Remembering Sandy Alomar Sr: Former Mets Player & Coach (1967 / 2005 - 2010)

Santos Sandy Alomar was born October 19, 1943, in Salinas, Puerto Rico. His father Demetrio was a sugar mill operator & his mother Rosa raised the family of eight children. 

Baseball ran big in the family, as three of his brothers also made it to professional baseball although Sandy was the only one to get to the major leagues.

In 1960 the five-foot nine switch hitter was signed by the Milwaukee Braves at age 16. In his first season in the minors, he was roommates with his brother Demetrio Alomar at Iowa.

In 1963 he batted .292 at AA Austin, getting promoted to AAA Denver the next year.

In Sandy's playing career he was known a good steady defensive second baseman with speed on the bases. Alomar was line drive singles hitter & good sacrifice hitter as well. 

MLB Career: In 1964 Alomar got a September call up with Milwaukee. In his first MLB at bat, he singled off the St. Louis Cardinals (future Met) Ray Sadecki driving in a run. 

From 1964 - 1966, Alomar played as a reserve with the Braves, making the move from Milwaukee to Atlanta. In 1965 he saw the most action playing in 67 games at short stop behind Woody Woodward.

In December 1966 Alomar was traded, along with Hall of Famer Eddie Mathews, who was at the end of his playing career, to the Houston Astros for Bob Bruce & Dave Nicholson. Then at the end of Spring Training, he was traded to the New York Mets for Derrell Griffith.

Mets Playing Career: Alomar made his Mets debut in the second game of the 1967 season getting inserted as a pinch runner in a 3-2 win over the Pirates. 

On April 20th, he scored a run after being inserted as a pinch runner in the second game of a double header in a 6-1 win over the Chicago Cubs. 

Alomar played in just 15 games in his Mets playing career, going hitless in 22 at bats, striking out six times. On May 13th he was sent down to AAA Jacksonville.

On August 15th, 1967, Alomar was sent to the Chicago White Sox along with veteran Ken Boyer for Billy Southworth & a player to be named later.

Post Mets Career: In 1968 Sandy became the White Sox regular second baseman batting .253 with 21 stolen bases in 133 games played. In May of 1969, after a slow start he was traded to the California Angels for Bobby Knoop. 

All Glove No Hit Rep.: Sandy was bitter on how he was treated in his first few years, plying on four different teams in five seasons, being told he was an all glove no hit player.

But Alomar found a home in southern California; he was the Angels main second baseman for the next five seasons (1969-1973) becoming a steady reliable player. 

Upon his arrival, Angels Manager Bill Rigney said the team hadn't had a leadoff man, saying that Sandy's singles & speed on the bases would bring excitement to the fans. 

In 1970 & 1971, Alomar played every game, leading the league in games played & plate appearances both years. 

Stolen Bases: In those years he stole over thirty bases both times & would be in the A.L.'s top ten in stolen bases six years in a row. 

In 1970 Alomar's 35 stolen bases were third most in the AL as he batted .251 with a .302 on base %. He played 153 games at second base (2nd in the AL) with 40 assists (2nd in the AL) 375 put outs (3rd in the AL) making 18 errors (2nd in the AL) 

1970 All Star: That year Alomar was named to the All-Star team replacing the injured Rod Carew. Alomar & 22 game winner Clyde Wright represented the Angels in the All-Star game played at the new Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. 

In the bottom of the 11th inning, Alomar came into the game to play second base. He got one at bat, flying out facing the Dodgers, Claude Osteen.  It was this game that the NL won, in the bottom of the 12th when Pete Rose barreled over catcher Ray Fosse at home plate scoring on Jim Hickman's walk off hit.

In 1971, Sandy was second in the AL in hits (179) although he batted just .260 due to his league leading 689 at bats. That year he had career highs in doubles (24) HRs (4) RBIs (42) & stolen bases (39). That year he was third in the league behind Royals players Amos Otis & Fred Patek in steals.

At second base he was second in the league with a .989 fielding % turning over 100 double plays for the third straight season. He made just nine errors in 791 chances, with 350 put outs. 

Baseball Book: In 1972 he helped coauthor the book How to Play Infield.

Two Nolan Ryan No Hitters: In 1973, Alomar was the second baseman for the Angels in Nolan Ryan's first career two no hitters helping in the put outs. 

Unfortunately for Sandy that year he broke his leg & missed over thirty games.

By 1974 he the Angles had acquired Denny Doyle who took over the main second baseman job. 

In May 1974 his contract was purchased by the AL New York team where he became the teams regular second baseman for the rest of the season & thru 1975. Alomar succeeded Horace Clarke & Fernando Gonzalez at the position.

