91

Last revised: February 11, 2022

Acknowledgments

This biography was reviewed by Gregory H. Wolf and Rory Costello and fact-checked by Henry Kirn.

Sources

In addition to sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted www.baseball-reference.com and www.retrosheet.org.

Notes

1 Baseball-Reference defines Power/Speed Number as “The harmonic mean of HR and SB. To do well you need a lot of both.” Developed by Bill James, it is computed by the formula 2 x (HR x SB)/(SB + HR).

2 Roch Kubatko, “Anderson Defends His ’96 Power Trip, Says, ‘It Was Not a Fluke,’” Baltimore Sun, March 20, 2004: 1C.

3 Brady Anderson, 2021 Topps Heritage Minor League – Boyhood Photos of the Stars baseball card.

4 The school was still known as Santa Barbara College of the University of California when Jerry Anderson was a student.

5 Ken Rosenthal, “Anderson Never Cries Uncle When it’s Time to Play in Pain,” Baltimore Sun, April 3, 1997: 1D.

6 Dan Rodricks, “Pardonable Prides Prevails as Players’ Parents Watch,” Baltimore Sun, October 10, 1997:10A.

7 Ian Thomsen, “He’s Basking in Son Shine,” Boston Globe, April 4, 1988: 45.

8 1989 Baltimore Orioles Media Guide: 125.

9 John Eisenberg, “One Extra Base Never is Enough for Anderson,” Baltimore Sun, August 7, 1988: 1C.

10 Thomsen, “He’s Basking in Son Shine.”

11 Prior to Anderson, pitcher Gary Wheelock (1976-77, 1980 Angels and Mariners) was the only UCI player to reach the majors. When Anderson’s teammate Doug Linton debuted with the Blue Jays in 1992, he became the third, but UCI disbanded its baseball program after that season. Since UCI brought baseball back in 2002, six more Anteaters have ascended to the big leagues as of 2021.

12 Eisenberg, “One Extra Base Never is Enough for Anderson.”

13 John Weyler, “PCAA Doesn’t Have to Be Defensive About Baseball Season,” Los Angeles Times, February 28, 1985: 16.

14 Brady Anderson, 1988 Topps Traded baseball card.

15 Mary Jo Monnin, “4 Pioneers Become Major Leaguers for Exhibition,” Star-Gazette (Elmira, New York), July 30, 1985: 17.

16 Steve Fainaru, “Red Sox Catching Fast-Rising Star?” Hartford (Connecticut) Courant, February 26, 1988: E11.

17 Fainaru, “Red Sox Catching Fast-Rising Star?”

18 Brady Anderson, 1988 Score Rookie & Traded baseball card.

19 OPS is the sum of on-base percentage plus slugging percentage.

20 Fainaru, “Red Sox Catching Fast-Rising Star?”

21 Eisenberg, “One Extra Base Never is Enough for Anderson.”

22 Michael Arace, “Brady Anderson Has all the Tools to Make it Big,” Hartford Courant, July 30, 1987: B1.

23 1989 Baltimore Orioles Media Guide: 125.

24 Guillermo Gastélum Duarte, Enciclopedia Conmemorativa del 75 Aniversario de la Liga Mexicana del Pacífico, (2019, Mexico): 179.

25 1989 Baltimore Orioles Media Guide: 124.

26 Dan Shaughnessy, “Sox’ Early Knight,” Boston Globe, February 26, 1988: 39.

27 Mel Antonen, “Hitting His Stride, Orioles Slugger Not About to Let Life Pass Him By,” USA Today, July 2, 1996: 1C.

28 Dan Shaughnessy, “Red Sox Get Boddicker,” Boston Globe, July 30, 1988: 1

29 Mark Maske, “New Team, Better Prospects,” Washington Post, August 3, 1988: C1.

30 Tim Kurkjian, “Going Batty for Brady,” Sports Illustrated, June 22, 1992.

31 1989 Baltimore Orioles Media Guide: 124.

32 1991 Baltimore Orioles Media Guide: 139.

33 1992 Baltimore Orioles Media Guide: 147.

34 Gordon Edes, “Brady and the Baltimore ‘Chops,” Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Florida), June 23, 1992: 1C.

35 Tom Boswell, “Late Bloomer,” Washington Post Magazine, March 30, 1997: 6-1.

36 John Eisenberg, From 33rd Street to Camden Yards, (Contemporary Books: New York 2001): 429.

37 “One on One: Brady Anderson,” SPORT, March 1993: 20.

38 Eisenberg, From 33rd Street to Camden Yards: 428.

39 Boswell, “Late Bloomer.”

40 Eisenberg, From 33rd Street to Camden Yards: 429.

41 Kurkjian, “Going Batty for Brady.”

42 Boswell, “Late Bloomer.”

43 “Mercedes, Bell Miss first Orioles Drills,” Baltimore Sun, February 28, 1992: 9C.

44 Kurkjian, “Going Batty for Brady.”

45 Antonen, “Hitting His Stride, Orioles Slugger Not About to Let Life Pass Him By.”

46 1993 Baltimore Orioles Media Guide: 45.

47 Prior to 1992, five National League players had produced at total of seven seasons with at least 20hr/50sb/75rbi: Lou Brock (1967 Cardinals), César Cedeño (1972, 1974 Astros), Joe Morgan (1973, 1976 Reds), Ryne Sandberg (1985 Cubs), Barry Bonds (1990 Pirates). 1993 Baltimore Orioles Media Guide: 44.

48 1993 Baltimore Orioles Media Guide: 47.

49 1994 Baltimore Orioles Media Guide: 46.

50 Associated Press, “Orioles, Outfielder Anderson Sign $10.25 Million Contract,” Orlando (Florida) Sentinel, January 7, 1994: B2.

51 Anderson broke the record of Max Carey, who stole 51 bases in 53 attempts (96.2 %) for the 1922 Pirates. (In 2001, the Royals Carlos Beltrán matched Anderson by succeeding on 31 of 31 stolen-base attempts) 1995 Baltimore Orioles Media Guide: 56.

52 1996 Baltimore Orioles Media Guide: 40.

53 Antonen, “Hitting His Stride, Orioles Slugger Not About to Let Life Pass Him By.”

54 Michael Bamberger, “Brady Hits ‘Em in Bunches After Surpassing All Expectations with an Unworldly 50-Home-Run Season,” Sports Illustrated, April 14, 1997.

55 Antonen, “Hitting His Stride, Orioles Slugger Not About to Let Life Pass Him By.”

56 Kubatko, “Anderson Defends His ’96 Power Trip, Says, ‘It Was Not a Fluke.”

57 Buster Olney, “Anderson Hoping to Delay Surgery,” Baltimore Sun, July 21, 1996: 8D.

58 In 2003, the Yankees’ Alfonso Soriano led off 13 games with homers. In 2013, Chris Davis homered 53 times to establish a new Orioles’ single-season mark.

59 Willie Mays did in first, in 1955. Griffey and Alex Rodríguez joined the club in 1998 and 2007, respectively. 2000 Baltimore Orioles Media Guide: 44.

60 Barry Bonds – 52 steals in 1990 and 73 homers in 2001 – did it later. 1998 Baltimore Orioles Media Guide: 40.

61 Bamberger, “Brady Hits ‘Em in Bunches After Surpassing All Expectations with an Unworldly 50-Home-Run Season.”

62 Brady Anderson, 1997 Collector’s Choice baseball card.

63 “Japan Beats Major Leaguers,” Washington Post, November 2, 1996: D10.

64 Boswell, “Late Bloomer.”

65 Kubatko, “Anderson Defends His ’96 Power Trip, Says, ‘It Was Not a Fluke.”

66 Michael Bamberger, “The Magic Potion, Or Is It?” Sports Illustrated, April 20, 1998.

67 Hank Hersch, “The Creatine Craze,” Sports Illustrated, July 28, 1997.

68 Kubatko, “Anderson Defends His ’96 Power Trip, Says, ‘It Was Not a Fluke,’”

69 Boswell, “Late Bloomer.”

70 1997 Baltimore Orioles Media Guide: 45.

71 Rosenthal, “Anderson Never Cries Uncle When it’s Time to Play in Pain.”

72 1998 Baltimore Orioles Media Guide: 39.

73 Joe Strauss, “Orioles, Anderson Agree on Contract,” Baltimore Sun, December 7, 1997: 1A.

74 Peter Schmuck, “Anderson: 15 Days Might Not Be Enough,” Baltimore Sun, April 22, 1998: 1E.

75 Joe Strauss, “Kamieniecki Nearly Ready to Start Back,” Baltimore Sun, July 6, 1998: 8D.

76 1999 Baltimore Orioles Media Guide: 37.

77 Hooper achieved the feat for the 1913 Red Sox, while Henderson did it for the 1993 Athletics. 2000 Baltimore Orioles Media Guide: 41.

78 “Gays Rooting for Slugger Brady,” New York Post, July 31, 1999: 8.

79 Cary Wong, “Eyes on the Ball,” Out (Los Angeles), August 1, 1999: 22.

80 “One on One: Brady Anderson.”

81 “Brady Anderson Dating History,” https://www.whosdatedwho.com/dating/brady-anderson (last accessed December 23, 2021).

82 Afreen Khan, “CSJH The Grace’s Stephanie Talks About Boyfriend Brady Anderson and the Wide Age Gap,” SK Pop, October 4, 2021, https://www.sportskeeda.com/pop-culture/news-csjh-the-grace-s-stephanie-talks-boyfriend-brady-anderson-wide-age-gap (last accessed February 6, 2022).

83 Dave Sheinin, “Brady Has a New Bunch,” Washington Post, May 7, 2002: D5.

84 “Cal Ripken’s Induction Speech,” Washington Post, July 30, 2007: E1.

85 Hall of Famer George Sisler holds the franchise stolen base mark with 351, all for the St. Louis Browns.

86 Kubatko, “Anderson Defends His ’96 Power Trip, Says, ‘It Was Not a Fluke.”

87 Associated Press, “Orioles Salute Anderson,” Journal News (White Plains, New York), August 22, 2004: 31.

88 2012 Baltimore Orioles Media Guide: 16.

89 2015 Baltimore Orioles Media Guide: 21.

90 Jon Meoli, “Brady Anderson, Longtime Part of Orioles Front Office, Leaving Organization After 2019 season,” Baltimore Sun, September 29, 2019.

91 Eisenberg, From 33rd Street to Camden Yards: 460.

Appier won 169 games in his career against 137 losses with a 3.74 ERA, a notably strong mark for a pitcher who spent the latter half of his career competing in the “Steroids Era.” “Ape,” as he was nicknamed, pitched for four major–league clubs. He spent the vast majority of his career with the Kansas City Royals (1989–1999, 2003–2004). As of 2018 he was the franchise’s career leader in strikeouts (1,458) and fourth in wins for the Royals (115). Appier spent his other major–league stints with the Oakland Athletics (1999–2000), New York Mets (2001), and Anaheim Angels (2002–2003) before returning to the Royals to wind up his career. He was selected for the 1995 All–Star Game, finished third in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 1990, and third in AL Cy Young Award voting in 1993. In 2002 Appier earned a World Series ring as a member of the Anaheim Angels. In 2011, he was inducted into the Kansas City Royals Hall of Fame.1

Robert Kevin Appier was born on December 6, 1967, in Lancaster, California, in Los Angeles County. He was one of three siblings and was raised by his mother, Betty Appier, who worked as an accountant.2 Appier starred for the Antelope Valley High School baseball team, a perennial LA County baseball power that had previously produced 1966 number–one draft pick Steve Chilcott and former Brewers, Tigers, and Angels pitcher Jim Slaton (1971–1986). By the end of his high–school career, Appier had grown into the 6–foot–2, 180–pound frame that he carried for the rest of his career.3 He accepted a scholarship to play at collegiate power Fresno State but left the Bulldog program after just three appearances in 1986 and spent the 1987 baseball season with the Antelope Valley College Marauders. “He’s a once–in–a–lifetime coach’s dream,” Antelope Valley College coach Ted Henkel told the Los Angeles Times. Henkel worked closely with Appier, helping him beef up his fastball into the 90s. After Appier posted an 11–6 record with a 2.65 ERA for the Marauders, Kansas City selected him in the first round of the 1987 draft and he signed with the Royals shortly thereafter.4

Appier progressed quickly through the Royals organization. In 1987, he posted a 3.04 ERA for the Eugene Emeralds of the Single–A Northwest League. He split 1988 between the Class–A Baseball City Royals of the Florida State League and Double–A Memphis Chicks of the Southern League. Appier won a combined 12 games against 9 losses and posted a 2.64 ERA. He spent most of 1989 with the Omaha Royals of the Triple–A American Association, where he went 8–8 with a 3.95 ERA. Appier had a brief stint with the Royals in June and July 1989 but struggled to a 1–4 record with an ERA of 9.14 in six appearances.5

After a brief stay in Omaha in 1990, the Royals called Appier up and eased the 22–year–old back into major–league action. In late April and May, Appier worked primarily as a reliever. By early June, Appier had moved into the Royals’ highly talented starting rotation which included two–time Cy Young Award winner Bret Saberhagen, Mark Gubicza, Tom Gordon, and Storm Davis. Appier proved to be a bright spot in an otherwise disappointing 1990 season for the Royals, who finished sixth in the AL West after being the runners–up to Oakland the previous season. The rookie right–hander ended up having the standout season among Kansas City’s rotation, posting a 12–8 mark and a staff–best 2.76 ERA. He finished third in Rookie of the Year voting behind Yankees slugger Kevin Maas and Indians catcher Sandy Alomar Jr., the unanimous selection of the Baseball Writers Association of America. The Sporting News named Appier its 1990 Rookie Pitcher of the Year.

