TDA Bullpen - Our Writers' Blog

Sunday, March 20, 2005

Roberto Alomar - Only One Way To Remember This Player

One of the most talented baseball players ever called it a career Saturday. There was no announcement of a final season. No farewell tour of all the great ballparks he played in over the last 17 seasons. Just an abrupt ending to what was mostly a stellar career. After a dismal performance in a spring game Friday, Alomar knew it was over. He signed with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays this past winter hoping to see enough playing time to add to a career hit total that was 276 hits short of 3000. He knew he would just be keeping the second base position warm until highly touted Jorge Cantu was ready to take over full time, but at this stage of Alomar's career and with not many options available to him, he accepted that role. He never made it to opening day.

Alomar retires as a 12 time all star and with 10 gold glove awards on his mantle. He won back to back World Series titles with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1992 and 1993 and leaves the game with an even .300 batting average, fitting for a player who was a model of consistency through most of his playing career.

Roberto Alomar was born into a baseball family. His father Sandy played 15 seasons in the big leagues and older brother Sandy Jr. is still active today. Alomar began his career in 1988 with San Diego and played three seasons with the Padres until a blockbuster trade brought him and Joe Carter to the Blue Jays in exchange for Fred McGriff and Tony Fernandez. After playing five seasons in Canada, Alomar moved on to play three seasons with the Baltimore Orioles and then three seasons with the Cleveland Indians. With Cleveland, fans were treated to an amazing double play combination as Alomar played alongside the amazing Omar Vizquel. Alomar enjoyed two of his most productive seasons in Cleveland when in 1999 he drove in 120 runs with a .323 batting average and in 2001 when he drove in 100 runs and batted .336.

After his all star season of 2001 the Indians began a youth movement and Alomar was traded to the New York Mets in a deal that at the time was considered a blockbuster. It was a trade that ended up not working out for either team. The Indians received what was supposed to be a prize prospect in Alex Escobar, and a veteran in Matt Lawton who had enjoyed some solid seasons in Minnesota which included a trip to the 2000 All Star Game. Escobar hurt himself in his very first spring with the Indians and missed the entire 2002 season and was never the player he was advertised to be. Lawton was quickly signed to a 4 year, 28 million dollar deal and performed miserably as an Indian for all but 3 months of the three seasons he was there. Escobar is now with the Washington Nationals and Lawton was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates. After the deal Roberto Alomar's career started to decline, and quickly.

After one and a half less than productive seasons in Queens, Alomar was dealt to the White Sox in 2003 and finished out the season in an unsuccessful attempt of the Sox trying to win the AL Central. Alomar signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks for the 2004 season but broke his hand and spent two months on the disabled list. He ended up playing in only 38 games with the Diamondbacks and once again finished the season in Chicago, appearing in 18 games with the White Sox. Alomar hit .263 with 24 RBI's in the 56 games that he appeared in during the 2004 season.

The Devil Rays signed Alomar with hopes that he could revive his career and mentor Cantu. After all, who better to teach a young player how to play second base other than Roberto Alomar.

I remember being at Safeco Field in 2001 to watch the Cleveland Indians play the Seattle Mariners. My dad and I got to the game early. Watching Jim Thome hit bombs in to the bleachers was something to see, but watching Alomar take infield practice was the real treat of the day. My dad and I marveled watching Alomar take ground balls, catching them in his glove and then effortlessly flipping the ball over to the second base bag without ever transferring the ball to his throwing hand. We could have watched him do that for hours.

Many might choose to remember Alomar for the darkest day of his career when in a September game in 1996 Alomar spit on umpire John Hirschbeck. It was an incident that Alomar and Hirschbeck were able to get over but it was something that many fans have never forgotten.

Unfortunately some might only remember the last three seasons of Alomar's career where he bounced around from team to team as if he was a mediocre journeyman second baseman.

When one thinks of the best second basemen to ever grace the diamond, names like Rogers Hornsby, Eddie Collins, Nellie Fox, Bill Mazeroski, Joe Morgan and Ryne Sandberg come to mind. That list is not complete without Roberto Alomar's name on it.

We should all remember Robbie Alomar for what he truly is, one of the greatest to ever play the game.

posted by Dean Swanton 12:05 AM