WHY I THINK MOISES ALOU SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

WHY I THINK MOISES ALOU SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN 

By- Damien 

Back in the 1960’s, three of the best outfielders in the game were all brothers - Felipe, Matty, and Jesus Alou. In 1963, the trio all played together in the Giants’ outfield. In 1990, one of baseball’s top prospects - Felipe’s son Moises - debuted with the Pirates. He became the fifth of six members in the Alou family tree to play in the MLB. By the time he was through he had established himself as the greatest member of the family dynasty, as he was one of the best hitters of his era. An adequate fielder who played all three outfield positions, Alou was one of the best sluggers of his time, nine times topping 20 homers in a season. He also hit for a high batting average, finishing up with a career mark of .303. Moises Alou started his career in 1990, making 21 plate appearances for two teams. He missed all of 1991 on account of injuries but came back in 1992 as the runner up for NL Rookie of the Year honors. He had a breakout year in 1994, when he batted .339 for the Montreal Expos with 22 homers and 78 RBI’s in the strike torn season. Alou played with the Expos until 1997, when he made his debut with the Florida Marlins. Although he stayed in Florida for only a season, he made the most of it, driving in 115 runs and leading the club to its first ever World Series Title. Alou had a career year for Houston in 1998 (.312, 38 homers) but missed another season to injuries in 1999. He came back with his best season to date in 2000 (.355, 30, 114 in 126 games) and followed up with a .331 season in 2001. Alou then played three seasons with the Cubs, hitting a career high 39 home runs in 2004 at the age of 37. Alou made headlines when he joined the Giants in 2005, as Felipe was the manager of the team (he had previously played several seasons under his father in Montreal). Seeing as how Felipe had been a famous player with the Giants in his day, some people figured that Moises was going to finish out his career in San Francisco. Instead, Alou topped .300 in 2005 and again in 2006, and played two partial seasons with the Mets afterwards. Each time he topped the .340 mark, including a 30 game hitting streak in 2007, and retired after the 2008 season. Moises Alou was a fine hitter, a powerful slugger, and one of the handful of players in the exclusive .300/300 club (.300 batting average and 300 home runs). It feels like there should be an Alou in the Hall of Fame, and Moises is the one who fits the mold. 

LIFETIME STATISTICS 

Games career: 1,942 season high: 159 in 1998 

At Bats career: 7,037 season high: 601 in 2004 

Hits career: 2,134 season high: 182 in 1998 

Doubles career: 421 season high: 36 in 2004 

Triples career: 39 season high: 6 in 1993 

Home Runs career: 332 season high: 39 in 2004 

Runs career: 1,109 season high: 106 in 2004 

Runs Batted In career: 1,287 season high: 124 in 1998 

Stolen Bases career: 106 season high: 17 in 1993 

Walks career: 737 season high: 84 in 1998 

Strikeouts career: 894 season high: 87 in 1998 

Batting Average career: .303 season high: .355 in 2000 

On Base Percentage career: .369 season high: .416 in 2000 

Slugging Percentage career: .516 season high: .623 in 2000 

Total Bases career: 3,629 season high: 340 in 1998 

Sacrifice Hits career: 9 season high: 5 in 1992 

Fielding Percentage career: .980 season high: .991 in 2002 led NL RF: .995 in 1996 led NL LF: .990 in 2002 

Double Plays career: 20 season high: 3 in 2001 and 2005 

Putouts career: 3,114 season high: 261 in 1996 

Assists career: 95 season high: 11 in 1993 and 1998 

DID YOU KNOW? 

-cousin of Jose Sosa and Mel Rojas 

-played under Felipe’s management during his tenure with the Giants 

-finished third in the NL MVP Award voting in both 1994 and 1998, tenth in 1997, 14th in both 2001 and 2004, 20th in 2000, and 24th in 1996 

-won the 1997 NL Babe Ruth Award 

-batted .500 in six all-star games, and had the winning hit for the NL in 1994 

-was a two time Silver Slugger (in 1994 and 1998) 

-won four career NL Player of the Week awards 

-his 30 game hitting streak in 2007 was the longest in the NL, set the Mets’ franchise record, and was the longest by any player age 40 or older 

-went 1-for-2 in his final MLB game 

-homered in his first at bat with the Marlins on Opening Day 1997 

-was the runner up for the NL Batting Title in 2000 

-batted .276 with five home runs and 24 RBI’s in 34 career postseason games, including .321 in his only World Series 

-also played 23 games as a DH, 66 as a pinch hitter, and nine as a pinch runner