Appier avoided a sophomore slump, posting a 13–10 record with a 3.42 ERA with three shutouts in 1991. While the Hal McRae–managed Royals faded into oblivion in 1992, finishing tied for fifth and winning just 72 games, the third–year pitcher asserted himself as the ace of the mound staff. With the departure of Bret Saberhagen in a trade to the New York Mets, Appier took the lead in Kansas City’s suddenly–slim starting pitching staff. He made the first of his six consecutive Opening Day starts for the Royals. For the season he went 15–8 and posted a 2.46 ERA, second best in the AL behind Boston’s Roger Clemens. In July Appier earned the AL Pitcher of the Month Award, finishing the month 4–0 with a 1.55 ERA in six starts. Despite the strong pitching performance, Appier was once again left off the AL All–Star team roster, a victim of his team’s poor performance.

In 1993 Appier asserted his claim to recognition as one of the AL’s best pitchers. Pitching a career–high 238⅔ innings, he posted a career best 18–8 record and an AL leading 2.56 ERA. He finished a career–best third in AL Cy Young Award voting behind winner Jack McDowell and distant runner–up Randy Johnson.

Appier fell from the heights of 1993 during the strike–shortened 1994 season, struggling to stay above .500 as his ERA jumped more than a run to 3.83. As a franchise, the Royals had returned to form, boasting a 64–51 mark, good for third place in the new, highly competitive AL Central Division. David Cone, who went 16–5 with a 2.94 ERA, was the ace of Hal McRae’s rotation in 1994 but was traded to Toronto for three prospects by the cash–strapped Royals before the start of the 1995 season.

Appier bounced back in 1995, retaking his position as Kansas City’s ace. He won 11 of his first 13 decisions. The 27–year–old earned his only All–Star Game selection that season and pitched two perfect innings in relief of Randy Johnson. After his fantastic start to the  season, Appier faded in the second half. His record fell to 15–10 and his ERA ballooned to 3.89.6

As offense ballooned during the latter half of the 1990s, Appier remained a strong, if somewhat less spectacular starter, on Bob Boone’s noncontending Royals teams of 1996 and 1997. The right–hander’s ERA hovered in the mid–3’s both seasons (3.62 in 1996 and 3.40 in 1997), though his won–lost records differed considerably (14–11 in 1996 and 9–13 in 1997). Appier put significant mileage on his arm both seasons, throwing a combined 447 innings. Before the 1996 season, Appier entered salary arbitration with the Royals, winning a salary increase to just over $5 million per season, a jump of more than $663,000 from the season before.7

In 1998 Appier faced his first significant injury as a pitcher, suffering a torn labrum in spring training that cost him virtually the entire season. He made just three September appearances. He also battled through a difficult first half of the 1999 season, compiling a 9–9 record with a then career–worst 4.87 ERA through the end of July. At the trading deadline, the rebuilding Royals shipped their longtime ace to the suddenly contending Oakland A’s for pitchers Jeff D’Amico, Blake Stein, and Brad Rigby. Appier continued to win games but his ERA ballooned further against steroids–era hitting. He finished the year 16–14 with an ERA of 5.17. The A’s finished the season eight games behind the AL West Champion Texas Rangers and seven games behind the Red Sox for the wild card.

In 2000, Appier, 32, played a prominent role in the “Moneyball” A’s ascent to the franchise’s first division title since 1992. He went 15–11 while posting an ERA of 4.52. He provided veteran leadership on a young staff that included Tim Hudson, who had his breakout season in 2000, and Barry Zito, who was on the cusp of greatness. Appier made his first–ever playoff appearances in the Division Series against the New York Yankees. He pitched in two games in the hard–fought series that was won by New York, three games to two. In Game Two, Appier surrendered three runs in 6⅓ innings in a 4–0 home loss. Appier gave up one run in four innings of relief in the deciding fifth game.

On December 11, 2000, the Mets signed Appier to a four–year, $42 million contract, bringing the veteran right–hander onto the staff of the defending NL champions. Appier posted an 11–10 record in 2001 with a 3.57 ERA in 206⅔ innings pitched. The addition of Appier did not prove to be the final piece in the Mets’ World Series–winning puzzle. The club struggled to an 82–80 mark in 2001, finishing third in the NL East. After the season, the Mets traded Appier to the Anaheim Angels for former AL MVP Moe Vaughn.8

Appier proved a stalwart on the Angels’ young staff, posting a 14–12 mark and a 3.92 ERA for the 99–win wild–card–winning club. Though Appier struggled during the 2002 postseason, surrendering 15 earned runs in 21⅔ innings of work, the Angels upset the Yankees, Twins, and Giants en route to the franchise’s first World Series victory.

In 2003 Appier struggled along with the Angels in their World Series hangover season. A series of nagging injuries, most notably a torn flexor tendon in his right elbow, hampered him throughout the season. He went 7–7 with an ERA of 5.63 for the 77–win Anaheim team, and was released on July 30. A week later Appier returned to the Royals. He made just four starts for Kansas City before having season–ending surgery. He missed most of 2004 recovering from elbow surgery, making just two starts that season. Appier struggled for the next two years (2005–2006) to make a major–league comeback, first with the Royals and then with the Seattle Mariners. In 2006 he retired as a Royal, more than two years after his final major–league appearance.9

Appier was a right–handed hitter who rarely batted. In a career spent primarily in the AL, Appier had 90 career plate appearances, 67 of which came during his season with the New York Mets. He posted a .096 career batting average.

In retirement, Appier moved full time to his soybean farm in Paola, Kansas, about 45 miles south of Kansas City. He and his wife, Laurie, have three children: Garrett, Britney, and Evelyn. Garrett Appier is a three–time Division II national champion in the shot–put for Pittsburg State University in Kansas.10

Notes

1 Dick Kaegel, “Appier to Take Place Among Royals Greats,” Royals.com, June 24, 2011. Accessed on July 2, 2018: wap.mlb.com/kc/news/article/2011062420940432/?locale=en_US; “NY is Appier of Eye,” New York Daily News, December 12, 2000. Accessed on July 2, 2018: nydailynews.com/archives/sports/n–y–appier–eye–article–1.885307.

2 Gene Morris, “Appier Inducted into Royals Hall of Fame,” Miami County (Kansas) Republic, June 30, 2011. Accessed on July 2, 2018: republic–online.com/news/appier–inducted–into–royals–hall–of–fame/article_78a46445–9d5b–5ede–a39b–4f9ee9e50495.html; “Kevin Appier,” Biographical Dictionary of American Sports, 2000. Accessed on July 2, 2018: books.google.com/books?id=AUFUw01sIWYC&pg=PA34&lpg=PA34&dq=betty+appier&source=bl&ots=fASRBhF0my&sig=mrtEkP4e–HOuuUNkeKSLJj1lT7c&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiso4iN8YXcAhXGrVkKHdMyD9kQ6AEIMzAC#v=onepage&q=betty%20appier&f=false.

3 “Antelope Valley High,” The Baseball Cube, 2013. Accessed on July 2, 2018: thebaseballcube.com/hs/profile.asp?ID=1070.

4 Theresa Munoz, “Ape’s World: Kansas City Pitcher’s Unorthodox Formula for Success Results in Winning Equation,” Los Angeles Times, July 16, 1992. Accessed on July 2, 2018: articles.latimes.com/1992–07–16/sports/sp–3738_1_kansas–city–royals/2.

5 Ibid.

6 Tim Kurkjian, “A Royal Start,” Sports Illustrated, May 15, 1995: 81; Mike DiGiovanna, “NL Wins Battle of Homeric Proportions,” Los Angeles Times, July 12, 1995. Accessed on July 2, 2018: articles.latimes.com/1995–07–12/sports/sp–31290_1_homer–in–all–star–game.

7 “Royals’ Appier Tops $5 Million,” New York Times, February 3, 1996: 33.

8 Ben Walker, “Kevin Appier Signs with the Mets,” ABC News, December 11, 2000. Accessed on July 2, 2018: abcnews.go.com/Sports/story?id=100096&page=1.

9 Gregg Bell, “After Two Year Absence, Appier Looking for Way Back,” Lawrence (Kansas) Journal–World, April 21, 2006. Accessed on July 2, 2018: 2.ljworld.com/news/2006/apr/21/after_twoyear_absence_appier_looking_way_back/.

10 Dick Kaegel, “Appier to Take Place Among Royals Greats.”; Adam Burns, “Appier Returns from Injury After Contemplating Retirement,” Joplin (Missouri) Globe, January 24, 2018. Accessed on July 2, 2018: joplinglobe.com/sports/local_sports/appier–returns–from–injury–after–contemplating–retirement/article_d46acf4d–605c–5b07–8083–6c0b19f36f81.html.

There are many types of baseball lifers. Some play, then manage, like Joe Torre. Some play, then move to the front office, like Billy Beane. Some never play but still make a career of the sport, like Roland Hemond or Vin Scully. But perhaps most baseball lifers play, achieving some success but little fame, and then, after their skills decline, stick around in whatever role presents itself — spring training instructor, TV analyst … team owner? Few baseball lifers can add “team owner” to that list, but Andy Ashby can.

Andrew Jason Ashby was born on July 11, 1967, to Glendon and Rose Ashby in Kansas City, Missouri, and attended Park Hill High School, where he moved away from other sports and focused on baseball in his teens to be able to go as far in the sport as he could. He acknowledged the role his father played in his young life, saying, “My father was always there. Growing up I remember playing catch with my dad. The biggest thing for me was once I went to the big leagues, being able to bring my father into the clubhouse, seeing the expression on his face, knowing his son had achieved his goal and dream of being a major-league baseball player.”1

After graduating from high school, Ashby enrolled in Crowder College, in Neosho, Missouri. He played baseball for the Roughriders for one season and then, on May 4, 1986, signed with the Phillies as an amateur free agent. He began his professional career that summer at age 18 for the Bend Phillies and steadily climbed through the minors, playing in Utica, Spartanburg, Batavia, Clearwater, and Reading between 1987 and 1990, and finally for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons in 1991 before getting called up to the Phillies to start on June 10, 1991, in Cincinnati.

Ashby’s major-league debut saw him retiring the first seven batters he faced, including future Hall of Famer Barry Larkin, but the Reds’ bats got to him the second time through the lineup. Five days later, on June 5, Ashby got some payback, pitching an “immaculate inning” by striking out all three Reds batters he faced in the fourth on nine pitches — just the second rookie and 33rd player overall to do so. Still, Ashby was 0-2 with an 8.00 ERA and was sent back to Triple A. He was recalled and pitched six more games at season’s end with more success.

Ashby started the 1992 season in the Phillies rotation and won his first start but then broke his right thumb and missed two months of action.2 He rehabbed in Triple A, was recalled in August, and pitched shakily. The Phillies left him unprotected in the 1992 expansion draft, so instead of playing for the 1993 NL champion Phillies team that Harry Kalas described as the “wacky, wonderful bunch of throwbacks,”3 Ashby was selected 25th by the Colorado Rockies and started the 1993 season in the starting rotation in the thin air of Mile High Stadium in Denver.

Although Ashby served up just five home runs in 54 innings with the 1993 Rockies, his ERA at Mile High Stadium matched the park’s name, and he was sent to Triple-A Colorado Springs. Then on July 27 he was the “player to be named later” in a trade with the last-place Padres. It was good fortune for Ashby, though, as Jack Murphy Stadium had a reputation as being a pitcher’s park, and San Diego was where Ashby was able to get his career on track. He immediately moved into the starting rotation and while he went only 3-6 with a 5.48 ERA in San Diego, it was an improvement from his Colorado performance.

The 1994 through 1997 seasons for the Padres saw Ashby mature to become a legitimate major-league pitcher, starting all four years and posting solid ERAs. The Padres struggled for three of the four years but in 1996, when Ashby was the team’s Opening Day pitcher and led the starting rotation in ERA, the Padres pulled off a surprising division win, and Ashby started NLDS Game Three against the St. Louis Cardinals. Although he left the game in the sixth tied 4-4, the bullpen couldn’t hold and the Cardinals completed a sweep of the Padres. In 1997 the Padres dropped back to fourth place but Ashby continued to pitch well. In 1998 he reflected on his early career:

“[B]y the time Colorado sent me down in 1993, I felt, what in the world is going on? It seemed I was always pitching out of some jam, always one or two balls behind in the count, always just trying to keep the game close — and by the fifth inning I’d be out of there anyway. It was never the same thing. Early in my career I was wild. Sometimes I’d pitch too defensively. … I would just throw — not pitch with a purpose. Just throw. I think it was a maturity thing. I remember being up with Philadelphia and talking on the bench the whole game, until Dale Murphy finally turned to me and said, ‘Ash. Watch the game, watch the game. That’s how you learn.’ He was right. I had to start listening to the guys I should’ve been listening to.”4

While 1998 was the year of the home run, it was also Ashby’s most successful year, marking the first of his two All-Star Game appearances, his only World Series appearance, and career highs in wins (17), starts (33), innings pitched (226⅔), and complete games (5). Ashby’s record was 11-5 with a 2.54 ERA at midseason; in the All-Star Game, in Denver, he pitched the fifth inning, giving up a home run to Alex Rodriguez but retiring future Hall of Famers Ivan Rodriguez and Cal Ripken. The Padres led the NL West nearly wire-to-wire, peaking with a 16-game lead and ultimately winning 98 games.

In the 1998 NLDS, the Padres faced the 102-win Astros and Ashby started Game Two but left the game down 3-0 after four innings. The Padres tied the game to get Ashby off the hook but eventually lost, 5-4. However, San Diego won the series, three games to one. In the NLCS, the Braves were favored but the Padres jumped out to a three-games-to-none lead. Ashby started Game One and pitched brilliantly, going seven innings and surrendering just one run on five hits and a walk. But when Trevor Hoffman blew just his second save of the year, Ashby was denied his first postseason win, although the Padres did go on to win the game. In Game Five, in San Diego, with the Padres leading three games to one, Ashby pitched nearly as well, scattering nine hits over six innings and giving up two runs. He was again in line for the win, but this time starter Kevin Brown came in to relieve and blew the lead, again costing Ashby credit for a victory. The Padres went on to win Game Six to advance to the World Series, against the Yankees. After the excitement of the NLCS win, the World Series was a dénouement. Ashby started Game Two but the Yankee bats were too much, scoring seven runs, three unearned, before Ashby departed for a reliever. The Yankees ended up sweeping the Padres.

The year 1999 began for the Padres with country music superstar Garth Brooks signing a minor-league contract and then, wearing number 77, going 1-for-22 for the Padres in exhibition games before switching back to guitar. From a baseball perspective, the year was much more successful for Ashby than for Brooks (including pitching again on Opening Day) but was a step down from 1998, as he ended up with a 14-10 record and a 3.80 ERA. His performance led to another All-Star Game appearance (where he pitched to just one batter) and to the role of ace of the San Diego staff. However, after failing to re-sign many of the key components of their 1998 pennant-winning squad, the Padres regressed, ending up at 74-88 and in fourth place.

In the 1998-99 offseason, facing the final year of Ashby’s contract and a fading team that would drop to last place in 2000, the Padres traded him to the Phillies for three young pitchers. The Phillies had what they felt was a strong staff in 2000, led by Ashby and Curt Schilling, but both Ashby and the team struggled, and on July 12, the Phillies traded Ashby to Atlanta. The Braves were in first place at that point and, having lost John Smoltz for the season to injury, looked to Ashby to start. The move paid dividends, as Ashby threw a complete-game win in his first appearance and ended the season with an 8-6 record and 4.13 ERA with the Braves, compared with a 4-7 record and 5.68 ERA with the Phillies. Ashby also pitched well for the Braves in the 2000 NLDS, his last postseason appearance, albeit in a mop-up relief role as the Cardinals dominated the Braves.

Ashby signed a three-year free-agent contract with the Dodgers after the 2000 season, but suffered an elbow injury in his second start of 2001, ending his season on April 12 with a 2-0 record. He returned to full strength in 2002, starting 30 games and compiling a near-league-average ERA of 3.91 and a 9-13 record. Plagued by injuries in 2003, starting with back stiffness in spring training, Ashby started just 12 games, finally shutting it down after September 1 with elbow tendinitis, at which point he underwent Tommy John surgery and was expected to miss all of 2004.5 At age 36, it looked as though it might be the end of his career.

However, the Padres signed Ashby to a minor-league contract for the 2004 season, and by May he had begun to throw off a mound. By September he was back to throwing 90 mph and was activated on September 8, throwing a 1-2-3 inning. He pitched again on September 14, retiring three of the four Dodgers hitters he faced, ending with a swinging strikeout of Cesar Izturis in what would turn out to be Ashby’s final major-league appearance.

After the season Ashby underwent another elbow surgery and signed another minor-league deal with the Padres. Returning in August, he made rehab starts for Lake Elsinore and Portland, but despite allowing just earned one run in six innings, he was not recalled to the Padres. Ashby made another valiant effort to return to the Padres in spring training of 2006 at age 38, but after he surrendered 22 hits over 11 innings, it was apparent that a return wasn’t in the cards, and the team released him, putting an end to a 20-year professional career, 14 of which were in the majors.

Ashby remained busy, even without baseball. He and his wife, Tracy Tigue, a native of Pittston, Pennsylvania, whom he had met while playing for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, married in 1993 and raised four daughters, — Eastin, Madison, Taryn, and Ashton. The athletic talent was clearly passed on to that generation, with all four playing NCAA sports. The Ashbys maintained homes in both Pittston and San Diego. In 2014, Ashby described his life and his role as a father: “The majority of the time I’m just being Dad. I do some charity work. I hunt a lot. I fish. When I’m home, I’m running with my kids, watching them do sports. I’m just kind of being Dad, making up for the time that I missed when I was playing. Thank God for my wife. Tracy was really good about flying the girls into a city. We weren’t apart a lot. When school started it was tougher, but if the girls got to a week and half where they hadn’t seen Dad, that was a lot. She’d fly them in to be with Dad, then the team would go on to another city and she’d take them back to San Diego.”6

Although Andy Ashby is not related to former catcher Alan Ashby,7 his nephew, Aaron Ashby, was drafted in the fourth round of the 2018 amateur draft by the Milwaukee Brewers after having followed his uncle both to Park Hill High and Crowder College.8

Ashby returned to baseball in 2013-14 as an analyst during Padres games for Fox Sports San Diego.9 In 2016 he was a spring-training instructor for the Padres, saying at the time, “I would love to be in the big leagues, of course, but I’d just like to be in the game — coaching or scouting or bullpen coach, something like that. This gives me the opportunity to come here and get a little taste of it.”10

Later that year, he did get back into the professional baseball, but in a different role — Ashby bought a share of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees), near his Pittston home. Ashby had played two Triple-A seasons in the same ballpark where he was now an owner. At the official announcement, Ashby said, “I talked to my wife and she was like, ‘Ownership? Are you ready for that?’ And I was like, ‘I don’t know, but how do you know until you try it.’ It’s an honor for me to be a part of this. Being here 25 years ago, it’s changed a lot, but for the better. I enjoyed it, the people were great.”11

Andy Ashby has three baseball homes — Missouri (where he started playing), northeast Pennsylvania (where he played two years, met his wife, raised his daughters, and lives most of the year), and San Diego (where he blossomed as a player and was regularly welcomed back by fans). He has come full circle, from playing a season with the Roughriders to owning a piece of the RailRiders; it’s clear that Andy Ashby’s baseball ride continues.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, statistics and game details were retrieved from baseball-reference.com.

Notes

1 “A Major League Dad,” Wilkes-Barre (Pennsylvania) Times Leader, June 13, 2014, timesleader.com/archive/396243/news-news-1464912-a-major-league-dad, accessed November 29, 2018.

2 Dan Hafner, “National League Roundup: Williams Makes a Smart Move for the Phillies,” Los Angeles Times, April 27, 1992, articles.latimes.com/1992-04-27/sports/sp-697_1_smart-move, accessed November 29, 2018.

3 Tyler Kepner, “On Baseball: Darren Daulton Was the Heartbeat of a Rowdy Phillies Bunch,” New York Times, August 7, 2017, nytimes.com/2017/08/07/sports/baseball/darren-daulton-phillies-heartbeat.html, accessed November 29, 2018.

4 Johnette Howard, “Better Late Than Never: After Years of Frustrating Underachievement, Padres Righthander Andy Ashby Has Joined the Ranks of the National League’s Pitching Elite,” Sports Illustrated, June 22, 1998, si.com/vault/1998/06/22/245178/better-late-than-never-after-years-of-frustrating-underachievement-padres-righthander-andy-ashby-has-joined-the-ranks-of-the-national-leagues-pitching-elite, accessed November 29, 2018.

5 Rotoworld.com, rotoworld.com/recent/mlb/1659/andy-ashby, accessed November 29, 2018.

6 “A Major League Dad.”

7 Tim Kurkjian, “Baseball,” Sports Illustrated, July 11, 1994, si.com/vault/1994/07/11/106786713/baseball, accessed November 29, 2018.

8 Sam McDowell, “MLB Draft: Two Former Kansas City High School Pitchers Selected,” Kansas City Star, June 5, 2018, kansascity.com/sports/high-school/article212585904.html, accessed November 29, 2018.

9 “A Major League Dad.”

10 Bryce Miller, “Andy Ashby Ditches Makeup, Joins Padres at Spring Training,” San Diego Union Tribune, March 1, 2016, sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/padres/sdut-andy-ashby-ditches-makeup-joins-padres-at-spring-2016mar01-story.html, accessed November 29, 2018.

11 D.J. Eberle, “Andy Ashby Part of Trio Joining Railriders’ Ownership Group,” Wilkes-Barre (Pennsylvania) Times Leader, October 19, 2016, timesleader.com/sports/railriders/598585/andy-ashby-part-of-trio-joining-railriders-ownership-group, accessed November 29, 2018.

Ausmus was born on April 14, 1969, in New Haven, Connecticut. His father, Harry Jack Ausmus, a Protestant, retired from a long career as professor of European history at Southern Connecticut State University. His mother, Linda, is Jewish. While growing up in Connecticut, Ausmus didn’t have a strong connection with his Jewish roots. He would occasionally celebrate the high holidays with his mother’s family but it never went further than that.1

When Ausmus was 5 years old, he told his father that “when he grew up he wanted to go to Dartmouth and he wanted to play baseball.” Harry Ausmus gave his son a lecture about having to work hard and told him if he did, he could do both.2 Little did father and son know at the time that both of these dreams would eventually come true.

Ausmus attended Cheshire High School in Cheshire, Connecticut. He played several sports there but excelled in baseball. As a sophomore he played shortstop and batted .327. Ausmus became a catcher as a junior, hit .436 and was chosen for the All-State team. He hit .411 during his senior year and was named the Cheshire Area High School Player of the Year.3 His leadership skills were evident to those who coached and played with him.

“Looking back now, we all realized how confident Brad was, and how intelligent he was. And if any of us forgot, he wasn’t bashful about reminding us,” recalled Nick Carparelli Jr., a teammate on the Cheshire High baseball team.4 When Ausmus became the Tigers manager in 2013, he credited his Cheshire High coach, Nick Carparelli Sr., for helping him to learn how to coach.

“He was a huge influence,” Ausmus said of his coach. “Not so much from the baseball perspective, but more on how to treat human beings and how to work hard.” Carparelli was also complimentary of Ausmus: “He was always the type of kid in control of things — in control of the game, of a pitcher. I think he always knew he wanted to stay in the game [after he stopped playing], whether on the administrative end or as an on-field manager.”5

By the time Ausmus graduated from high school, recruiters from Dartmouth, Harvard, and Princeton pursued him as a catcher. Also, the New York Yankees selected him in the 48th round of the June 1987 amateur draft. Ausmus initially refused to sign with the Yankees. His parents were adamant that he pursue a college degree. They eventually agreed that he could play baseball as long as it didn’t interfere with school.6 Ausmus signed with the Yankees after they agreed that he could attend classes and play in the minors when school ended.

After his freshman year Ausmus adjusted his schedule to spend the fall and winter terms at Dartmouth, taking four courses each term to keep up with his classmates. This left him free to go to spring training and play baseball during the season. Ausmus graduated from Dartmouth with a degree in government in 1991.7

In the summer of 1988 the Yankees sent Ausmus to their rookie-league team, the Gulf Coast Yankees. He spent most of the season there before getting a promotion to the low Class-A Oneonta Yankees (New York-Pennsylvania League) for two games. In the rookie league he had 15 RBIs and a .255 batting average before returning to classes in the fall of 1988. In the summer of 1989 Ausmus played in 52 games at Oneonta; in 1990 he played in 107 games for the high Class-A Prince William Cannons (Carolina League). Ausmus started the 1991 season in Double A, with the Albany-Colonie Yankees of the Eastern League, but the Yankees sent him back to Prince William for the second half of the season, and he raised his batting average to 304.

After graduating from Dartmouth in the winter of 1991, Ausmus spent most of the 1992 season with the Triple-A Columbus Clippers (International League), with a brief stay at Albany-Colonie.

The major leagues were expanding and one of the new teams, the Colorado Rockies, drafted Ausmus from the Yankees in the expansion draft after the 1992 season. He spent the first part of the 1993 season with the Colorado Springs Sky Sox (Pacific Coast League), batting .270 in 76 games. On July 26, Ausmus was traded by the Rockies with Doug Bochtler and a player to be named to the San Diego Padres for Greg Harris and Bruce Hurst. ( Andy Ashby was the player to be named.)

Ausmus finally reached the majors with the Padres. He played in his first major-league game two days after the trade, on July 28, starting against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Ausmus got his first major-league hit in the fourth inning, a single off starter Greg Hibbard. He threw out speedster Willie Wilson trying to steal second in the eighth inning, a sign of his excellent defensive skills.

By the time Ausmus reached the majors, he had spent more than five years in the minors. He reflected on those years later: “I was naïve. In my mind, I was going to make it eventually and I just kept slogging away. My first year, I think I got paid $700 a month. I didn’t know any better. I just assumed the best and that eventually I would make it. I didn’t realize how stacked the odds were against me.”8

Ausmus became the Padres’ full-time catcher in 1994 when he started 94 games. He batted .251 with 7 home runs, a career best to that point. But his importance to the Padres was not his offense but his defensive skills. He led the league in putouts by a catcher when he had 683 putouts that year. The Padres were pleased with Ausmus and he remained their starting catcher in 1995. He batted .293 that year, a career best, and stole 16 bases, the most by a major-league catcher since Craig Biggio stole 19 in 1991. Defensively, Ausmus led the league in assists (63) and double plays by a catcher (14).

Ausmus married Elizabeth Ann “Liz” Selfridge in 1995. They had two daughters, Sophie, born in 1998, and Abigail, born in 1999.

Ausmus got off to a shaky start offensively in 1996. By mid-June, hitting just .181 in 149 at-bats, Ausmus was traded to the Tigers with Andujar Cedeno and minor leaguer Russ Spear for John Flaherty and Chris Gomez.

The Tigers made Ausmus their full-time catcher. He played in 75 Detroit games, improving his batting average to .248, and continued to be an asset defensively.

Yet Ausmus was traded by the Tigers in the offseason. He went to the Houston Astros along with José Lima, Trever Miller, C.J. Nitkowski, and Daryle Ward, for Doug Brocail, Brian Hunter, Todd Jones, Orlando Miller, and cash. (This was the first of three consecutive deals over a four-year span inn which Ausmus was exchanged between the two teams.)

Ausmus spent 1999 and 2000 as the Astros starting catcher, batting a cumulative .268. He had 25 doubles in 1998 and averaged 44 RBIs during the two seasons, both offensive improvements for him. He continued to an excellent defensive catcher.

By this time, Ausmus was considered a weak hitter but an excellent defensive player. On January 14, 1999, the Astros sent Ausmus back to the Tigers along with minor-leaguer C.J. Nitkowski for Paul Bako, Dean Crow, and Brian Powell and minor-league players Mark Persails and Carlos Villalobos.

Ausmus had his best offensive season in 1999. He batted .275 and set career highs in on-base percentage (.365) and slugging percentage (.415). He was chosen for his only All-Star game appearance, as the backup catcher for Ivan Rodriguez. After replacing Rodriguez in the sixth inning, Ausmus showed his defensive prowess when he threw out Brian Jordan trying to steal second in the seventh. He got one at-bat in the game and grounded out to second.

Ausmus had another solid year defensively in 2000. He was recognized for his ability to block pitches at the plate. Pitchers regarded him highly for identifying their strengths and weaknesses and using that knowledge to guide them through a game.9

The Tigers were looking for a catcher who might help them offensively so Ausmus was traded back to the Astros on December 11, 2000. With Doug Brocail and Nelson Cruz, he went to Houston in exchange for Roger Cedeno, Chris Holt, and Mitch Meluskey.

By the time Ausmus returned to Houston, he had fully established his reputation as a defensive asset and was acknowledged as one of the tops at bringing out the best in pitchers. Timothy de Block reflected on his defensive prowess in 2012: “My lasting imagery of Ausmus is his ability to block any and every ball in the dirt. Jason Castro‘s inability to do so this season reminds me how good Ausmus was at it, and listening to various announcers tell kids that’s the way to do it.”10

Upon his return to the Astros, Ausmus began the most productive period of his career. He became Houston’s starting catcher, a position he held through 2007. He never became a consistently solid hitting threat during those years although he did improve offensively. In 2004, he batted .308 against left-handers, and was .302 in situations that were “late and close,” meaning in the seventh inning or later, with the score tied or the tying run on base, at the plate, or on deck. These were significant improvements from the previous year and helped the Astros as they made the postseason run.

Ausmus had more walks than strikeouts for the only time in his career in 2005. In 2007, he batted .235 but tied for second among National League catchers with six stolen bases. He recorded his 100th career stolen base on July 27.11

Even though he never became a solid hitter, Ausmus was valuable to the Astros for his work behind the plate. He earned his first Gold Glove Award in 2001, and followed it up with a second in 2002. His fielding percentage both years was .997.  In many ways, Ausmus’s leadership gave the Astros another manager on the field.

“I’m thinking what’s the score, what inning are we in, how many outs, what’s this hitter’s weakness, what’s this pitcher’s strengths, who’s on deck, who could pinch-hit, who is up after the hitter on deck and you kind of go through all of these things in an instant. And then you make a decision and put down the next signal.”12

The Astros pitchers relied on Ausmus and respected his hard work to prepare them for the game. He prepared graphs for his pitchers before every series showing the strengths and weaknesses of every player on the opposing team.

The Astros made the playoffs in 2001, losing the National League Division Series in three games to the Atlanta Braves. Ausmus contributed a two-run home run off Greg Maddux in the first game. He finished the series with a .625 slugging percentage.

In 2004, the Astros reached the NLCS, falling to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. Ausmus felt he let his teammates down in the series when he called for one too many sliders from closer Dan Miceli. That misstep led to a tie-breaking home run by Albert Pujols The Cardinals took a two-games-to-none lead in the series and the Astros never caught up afterward.13

In the 2005 NL Division Series, against Atlanta, Ausmus hit a home run that Tal Smith, a longtime Astros executive, called “one of the greatest hits in Astros history.” The homer, off Kyle Farnsworth with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game Four, tied the game, 6-6, and the Astros got a walk-off victory in the 18th inning. Smith, the Astros’ president of baseball operations at the time, said the homer was “[a]bsolutely critical.”14 Ausmus caught the first 12 innings of the game, played first base from the 13th inning to the 15th, then returned to catch the 16th through 18th for Roger Clemens.

The Astros defeated the Cardinals for the National League pennant in the NCLS. Ausmus was 7-for-22 during the series, including three hits in the sixth and final game, a 5-1 Astros win.

Tal Smith said Ausmus“was invaluable” during the Astros’ playoff run, adding, “He deserves an awful lot of credit for our success. It was like having another manager on the field. He was very active with the pitching staff. He was so knowledgeable, so savvy. I thought he was instrumental with our success.”15

The Astros were swept in the World Series by the Chicago White Sox. Ausmus started all four games behind the plate and collected four hits. Even with the disappointing loss in the World Series, Ausmus said he had many fond memories of those winning years in Houston. “It was fun. Baseball was the sport in Houston and it had been historically a football town,” he said.16

During his years with Astros, Ausmus began to be recognized as a possible manager after he finished playing. Astros manager Phil Garner quipped,“I have to keep him playing, because if he starts managing, he’ll be better than me.”17

During Ausmus’s tenure with the Astros, the team granted him free agency every other year. The first two times Ausmus signed a two-year contract shortly after entering the free-agent market. He signed his last contract, a one-year pact, with the Astros on October 30, 2007. The Astros were planning for J.R. Towles to become their starting catcher in 2008. They felt that the 23-year-old rookie would need some help in adjusting to the majors so they signed Ausmus to be Towles’ mentor as well as the backup catcher.

At the time, Houston general manager Ed Wade said: “Brad is an established veteran catcher with the ability to play a lot. The [team’s] mindset is if we can get 20 more points on the batting average [from Towles] or get a guy to knock in 20 more runs, and we have [Ausmus], who has a great presence behind the plate and who handles pitchers so well, we think we’ve got a pretty complete package going at that particular position.”18

On May 12, 2008, Ausmus got his 1,500th career hit. As of 2018 he was one of only eight major-league catchers to get 1,500 hits and steal at least 100 bases. Although Ausmus mentored Towles, the young catcher struggled. By June, Towles was hitting only .145 and the Astros optioned him to the minors. Ausmus became the starting catcher until Towles returned later in the season.

Ausmus scored his 700th career run on August 12, 2008, in a 12-4 Astros win over the Giants. He became the 25th catcher to reach that mark.19

Toward the end of the 2008 season, Ausmus said it would be his final year in Houston. He said that he wanted to be closer to his family in San Diego, commenting, “Large chunks of time away from home is not in the best interest of my family.” When the season ended, Ausmus had become Houston’s all-time leader for catchers with 1,259 games, 1,119 starts, 970 hits, and 415 runs. The Astros released him on October 31, 2008.

Although he had contemplated retiring, Ausmus signed a one-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers on January 21, 2009. He would be the backup to Russell Martin. Dodgers manager Joe Torre was impressed with Ausmus and his leadership, and said,“There’s no question he can manage. He’s a smart cookie, everybody knows that, and he has an engaging personality.”20

Ausmus even managed the Dodgers in the final game of the season. Torre had a tradition of letting one player manage the last game of the year if it had no bearing on the standings. Ausmus stood by Torre throughout the game and made all the decisions. When he was asked about it before the game, he said, “I’ll let you know if it was still a good idea in about five hours.” He called on acting hitting coach Jim Thome to pinch-hit in the eighth and after Thome hit a single, he replaced Thome with himself as a pinch-runner.21

The Dodgers released Ausmus after the 2009 season but he signed another one-year contract with the team on January 26, 2010. On April 10, 2010, he was placed on the disabled list for the first time in his 18-year career in the majors. He missed most of the season after having surgery in April to repair a lower-back herniated disc. Ausmus played in only 21 games, the last one on October 3, after which he announced his retirement as a player.

Ausmus finished his career ranked third in major-league history with 12,839 putouts as a catcher, trailing only Iván Rodríguez and Jason Kendall; seventh in games caught with 1,938; and 15th in fielding percentage (.994).

A month after he retired, the San Diego Padres hired Ausmus as a special assistant in baseball operations. “He brings a tremendous amount of experience from his long and successful playing career. We look forward to having him help with the development of catchers throughout our system,” Padres general manager Jed Hoyer said.22

Ausmus was also one of the several Jewish players in major-league baseball when he played. His Jewish background eventually led to his first managing job, with Team Israel in the 2013 World Baseball Classic.  Ausmus’s team won its first two games before being eliminated by Spain in a 10-inning loss.

Ausmus used many of the same skills he had developed during his years as a catcher. As he assembled the club, he compiled information about prospective players on his iPad and index cards. “He told me he felt that he was not just the manager, but the general manager. [T]hat it was a lot of fun choosing his own players. It gave him the feeling he could [manage the team],” said Peter Kurz, president of the Israel Association of Baseball.23

The job of managing the Israeli national team gave Ausmus the opportunity to put into place what he had observed during his playing days. “The best baseball managers I’ve been around have been very good communicators and they understand that in baseball, unlike maybe football or basketball, it’s not so much the “x’s” and “o’s” that you’re managing but [its] people,” he said.24

On November 3, 2013, Ausmus was named the 38th manager of the Detroit Tigers, succeeding Jim Leyland. He had gone right to the majors without any managerial experience in the minors. Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski said Ausmus was chosen because “[we] received positive feedback on Brad from players, managers, and baseball executives. Brad had a long-standing career as a player and we feel that he will relate well with the current players. We were most impressed with Brad’s preparation and leadership, which are among his many quality attributes.”25

Although many were surprised by Ausmus’s selection because of his lack of managing experience, Dombrowski said: “Everybody’s different, but playing 18 years at the major-league level would prepare him much more than managing one year at the Double-A level, because the problems he encounters in the major leagues now are so different than what they are at Double A.”26

Ausmus briefly faced controversy in his first season when he responded to a question from a reporter in the middle of a losing streak. After being asked, “How are you when you go home?” Ausmus replied, “I beat my wife.” After a few moments of silence, he quickly apologized. “I shouldn’t say — listen, I didn’t want to make light of battered women. I didn’t mean to make light of that, so I apologize for that if that offended anyone.”27 Although he faced a storm of criticism, Ausmus weathered it and the Tigers soon began to win again.

In his first year as manager, Ausmus led the Tigers to a 90-72 record, winning the American League Central Division title. The Tigers were swept in the Division Series by the Baltimore Orioles. In his second year as manager, the Tigers had a disappointing 74-87 record, finishing in last place in their division.

In his third season as manager, 2016, the Tigers finished in second place in the division with an 86-75 record, 2½ games out of the second postseason wild-card spot. At one point during the season, Ausmus made news when he pulled off his jersey and covered home plate with it. The umpire had ejected him before he’d even stepped out of the dugout but Ausmus still let his frustrations out on the arbiter. He later explained: “There comes a point when you get seven or eight guys coming back from home plate complaining about the strike zone, they can’t all be wrong, I understand sometimes hitters have a skewed view of something, but when you’ve got that many guys coming back, they can’t all be wrong.”28

Ausmus returned as Tigers manager in 2017. The team finished with a 64-98 record, in last place in the division. It was their worst finish since 2003. At the end of the season, the Tigers fired Ausmus. General manager Al Avila explained the team’s decision: “[W]e needed change on the field, we needed change in the roster, and that’s when we started trading players. Let’s just take a whole brand-new road and open up to new things. We felt it’s a new beginning, a fresh start, and we’ll have fresh leadership, new leadership, as we move forward.”29

After the season, Ausmus was reported to be a candidate for several managing positions but got no offers. On November 22, 2017, he was hired as a special assistant to Los Angeles Angels general manager Billy Eppler to help with scouting and evaluations.

Ausmus was inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2004. He has embraced his Jewish heritage and is proud to have used it to inspire others. “I have had quite a few young Jewish boys who will tell me that I am their favorite player, or they love watching me play or they feel like baseball is a good fit for them because it worked for me. It has been a sense of pride. If you can have a positive impact on a kid, I’m all for it,” he said.30

Last revised: December 1, 2018

This biography appeared in “Time for Expansion Baseball” (SABR, 2018), edited by Maxwell Kates and Bill Nowlin.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author also used the Baseball-Reference.com, Baseball-Almanac.com, and Retrosheet.org websites for box-score, player, team, and season pages, pitching and batting game logs, and other pertinent material.

Notes

1 David Borges, “Brad Ausmus Connects with Jewish Roots as Manager of Team Israel for the WBC,” New Haven Register, July 22, 2012.

2 Matthew Mosk, “The Rookie,” Dartmouth Alumni Magazine.com, September-October 2014.

3 John Petit, “Astros Ausmus Sky High on Shot at Series,” Meriden (Connecticut) Record-Journal, October 21, 2005.

4 “Tigers Manager Brad Ausmus Learned from Carparelli at Cheshire,” New Haven Register, August 5, 2014.

5 Ibid.

6 Matthew Mosk, “The Rookie.”

7 “Brad Ausmus” Baseball Library.com, bit.ly/2DnqFis.

8 Bob McManaman, “Most Minor-League MLB Players Below Poverty Level,” AZ Central.com, August 16, 2014.

9 “Covering The Plate: A Baseball Catcher Tells All,” NPR.org, August 11, 2011.

10 Timothy De Block, “Astros History: Brad Ausmus,” Crawfishboxes.com, April 17, 2012.

11 Alyson Footer, “Astros Ink Ausmus to One-Year Contract,” MLB.com, October 30, 2007.

12 Dave Davies, “Behind the Plate, a Baseball Catcher Tells All,” WBUR.org, April 6, 2012.

13 Anthony French, “Tigers’ Brad Ausmus Recalls Run with Successful Astros,” Detroit Free Press, August 15, 2015.

14 Maxwell Kates interview with Tal Smith, November 18, 2017.

15 Ibid.

16 Anthony French, “Tigers’ Brad Ausmus Recalls Run.”

17 Pat Cooke, “Who Is Brad Ausmus?,” TheSportsCol.com, November 5, 2013.

18 Alyson Footer, “Astros Ink Ausmus.”

19 Brian McTaggart, “ASTROS NOTES: Brother of Pitcher Wolf Umps Game,” Chron.com, August 13, 2008.

20 “Ausmus Headed to Padres’ Front Office,” Jewish Baseball News.com, November 17, 2010.

21 “Dodgers Catcher Ausmus Is Manager for a Day,” Redlands Daily Facts.com, October 5, 2009.

22 “Brad Ausmus Joins Padres Front Office,” San Diego Padres MLB.com, November 26, 2010.

23 Hillel Kuttler, “On Way to Tigers Post, Ausmus Earned His Managing Stripes in Israel,” Jewish Telegraphic Agency, November 7, 2013.

24 Sara Appel-Lemon, “Del Mar Resident Brad Ausmus Hired as Team Israel Manager,” Del Mar Times, September 3, 2012.

25 David Solano, “Detroit Tigers Introduce Brad Ausmus as Team’s New Manager,” WXYZ.com, November 3, 2013.

26 Tyler Kepner, “Fitting the New Managerial Mold,” New York Times, March 7, 2014.

27 Christy Strawser, “Brad Ausmus Misses With Joke About Beating Wife After Loss,” Detroit.CBSlocal.com, June 14, 2014.

28 Jason Beck, “Ausmus Drapes Hoodie on Plate After Ejection,” MLB.com, May 17, 2016.

29 Jason Beck, “Ausmus’ Contract Won’t Be Extended Past ’17,” MLB.com, September 22, 2017.

30 Brad Greenberg, “There’s a New Jew in Dodger Blue,” Washington Jewish Week, July 1, 2009.

Steven Thomas Avery was born in Trenton, Michigan, on April 14, 1970 to Kenneth W. and Constance “Connie” Marich Avery. Ken, a standout lefty pitcher from Michigan State, was signed by the Detroit Tigers to a contract with their Knoxville farm team in the summer of 1961, with orders to report to spring training the next season. Starting the year at Thomasville in the Georgia-Florida League, Ken posted a 6-2 record, earning him a promotion to Jamestown (NYP League), where he won nine more games, losing five. He and Connie were married that fall, and Ken returned to the mound the next year with the Duluth-Superior Dukes, in the Northern League. Ken fashioned a 13-4 record that season, on a mound staff that included future big leaguers Pete Craig, Pat Jarvis, Denny McLain, and Joe Sparma, as the Dukes won their pennant by 12 games. Rather than return to pro ball the next season, Ken decided to focus on family and a career outside of baseball, eventually retiring as athletic director of Taylor (Michigan) high schools. Ken and Connie Avery had four children — Ken Jr., Mike, Steve, and Jennifer.1

Steve had an outstanding prep career at Taylor’s John F. Kennedy High School, where he participated in basketball and cross-country, as well as baseball. When he was 16, Avery led his American Legion baseball team to the state championship, and was awarded the KiKi Cuyler Award as the tournament’s most valuable player.2 In his senior year at JFK, Avery went 13-0 on the mound, with 196 strikeouts and an 0.51 ERA in 88 innings. He batted.511, with 8 home runs and 44 RBIs.3

There was not much doubt that Avery would be an early selection in the 1988 amateur draft; the only question was how high he would go. The San Diego Padres, choosing first and seeking more immediate help, decided to go the college route, selecting pitcher Andy Benes from the University of Evansville. The Cleveland Indians, who chose second, had their eyes on Avery, but instead went for high-school shortstop Mark Lewis, from Hamilton, Ohio. Next in line were the Atlanta Braves, who jumped at the chance to draft Avery, hoping to lure him away from his scholarship offer from Stanford University.

The Braves had been doormats of the National League, having finished last or next to last each of the past five seasons. After a four-year managerial stint in Toronto, Bobby Cox had returned to Atlanta as the Braves’ general manager in October 1985. He set out to rebuild the farm system as the road back to respectability, rather than trying to remake the team at the major-league level with trades and free agents. Steve Avery was exactly the type pitcher the team thought it could build around.

After nearly a month of negotiations, Avery finally signed with the Braves on June 30, 1988, for a reported bonus of $211,500. That was significant, because it was the highest bonus ever paid to a high-school pitcher. That “record” stood for five weeks, until the Montreal Expos signed Reid Cornelius, their 11th-round draft pick, for $225,000.4

Avery was assigned to the Braves’ Appalachian (Rookie) League club in Pulaski, Virginia. After having his professional debut rained out the night before, he made his first appearance in the first game of a July 11 doubleheader against the Martinsville Phillies. The lefty pitched five innings, giving up four hits and a walk while striking out seven, to pick up the 5-0 victory. After the game, Pulaski manager Cloyd Boyer said, “I can see why they drafted him number one. He’s definitely a big-league prospect.” On the prospects of his club, Boyer continued, “I fully expect him to be with us the entire season, as all the rest of the players. Avery was sent here for me to work with. No longer than he’s been here, it’s obvious he’s hard-working, dedicated, and has a good attitude. And the Lord blessed him with great ability.”5 (Incidentally, eighth-round draft pick Mark Wohlers closed out the doubleheader by hurling a 3-2 complete-game three-hitter, giving the Braves a hint that the future might be bright, indeed.)

In his debut pro season, Avery posted a 7-1 record and a 1.50 ERA in 10 games, with 80 strikeouts and only 19 walks in 66 innings. He was named to the Appalachian League All-Star team at the conclusion of the season.

Based on his showing in Pulaski, Avery jumped to the Durham Bulls, the Braves’ high Class-A team in the Carolina League, for 1989. The team was loaded, with 10 players who would go on to see at least some major-league action, nine of them pitchers. The Bulls easily finished first in their division, but Avery wasn’t around to see the finish. Based on a 6-4 record with a 1.45 ERA and 90 strikeouts against 20 walks, he was promoted in midseason to the Double-A Greenville Braves. Avery didn’t miss a beat, going 6-3 in 13 starts. At age 19, he was the youngest player on the team, but had little trouble adjusting to his new surroundings.

Avery started the 1990 season at Richmond. He was only 20, and had reached Triple A much more quickly than anyone would have imagined. It was in Richmond that he first came under the guidance of pitching coach Leo Mazzone. “I didn’t teach Steve Avery a pitch,” said Mazzone. “He had them. So my job was to see that he kept them — and that worked out real well.”6 Avery’s record was only 5-5 through the first two months of the season, but he was showing maturity and confidence beyond his years. “In Steve’s case, he became a great pitcher at an early age because he trusted himself with a change of speeds,” said Mazzone. “He was a power pitcher out of high school, and had always been a strikeout pitcher. Most times it’s going to take a pitcher a long time to trust an offspeed pitch.”

Come early June, the Braves found themselves in familiar territory — last place, but won six of their first 12 games for the month, including a doubleheader in Cincinnati on June 12. Marty Clary had already been dropped from the rotation, and so was Derek Lilliquist, after being on the short end of a 23-8 shellacking at the hands of the San Francisco Giants on June 8. Yet even though help was obviously needed on the pitching staff, Braves fans were surprised when Avery was summoned from Richmond to start the June 13 game against the Reds. He was still the youngest player on the roster, and most assumed the Braves would like him to get a full season under his belt there. Getting called up after only 13 Triple-A games to join the big-league club would be enough to make any rookie excited enough to leave all of his luggage in the taxi when he got to the Braves hotel, as Avery did, but he would be facing a team in first place in the NL West.7

Avery’s nervousness may have lessened a bit when the Braves staked him to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. He fared well in his initial major-league inning, allowing only a walk and a stolen base to Chris Sabo. Reality set in in the second, however, when the Reds tied the game at 2-2 on a leadoff triple by Glenn Braggs and singles by Todd Benzinger, Mariano Duncan, and Billy Hatcher. Things were no better in the third, when the Reds touched up Avery for two walks, a stolen base, three singles, and a double, driving him from the mound and taking a 6-2 lead. Reliever Marty Clary simply threw gasoline on the fire, allowing a wild pitch, two doubles, and a single without recording an out and leaving the game at 8-2.

Six days later, Avery again faced the Reds, this time in Atlanta, and fared a bit better. He pitched into the fifth inning, allowing only one run on six hits and two walks, leaving with the game tied 1-1.

Three days after Avery’s first appearance before the home crowd, changes were made that affected Atlanta’s baseball fortunes for the next two decades — Bobby Cox returned to the dugout as Braves manager (as well as keeping his general manager job, too), and he brought Leo Mazzone up from Richmond as his pitching coach. Cox decided to give The Kid a chance to stay in the rotation, and in Avery’s next start, on June 26, he went seven innings, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-2, for his first major-league win.

The rest of the 1990 season was pretty much a learning experience for Avery. He started 20 games and had one more in relief, finishing the season with a 3-11 record. His best game, by far, was on August 24 in Atlanta, when he fashioned his first major-league complete game and shutout, 3-0, over Greg Maddux and the Chicago Cubs. Maddux also pitched a complete game, and at the plate both hurlers had success. Avery touched up Maddux for two singles, and Greg recorded one against Steve.

For the team as a whole, it was a disappointing year, with the Braves finishing in the cellar for the third straight year. At the end of the season, the pitching staff included Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Charlie Leibrandt, Kent Mercker, and Paul Marak. All except Leibrandt were less than 25 years old, and only Smoltz had a winning record in 1990. Some in the press were starting to call Atlanta’s staff the “Young Guns.” The Young Guns were starting to mature in 1990, but few seemed to notice.

When spring training started in 1991, the Braves had a new general manager, John Schuerholz, who had come after a successful 23-year stay in Kansas City. The move allowed Bobby Cox to relinquish the general manager part of his job, and to focus exclusively on the team on the field. Schuerholz recognized the maturing of the pitching staff, but knew that to be effective, he needed to improve the defense behind them. So he did, importing first baseman Sid Bream, third baseman Terry Pendleton, shortstop Rafael Belliard, and center fielder Otis Nixon.

The revamped team got off to an 8-10 record in April, not great, but much improved over the 4-13 mark in 1990. By the end of May, the won-lost record stood at 25-19, and the team was in second place, only a half-game behind the Los Angeles Dodgers. Fans were starting to notice that there was a difference in this team. The Braves stayed within three games of the Dodgers until near the end of August, when consecutive wins by Leibrandt, Glavine, Smoltz, and Avery moved the Braves into first place.

The Braves held on through September, to win the NL West crown by one game over the Dodgers. Glavine’s 20 wins garnered him the NL Cy Young Award at season’s end, Smoltz won 14 and Leibrandt 15, and Avery seemingly matured overnight, posting an 18-8 mark, good to place him sixth in the Cy Young voting. The Young Guns had come through, and led the “Worst to First” Braves to their first postseason action since 1982.

Avery had atoned for his woes with the Cincinnati Reds in 1990 by beating them 7-5 to give the Braves their first win of the 1991 season. Down the stretch in September, he hurled two complete-game victories over the Dodgers, 9-1 in Atlanta on September 15, and a 3-0 shutout in Los Angeles five days later. In his last win of the season, he took a no-hitter into the seventh inning against Houston, settling for a three-hitter in a 5-2 victory.

Going into the National League Championship Series against the Pirates, the Braves dropped the first game in Pittsburgh, and Avery then drew the starting assignment for Game Two. He responded by twirling 8⅓ shutout innings before turning the game over to Alejandro Peña, in an eventual 1-0 Braves victory. Six days later, back in Atlanta, Pittsburgh had taken a 3-2 series lead over the Braves, when Avery went back out for Game Six. Following almost the same script as in Game Two, he threw eight scoreless innings of three-hit ball, with Peña coming in for the final inning of the 1-0 game. John Smoltz’s 4-0 shutout the next night sent the Braves to their first World Series appearance since 1958. Avery’s two 1-0 shutout victories and 16⅓ scoreless innings earned him the MVP honors for the NLCS.

In the 1991 World Series, against the Minnesota Twins, Avery pitched into the eighth inning in Game Three, leaving with a 4-2 lead in a contest the Braves eventually won 5-4, and left Game Six behind 3-2 in a game the Braves tied but finally lost 4-3 in the 11th inning. He didn’t receive a decision in either game. The Braves ultimately lost the Series in an epic John Smoltz-Jack Morris pitching duel, which the Twins won 1-0 in 10 innings. Regardless of the outcome, Braves fans will never forget that magical “Worst to First” season!

Six days after the end of the World Series, Avery and Heather McMillan, his girlfriend since the seventh grade, were married. The ceremony was obviously planned well in advance, with a scheduling nod to the World Series — just in case. “It worked out,” said Avery. “I got to miss all the planning. I didn’t get stuck going to the shower and everything.”8

When spring training 1992 came around, the excitement of the previous season subsided a bit while attention was paid to the work at hand — how to repeat what had happened in 1992, and take the next big step: winning the World Series. The team got off to a slow start, and found itself in a fourth-place tie on Memorial Day, five games behind the San Francisco Giants. The Braves didn’t get back to the .500 level until June 7, and didn’t find their way into first place until July 22. From then on, there was no stopping the team, and they finished the season winning their second consecutive National League West title by eight games over the Cincinnati Reds.

As for Avery, in some ways his 1992 season was better than 1991 — he led the league in games started with 35, pitched 23⅓ more innings, and lowered his ERA from 3.38 to 3.20. His won-lost record fell to 11-11, however, primarily because the team had trouble scoring when he was on the mound. Six of his 11 losses were by two or fewer runs.

When the postseason came along, Avery returned to his old ways against the NL East champion Pirates by extending his NLCS shutout streak to 22⅔ innings in Game Two and picking up the win. Up three games to one, Avery took the mound in Game Five, hoping to punch the Braves’ ticket to the World Series. Nothing went as planned, and he experienced the worst start of his career, giving up four runs on a single and four doubles, while recording only one out, leading to a 7-1 Pirates victory. A 13-4 Pittsburgh blowout in Game Six brought on the decisive final game of the Series. Avery’s early departure from Game Five made him available for work in Game Seven, and he made his first relief appearance of the season in the bottom of the seventh inning. Entering the game with two outs and the bases loaded, Avery induced a long fly out by Andy Van Slyke to end the inning, and then held the Pirates scoreless in the eighth, maintaining a 2-0 Pittsburgh lead. That kept the game close enough to set the stage for the heroics by Pendleton, Justice, Bream, Gant, Berryhill, Hunter, and, finally, Francisco Cabrera’s bases-loaded two-run pinch-hit single in the bottom of the ninth, to send the Braves back to the World Series.

In the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays, Avery pitched into the ninth inning of Game Three before giving up a leadoff single and leaving the game with the score tied 2-2. The trio of Mark Wohlers, Mike Stanton, and Jeff Reardon failed to get the job done, with Avery being charged with the 3-2 loss. In Game Six, he was pulled after the fourth inning, with the Blue Jays ahead 2-1. The Braves rallied to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth inning, but a two-run double by Dave Winfield in the top of the 11th put the Jays ahead 4-2, and they held on in the bottom of the inning to claim their first World Series ever. It was the Braves’ second consecutive Series loss.

During the offseason, the Braves signed free-agent pitcher Greg Maddux, just off a Cy Young Award-winning season with the Cubs. The 1992 Braves pitching staff had given up the fewest runs in the league, and adding Maddux to the rotation that included Glavine, Smoltz, and Avery would only cement the expectation that the team would return to the World Series for a third straight year. To the dismay of the rest of the league, the Braves had added yet another star to their “Young Guns” staff, a rotation that is now considered to have been one of the best in baseball history.

Avery started 1993 with high hopes, and he didn’t disappoint, posting the best year of his career to date. By the end of June, he sported a 9-2 record, with an eight-game winning streak, and was named to the National League All-Star team. He continued his fine work in the second half of the season, but ran into trouble on September 12 in San Diego. Leading 1-0 in the fourth inning, Avery suffered a muscle injury under his left (pitching) armpit, but kept pitching and gave up five runs on three hits, a walk, and an error before leaving the game. He pitched four more games in September, with two wins and a loss, to bring his season record to 18-4, with a 2.94 ERA.

The Braves won their division championship again in 1993, and took on the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS. Avery started Game One against the Phillies’ Curt Schilling, but left after the sixth inning behind 3-2. The Braves rallied to tie the game in the ninth inning, but lost 4-3 in 10 innings. In Game Five Avery and Schilling faced off again. This time, he pitched through the seventh inning, but was behind 2-0 when he was replaced by Kent Mercker. The Braves came back in the ninth inning again, this time scoring three runs to tie the game, but the Phillies scored on a Lenny Dykstra home run off Mark Wohlers in the 10th to take the game. Two days later, back in Philadelphia, the Phillies prevailed in Game Six, to dash the Braves’ hopes of a third straight World Series appearance.

The 1994 season opened with a cloud of uncertainty, with labor negotiations and the threat of a player strike having dragged through the winter. For the Averys, their lives were upheaved with the sudden and unexpected death of Heather’s father, James McMillan, on March 29,9 and the premature birth of Heather and Steve’s first child, Evan Thomas, 12 days later. Evan was born nearly three months early, and weighed only 2 pounds, 13 ounces. “The doctors are amazed at how well he’s doing,” said Avery. “We’re still worried, but now it’s a different kind of worry. Before, we didn’t even know if he was going to be born. At least now I can see him. That makes it a little easier.”10

Evan stayed in the hospital until late July and underwent nine surgeries during his first year. Unbeknownst to the general public, Avery was a commuting pitcher for virtually the entire 1994 season. He made several trips back to Michigan during spring training, and after the season started, he flew back home after every start, rejoining the team in time for his next game.

“You could tell he was tense,” said teammate John Smoltz. At times he had a shorter fuse, not as patient, because it was a continual roller-coaster. It was a difficult time, and we all felt for him.”11

On the mound, Avery posted an 8-3 record, although the Braves actually won 15 of his 24 starts. His ERA jumped from 2.94 in 1993 to 4.04, even though his hits allowed per nine innings dropped and his strikeout total (122 compared with 125) was down by only three in about 72⅔ fewer innings compared with 1993. Through it all, Avery didn’t miss a single start in 1994, but sometimes showed a lack of control — he walked 12 more batters in the abbreviated season than he did in all of 1993. Some thought he was just tired from the rigors of the season, but others wondered if he was concealing an injury, perhaps a carryover from his muscle injury the previous September.

When the strike eventually started on August 12, it cast a shadow over major-league baseball, but it couldn’t have come at a better time for the Averys, letting them be together when Evan came home from the hospital.

Few remember that because the labor strike was not settled until April 2, the 1995 season opening was delayed until April 26. An abbreviated 144-game schedule was implemented, and the Braves started well, winning seven of their first eight games. The only loss in that span was a 9-1 drubbing by the Dodgers in Los Angeles. The loss was charged to Avery, who left the game after retiring only one out of five batters in the fourth, behind 3-0. After their first eight games, however, the team lost eight of their next 10, and didn’t get back to first place until a July 4 win against the Dodgers.

Other than a 4-0 complete-game shutout against the Florida Marlins on May 19, Avery showed little of his previous dominance during the first half of the season. By August 1, he had pitched into the seventh inning in only nine of his 17 starts, and his 4.21 ERA at that point was his highest since his rookie season. He failed to find consistency through the rest of the season, dealing with mechanical issues and loss of confidence, and he ended the campaign with a 7-13 record.

Regardless, the Braves again led their division, and returned to the NLDS against the Colorado Rockies. Manager Bobby Cox decided to go with only three starters — Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz, and took the series three games to one. Avery made only one appearance, in relief of Tom Glavine in the second game, and gave up a run while retiring only two batters.

In the NLCS against the Cincinnati Reds, Tom Glavine started Game One, and left after the seventh inning trailing 1-0. After the game was turned over to Alejandro Peña, the Braves tied the game in the ninth and took the lead in the 10th. Mark Wohlers worked the ninth and 10th for the Braves, and Brad Clontz took over in the 11th to protect the lead, but could record only one out before manager Cox called on Avery, who walked the only batter he faced. Thankfully, for the Braves, Greg McMichael came in and put out the fire, preserving the win.

After winning the first three games against the Reds, Cox made a very unpopular decision, in the fans’ eyes. He decided to start Avery in Game Four, despite the fact that in two postseason relief outings he had retired only two batters. Perhaps Cox thought that since the Braves were already up three games to none, Avery might be able to give the other starters a bit of a rest. Whatever his thinking, he had to be pleased. The old Steve Avery showed up, pitched six innings of two-hit shutout ball, struck out six Reds, and was the winning pitcher as the Braves completed a four-game sweep of Cincinnati and headed back to the World Series. After two years of struggling, Avery felt he was back where he belonged.

Moving on to the World Series against Cleveland, the starters were rested and Maddux and Glavine each eked out one-run victories in the first two games. Smoltz was knocked around in Game Three and lasted less than three innings, but the Braves rebounded and the game went to overtime, the Indians pulling out a 7-6 win in 11 innings.

Come Game Four, manager Cox had no apprehension about giving the ball to Avery, and the lefty rewarded his trust with another six innings of three-hit, one-run baseball. The Braves won the game, 5-2, and moved to within one game of the championship.

What Avery remembered most about the game was that Bobby Cox gave him the ball when no one else wanted him to have it. “I pretty much stunk all year,” said Avery. “He said, ‘Ave, I’ve got confidence in you,’ and that was it.”12

Cleveland won Game Five, 5-4, and the Series moved back to Atlanta, where in Game Six Tom Glavine’s eight innings of one-hit ball and Dave Justice’s home run brought the Atlanta Braves their first World Series title.

Avery started out the 1996 season well, reaching the seventh inning in nine of his first 12 starts, and he sported a 6-4 record by the end of May. As the season progressed, however, ineffectiveness set in and he lost a bit of velocity on his fastball. He missed nearly two months due to injury near the end of the season, and he finished the season with only a 7-10 record.

The Braves reached the World Series again in 1996, this time against the New York Yankees. Avery’s only appearance in the Series was in Game Four, when the Braves blew a 6-0 lead and eventually lost the game, 8-6. That game is remembered as the one where Mark Wohlers gave up a game-tying three-run home run to Yankees catcher Jim Leyritz, but Avery was actually the losing pitcher in that contest. Replacing Wohlers to start the 10th inning, Avery allowed a single and three walks in two-thirds of an inning, the last walk, to Wade Boggs, forcing in the go-ahead run. The Braves had entered that game having won two out of the first three games, but the Yankees then won this contest and the next two to claim their first championship since 1978.

In late October the Braves granted Steve Avery free agency. He had been through the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in his nine seasons in the Braves organization, and he is always mentioned when discussion comes up about his Hall of Fame rotation mates Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, and John Smoltz. There are many in the Braves organization who think Avery was on the path to the Hall of Fame as well had injuries not taken their toll. He came up to the majors when the Braves had little pitching at all, and he left the Braves not because he really wanted to, but because the team now had too much talent for him to stay around.

Hoping that a change of scenery would help, Avery signed a one-year contract with the Boston Red Sox in January 1997. There, he was reunited with former Braves third-base coach Jimy Williams, who had just come over from Atlanta to replace Kevin Kennedy as the Red Sox manager. Williams was hoping Avery would benefit from the opportunity, and besides, he needed someone to fill the rotation vacancy created when Roger Clemens left Boston to sign with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Avery won two of his first four starts in Boston, but lost most of May and all of June to injury, and finished with only a 6-7 record for the season. He returned to the Red Sox for the 1998 season and pitched with a modicum of success, pitching to a 10-7 record, his first winning season since 1994. But he was still plagued by injuries that just weren’t getting any better, and the Red Sox released Avery in October.

Hoping there was still a bit of magic left in Avery — after all, he was still just 29 years old — the Cincinnati Reds signed him in December, in an effort to bolster their staff. He added a bit, but not much, to the Reds’ second-place finish in 1999, duplicating his 6-7 record with the Red Sox two years previously, but his season came to an end in late July, when he underwent season-ending surgery to repair a torn labrum. The Reds released him at the end of the season.

Avery tried to come back in 2000, signing with his original club, the Braves, in January. There was nothing the Braves would have liked more than for a healthy Steve Avery to be able to come back. Avery spent the season shuttling between the Braves’ top four farm teams — Richmond, Greenville, Myrtle Beach, and Macon. He won 4 and lost 12 games in his minor-league stay, but the Braves weren’t concerned about results, they just wanted to let him get his strength back and be healthy. Avery returned to spring training with the Braves in 2001, but things did not improve to the point where he would be able to pitch, and he was released just before the start of the season.

For a couple of years, Braves scouting director Paul Snyder tried to get Avery to come back with the club as a minor-league pitching coach, but he wasn’t interested. “I understood that, he was home and had small children that he wanted to be with. But I still wanted him, he was smart, he had had successes and failures that he could relate to with young pitchers. I think he would have made a terrific coach,” said Snyder.13

In late 2002, Avery started giving serious thought to making a comeback. He had gone two seasons without pitching, had continued his workouts, and was in shape. Also, 8-year-old Evan knew more about baseball now, but didn’t remember ever seeing his dad pitch. Avery told his hometown Detroit Tigers he’d like to give it a try. On January 23, 2003, the Tigers signed him to a minor-league contract and invited him to spring training. Tigers manager Alan Trammell said that Avery was a long shot to make the team, but that he wasn’t ruling it out.14

Avery was sent to Detroit’s Toledo farm team at the end of spring training, but showed enough there that he was called up to the big-league club on May 9. He made his Tigers debut in Tampa Bay on May 11, when he entered the eighth inning with the Tigers leading the Devil Rays, 8-2. He gave up a leadoff single to Carl Crawford, who was erased on a double play, and Avery completed the inning unscathed. He made his home debut against the Oakland A’s three days later when he came on with the score tied, the bases loaded, and two outs in the ninth inning. Avery struck out the only batter he faced, Scott Hatteberg, and picked up his first victory in almost four years when the Tigers rallied in the bottom of the ninth for the win. He recorded another relief win on May 26, and in all made 19 relief appearances for the Tigers before being sent back down on July 26. Only five of his 19 outings were in Tigers victories, which doesn’t necessarily speak ill of Avery’s performance — the team finished with a 43-119 record!

Avery finished with a 2-0 record for the Tigers, but an ERA of 5.63. He recorded only six strikeouts in 16 innings of work, a testament to his fastball no longer being effective.

Avery retired with a 96-83 major-league won-lost record, an All-Star Game appearance, an NLCS MVP award, three National League Championship rings, and one World Series trophy. His star rose quickly, shone brilliantly, but faded much too fast with injuries.

Said John Smoltz: “I’ll give Steve credit, he came back and fulfilled the dream that every player has — playing for the home team. I grew up around Detroit and signed with the Tigers, but never got to play for them. Steve did. Tommy (Glavine) would love to have played for the Red Sox. He never got a chance, but Steve and I did. He was lucky in that way.”15

As of 2020 Steve and Heather Avery lived in Dearborn, Michigan. Steve was inducted into the Taylor Sports Hall of Fame in 2004, and the baseball and softball fields at John F. Kennedy High School in Taylor are named for him. He coached the Detroit Bees Perfect Game 14U team to the Battle of Great Lakes championship in 2019. Evan pitched on the Adrian College baseball team. In 2020 he was an account executive in group and hospitality sales with the Braves. Daughter Emma Grace, born just after the close of the 1997 season, was a second-grade teacher in Detroit, and son Owen, born after Steve’s career ended, was in high school.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author accessed Baseball-Reference.com, Retrosheet.org, and the online archives via Newspaper.com, NewspaperARCHIVE.com, and Ancestry.com.

Notes

1 The author’s parents, Dean and Helen Hufford, served as a host family for Pulaski Braves players in the 1980s. Steve lived with them during his 1988 rookie season. Mrs. Hufford and Steve’s mother, Connie, have maintained a correspondence of more than 30 years, and much of the family information in this biography is taken from Mrs. Avery’s letters.

2 “Steve Avery — Inducted in 2004.” ci.taylor.mi.us/605/Steve-Avery.

3 Allen Simpson, ed., Baseball America’s Ultimate Draft Book 2016 (Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2016), 350.

4 Simpson.

5 Tom Hawley, “Braves Take Twinbill, Avery Pitches Shutout,” Southwest Times (Pulaski, Virginia), July 12, 1988: 6.

6 Leo Mazzone and Scott Freeman, Leo Mazzone’s Tales From the Mound (Champaign, Illinois: Sports Publishing, 2006), 15.

7 bravesgeneralstore.com/brief-and-brilliant-steve-averys-time-in-atlanta-2/.

8 Steve Rushin, “Game Boy,” Sports Illustrated, February 17, 1992.

9 Detroit News, April 1, 2004. genealogybank.com/doc/obituaries/obit/13BF267243875200-13BF267243875200.

10 Augusta (Georgia) Chronicle, April 13, 1994: 25.

11 Robes Patton, “Load Has Lightened for Avery as Son’s Health Has Improved,” South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale), April 22, 1995. sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1995-04-22-9504214013-story.html#.

12 Steve Hummer, “Bobby Cox — The Players’ Manager,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, August 29, 2010. ajc.com/sports/baseball/bobby-cox-the-players-manager/PdPc1Xf5vWf43F2t2mSBWN/.

13 Paul Snyder, telephone conversation with the author, January 10, 2020.

14 Sunday Advocate (Baton Rouge, Louisiana), February 16, 2003: 16C.

15 John Smoltz, personal conversation with the author, November 2014.

But on March 23, 1993, Baerga stepped outside the white lines to become a leader of the club off the field. The day before, the Indians were given a day off by manager Mike Hargrove. Their spring training was held in Winter Haven, Florida. The players took advantage of the free day. Some groups took their families to Disney World, others went to Universal Studios. Others stayed closer to the spring-training complex.

Tim Crews came over to the Indians via free agency from Los Angeles to Cleveland. He owned a ranch close to Winter Haven, and invited the team to his home for a picnic. Steve Olin and Bob Ojeda took Crews up on his offer. Toward the end of the day, Crews, Ojeda, and Olin climbed into Crews’ 18-foot bass boat, and circled around Little Lake Nellie. Indians trainer Fernando Montes observed the trio from where the boat departed. A neighbor’s dock, which extended more than 50 yards, sat on the far side of the lake. As Crews accelerated, the front of the boat rose up, blocking their vision. As soon as the boat planed out, it was now the under the dock. It was too late. The accident occurred in three feet of water. “We heard this loud thump and a crash,” said Montes. “And it was silence, utter silence. I knew without any hesitation that Steve Olin had passed.”1 Crews was also dead and Ojeda was badly injured.

The next day, Cleveland’s vice president of public relations, Bob DiBiasio, was looking for a player who would talk to the media about the boating tragedy. “Everybody on the team was in tears,” said DiBiasio. “Nobody wanted to step forward and discuss what happened.”2 Carlos Baerga stepped forward, volunteering to be the team spokesman. “I was brokenhearted,” he said, “but I had a responsibility to the two good people we had lost. They were part of my life. I told God, ‘Give me words, because I know it’s going to be hard for me.’”3

Carlos Obed Baerga was born on November 4, 1968, in Santurce, Puerto Rico. He was the oldest of four children born to José and Baldry Baerga. José worked in the credit office of Puerto Rico’s largest newspaper, El Nuevo Dia. José managed Carlos’s little league teams. At 8, Carlos was holding his own against boys 10 to 12 years old. When he reached 14, Baerga was mixing it up on the diamond with adult amateurs in their 20s and 30s in the Puerto Rican Double A League. When Baerga reached 16, he was playing in the winter leagues against major leaguers.

“I remember my father saying, ‘Don’t come back home if you don’t have your uniform dirty,’ Baerga once recalled. “Ever since, I have put it in my mind to play hard. He always pushed me. My father always watches me, he’s always behind me.”4

Longtime Indians bullpen coach Luis Isaac (1987-2008) watched Baerga grow in his native Puerto Rico. “I knew right away he’d be a big-league player,” said Isaac. “Even when he was little, he was the type of kid who wanted to play two games a day. He’d be telling the other kids on the field what to do. He always played with that kind of intensity.”5

José worked with his son on becoming a switch-hitter so that he could play every day no matter who the pitcher was. Carlos, a natural left-handed hitter, worked hard to sharpen his skill from the right side of the plate. “I’ve still got to practice it every day,” he said in 1995. “But it has helped me. I see a guy like Randy Johnson pitching and I can’t imagine having to face him left-handed. The same goes for David Cone and facing him right-handed.”6

Word of Baerga’s ability spread around the island, and soon professional scouts arrived to get a look at the 14-year-old. Luis Rosa, a scout for the San Diego Padres, got Baerga to sign for a $65,000 bonus in 1985, when he turned 17 years old. (Rosa had a keen eye for talent. At the time Baerga signed, 32 of Rosa’s players had made their way to the big leagues.

Although Baerga seemed destined for big-league stardom, there was one problem. The Padres already had a second baseman in-waiting, Roberto Alomar. Baerga started his playing career at Class-A Charleston in the South Atlantic League. “They asked me to take him with me and when (rookie level) Spokane opened up (in mid-June) he’d go there,” said Charleston manager Pat Kelly.7 Baerga, who did not speak English that well, would ask Kelly, “Coach, why me no play?” Kelly would explain to Baerga that he had to play his more experienced players. Baerga would nod, as if he understood, but he returned the next day, asking the same question. This went on for about a week. “Finally, I put him in as a pinch-hitter, and he got a hit, of course,” said Kelly. “So I started him the next day, and he went like 4-for-4, and they were all (line drives). So he stayed with us the whole year.”8

Baerga showed that he could handle the bat on the minor-league level. He was still somewhat raw, but he was still just a teenager in his first three years in the minors. Because Alomar was the second baseman of the future for the Padres, it became evident that a new position would have to be found for Baerga, even though he felt the most comfortable at second base.

When Baerga reported to Double-A Wichita in 1988, he was switched to shortstop. In 1989 he was promoted to Triple-A Las Vegas and was placed at third base. Although he made 32 errors while manning the hot corner for Las Vegas, Baerga was in the lineup to hit. He hit .275 with 28 doubles, 10 homers, and 74 RBIs. He was somewhat of a free swinger, and his strikeouts easily tripled his walks.

The Cleveland Indians were shopping outfielder Joe Carter at the 1989 winter meetings. Carter’s contract was up in 1990, and the Indians knew they would not be able to re-sign him. Carter made no secret of his desire to leave the Indians, preferably to a contender, and a lucrative contract would also be nice.

The Indians found a suitor in the Padres. The teams dickered over whom the Padres would send the Indians’ way for the star slugger. The Indians insisted that Baerga be included in the deal. The Padres viewed Baerga as their third baseman of the future. But the Indians’ persistence won out, and they received Baerga, catcher Sandy Alomar Jr. (Roberto’s brother), and outfielder Chris James for Carter. “I managed against Carlos in the Pacific Coast League in 1989,” said Mike Hargrove. “On my report at the end of the year, I recommended that we should try to acquire him. So did my coaches, Rich Dauer and Rick Adair.”9

The Indians hired John McNamara to manage in 1990. Cleveland was putting together a solid nucleus of young talent, and it began with Baerga and Alomar. The two newcomers were blended with Albert Belle, Cory Snyder, Jerry Browne, and Brook Jacoby. Tom Candiotti, Greg Swindell, and Buddy Black anchored the starting rotation.

Alomar was a star right away. He was named the starting catcher on the 1990 AL All-Star team, won the Gold Glove, and was voted Rookie of the Year. Baerga would have to wait a bit for his time to come. Browne was entrenched at second base and Jacoby manned third. The Indians had signed Keith Hernandez to play first base. But Hernandez suffered through various injuries and played in only 42 games. His injuries offered the break that benefited Baerga; Jacoby moved to first base and Baerga became the new third baseman. “From the time he got to Cleveland, Carlos was the heart and soul of the Indians,” said batting coach José Morales. “We sent him down to Triple A for two weeks in his rookie year, and team spirit just sank. When he came back, it was like a kid returning to his family. He brings an energy, a unity to the team.”10

Baerga hit .266 his rookie season. On September 20 at Yankee Stadium, the 5-foot-11, 165-pound infielder went 4-for-5 with three doubles (a career high) and a triple with three runs scored and three RBIs. The barrage came the day after his first child, a daughter, was born. “Baerga is a hitting machine and maybe his wife should have a baby every night,” said McNamara.11 Although the Indians finished with a 77-85 record, they found themselves in fourth place in the AL East. It was something to build on for the young Tribe.

Indeed, Baerga’s enthusiasm for the game was unbridled and was contagious. He was a fan favorite for his all-out hustle. But in his second season, the Indians proved unable to build on the success from 1990. McNamara was fired (Hargrove replaced him) and the team topped 100 losses.

But the pieces were beginning to come together. Charles Nagy became the leader of the pitching staff. Kenny Lofton was acquired from Houston to solidify center field and bat leadoff. Paul Sorrento was acquired from Minnesota to provide a left-handed bat and he was an above-average first baseman. The Indians worked to sign Belle, Alomar, Nagy, Belle, Lofton, and Baerga to long-term deals, selling them on the talent of the core team.

Baerga made their investment pay off. In back-to-back seasons (1992 and ’93) he hit more than 20 home runs, drove in more than 100 runs, and batted over .300. He was the first second baseman to achieve these numbers in consecutive seasons since Rogers Hornsby turned the trick in 1921 and 1922.

Baerga entered the record books on April 8, 1993. He hit two home runs in the seventh inning against the New York Yankees, one from each side of the plate. He connected off Steve Howe for a two run-shot, then hit a solo home run off Steve Farr. The Indians scored nine runs in the inning on their way to a 15-5 victory. “It’s exciting,” said Baerga. “They told me I set a record when I got back to the dugout after the second homer, but I didn’t believe them. When I got to the clubhouse after the game, Bobby DiBiasio, our public-relations man, told me I’d set a record.”12 Baerga’s record night did not surprise Hargrove. “The beauty about him is that there’s no way to pitch him. He hits to all fields,” the manager said.13

Baerga made the All-Star Game for the first time in 1992 and repeated in 1993. The Indians finished with identical 76-86 records in both seasons.

In 1994 the Indians said goodbye to Cleveland Stadium and relocated to the new Jacobs Field, across downtown. The baseball-only venue was a boon for the Tribe. The Indians had brought in veteran leadership in the offseason, signing Eddie Murray and Dennis Martinez. They traded for shortstop Omar Vizquel. Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome arrived through the farm system. The results were favorable. The Indians were one game behind Chicago in the new AL Central when the season ended on August 12 because of the players strike. Although the development was a big disappointment to Tribe fans, baseball fever had indeed returned to the North Coast.

The strike wiped out the 1994 postseason and bled over into the 1995 season. Baerga finished the 1994 season with 19 home runs, 80 RBIs, and a .314 batting average.

After play resumed in late April of 1995, Cleveland broke through its 41-year stretch of not appearing in a postseason game. The Indians won 100 games and Baerga, batting third in the potent Cleveland lineup, was third on the team with 90 RBIs. He batted .314. Cleveland swept Boston in the ALDS and topped Seattle in six games in the ALCS. The Indians met the Atlanta Braves in the World Series. The old adage that good pitching will defeat good hitting proved accurate, as the Braves captured the world championship in six games.

Baerga hit .400 in the ALCS and drove in four runs in both the ALCS and the World Series. He knocked in the first two runs in the Indians’ 5-2 victory in Game Two of the ALDS and three runs in their 7-6, 11-inning Game Three win in the World Series. All told, he hit .292 in the 1995 postseason.

The one constant in Baerga’s career to this point was his desire to play winter ball in his native Puerto Rico. He was lauded by Puerto Rican fans for his work in the community as well as his work on the diamond. He often held clinics and his enthusiasm for the game was infectious. “They won’t even let you take batting practice,” Baerga said, referring to the young fans. “They come right onto the field for autographs.”14

Baerga was also a fan favorite in Cleveland. His all-out effort between the lines and his effervescent personality off it endeared him to hard-working, blue-collar town. Thus the backlash the Indians front office received when they traded Baerga on July 29, 1996, was not unexpected. The Indians swapped Baerga and utility infielder Alvaro Espinoza to the New York Mets in a trade-deadline swap for infielders Jeff Kent and José Vizcaino. Baerga’s numbers were on the downside (10 home runs, 55 RBIs, .267 batting average) through 100 games. The Indians cited Baerga’s weight gain. (He was said to have been 20 to 25 pounds overweight in spring training.) His work ethic and priorities were also questioned by the Indians brass. Baerga suffered a slight fracture in his right ankle and played in only about 10 games in the winter league. He used the winter league to stay in shape, hence the weight gain. He was also battling a badly sprained left wrist and a strained groin.

“When you get close to the trading deadline, you never know what’s going to happen,” said New York GM Joe McIlvaine. “To be honest, when they dropped Baerga’s name, I was a little surprised. I thought, ‘Here’s a chance to get a good, quality player.’ And we did it. I don’t think a year ago we could’ve acquired Carlos Baerga.”15

The presence of second baseman Edgardo Alfonzo on the Mets created a question of where Baerga would be stationed. As it turned out, an abdominal strain limited Baerga to 26 Mets games, mostly at first base, and a.193 batting average.

Bobby Valentine took over for Dallas Green as the Mets manager with a month to go in the 1996 season. Over the next two seasons, Baerga recaptured his second-base spot. Alfonzo was moved to third. Manager Valentine, who at times could be as subtle as a sledgehammer, would comment about Baerga’s approach to hitting as “an embarrassment.”16 Baerga felt the pressure to produce, feeling that he needed to prove his worth every day. But he did not have a strong lineup like the one in Cleveland to back him up. His batting average was .274 over the 1997 and 1998 seasons, but his power numbers were dismal. The ball was not jumping off his bat as it once had.

One longtime major-league executive explained Baerga’s decline this way: “Carlos is a God-given good hitter, and sometimes a player like that takes a lot for granted, doesn’t stay on top of his physical conditioning and mental preparation. And there’s no doubt in my mind that is what happened to him. I mean, he’s always had a thick body, but last year, well, he just got plain heavy. I think it’s all related (to his weight and conditioning). I was really surprised the Mets took him. No … I was shocked.”17

The Mets did not pick up Baerga’s option year in 1999. The rest of his career was a composite of being signed, being waived, and riding the bench. St. Louis signed him for the 1999 season, but waived him at the end of spring training. Cincinnati signed Baerga, but sent him to Triple-A Indianapolis before the season, and released him after two months. In a bit of déjà vu, San Diego signed Baerga, and then traded him back to the Indians for the balance of the 1999 season.

Baerga signed on with Tampa Bay for 2000, but his contract was voided before the season began. He signed with Seattle for 2001, but was released before the start of the season. He bided his time in independent leagues and for Samsung in the Korean League. Baerga eventually made his way back to the big leagues as a role player with Boston (2002), Arizona (2003-2004), and Washington (2005). After the 2005 season Baerga retired with a lifetime batting average of .291, 1,583 hits, 134 home runs, and 774 RBIs.

Baerga worked for ESPN as a Spanish-language broadcaster. He also helped coach the Puerto Rican National Baseball team. He also became the owner of the Bayamon Cowboys in the Puerto Rican Winter League.

Baerga married the former Miriam Cruz. They had two children, Karla and Carlos. In 2013 Baerga was inducted along with former Indians GM John Hart into the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame. As of 2016 he was an ambassador for the Indians, making community appearances and spreading good will.

In 2016 Baerga threw out the first pitch in Game Two of the World Series at Progressive Field. He was, of course, cheered enthusiastically as he threw a perfect pitch to home plate.

Last revised: June 1, 2018

This biography appeared in “Puerto Rico and Baseball: 60 Biographies” (SABR, 2017), edited by Bill Nowlin and Edwin Fernández. It also appears in “1995 Cleveland Indians: The Sleeping Giant Awakes” (SABR, 2019), edited by Joseph Wancho.

Notes   

1 ESPN, Outside the Lines, “Indians Boating Tragedy,” March 18, 2003. espn.com/page2/tvlistings/show155_transcript.html.

2 Frank Lidz, “Slick With the Stick,” Sports Illustrated, April 5, 1994: 66.

3 Ibid.

4 Rick Lawes, “Baerga Has Big Talent,” USA Today Baseball Weekly, January 13-26, 1993: 4.

5 Paul Hoynes, “Rock Solid: Carlos Baerga Is Part of the Foundation on Which the Indians Built a Winning Club,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, July 3, 1995: 8-D.

6 Ibid.

7 Lawes.

8 Ibid.

9 Hoynes, July 3, 1995: 9-D.

10 Lidz.

11 Russell Schneider, “Tribe Rolls to Victory,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, September 21, 1990: 1-E.

12 Paul Hoynes, “Baerga’s Blasts Rip Yankees: Two-HR Inning Sets Mark,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, April 9, 1993: 1C.

13 Ibid.

14 Lidz, 64.

15 Ray McNulty, “Net Heist Brings Baerga,” New York Post, July 30, 1996.

16 Buster Olney, “Benching Doesn’t Sit Well With Baerga,” New York Times, April 23, 1997: B11.

17 Michael P. Geffner, “The Sound and the Fury,” The Sporting News, May 5, 1997: 18.