In 1975 Alomar played in 151 games hitting .239 with two HRs 13 doubles & 39 RBIs. Alomar was the team's last second baseman before Willie Randolph took over the position for the next 13 years. 

1976 Post Season: In 1976 Alomar played in 76 games mostly behind Randolph at second base. In the ALCS against the Kansas City Royals, Alomar appeared in Game #4 as a pinch hitter (0-1) then as a pinch runner in Game Five. He was on deck when Chris Chambliss hit his walk off series ending HR.

That December he was traded to the Texas Rangers in exchange for Brian Doyle. He played his final two seasons in Texas.

Career Stats: In a 15-year playing career, Sandy was a lifetime .245 hitter with 1168 hits 126 doubles 19 triples 13 HRs 282 RBIs &558 runs scored. He posted a .290 on base % & .578 OPS. He stole 139 bases in 179 attempts.

On the field he posted a .977 fielding % making just 128 errors in 5688 chances at second base, playing 1156 games. He also played at short, third, first & some outfield.

Retirement- Coaching Career: After his playing career Sandy became a long-time successful coach.

Alomar Family Teammates: From 1986 - 1990 he was with San Diego Padres where he got to coach his two sons, Sandy Alomar Jr. & Roberto Alomar who had both reached the big leagues in 1988. The two Alomar sons, both had successful baseball careers as well, with Sandy Jr. making six All Star appearances & Roberto making 12, getting elected to the Hall of Fame in 2011. 

Sandy Sr. moved on to coach the Chicago Cubs (2000-2002) as bullpen then first base coach. He went to the Colorado Rockies (2003-2004) where he coached third base.

photo by centerfieldmaz

Mets Coach: In 2005 he was bench coach under his old teammate Willie Randolph with the New York Mets. In 2006 he moved to the first base coaching box for the Mets NL Eastern Division winning season. In 2007, he then became the Mets third base coach.

Middle of a Brawl: In 2007, he was front & center in a famous incident on the next to last day of the season. Playing in a game with the Marlins at Shea Stadium, the Mets were fighting for a playoff spot after a late season collapse.

That day the Mets John Maine flirted with a no hitter as the Mets romped the Marlins 13-0. In the bottom of the 5th inning, Marlin pitcher Harvey Garcia threw a pitch behind Luis Castillo.  The benches cleared there were a few shoves but play no punches were thrown as continued. 

Next, during the pitching change, Jose Reyes who was on third base gestured toward Olivio who charged toward third base. Coach Sandy Alomar jumped in front of the catcher blocking him from Ryes but took part of a swing that was meant for Reyes. 

Alomar then held off Olivo one on one as a brawl ensued around then with the benches clearing
again. The Mets won the game that day but lost the next day & were eliminated from the post season.

Sandy Jr: That season at the end of his playing career, Sandy Jr. appeared in eight games for the Mets going 3-22. Once again Father & son were united on the same team. Jr. became the Mets catching instructor for the next two seasons.

centerfieldmaz meets Sandy: In 2008 at Spring Training in Vero Beach Florida at the legendary Dodgertown, centerfieldmaz got to meet Sandy Alomar while sitting in the first row at a Mets / Dodgers game. Of all the players & coaches Alomar was the most accessible to the fans being the true gentleman he was.

In 2008 Alomar Sr. went back to the dugout as Mets bench coach under new manager Jerry Manuel. 

Manager for a Day: In May 2009 he got to manage the team, when Manuel was suspended after an altercation with umpire Bill Welke. That day, the Mets 10-1 win under Alomar put them in first place, although it didn't last long as the season fell apart.

50 Years in MLB: In 2010 Sandy celebrated his 50th season in major league baseball while still working within the Mets organization. 

Sandy Sr. also managed in Puerto Rico, Winter League baseball & for the Puerto Rico National team.

Family: Sandy & his wife Maria have three children & six grandchildren. The Alomar's are devout Catholic's, with Sandy saying his wife Maria was always the spiritual leader of the family.

Roberto Alomar played 17 seasons, 2379 games in the majors with- San Diego (1988-1990) Toronto (1991-1995) Baltimore (1996-1998) Cleveland (1999-2001) Mets (2002-2003) Chicago White Sox (2002-2004) Arizona (2004). 

Roberto batted a career .300 with 2724 hits 504 doubles 80 triples 210 HRs & 1134 RBIs with an .814 OPS making12 All Star teams. 

Roberto played in seven post seasons winning two World Series championships with the Blue Jays. In 2011 he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2011. Roberto's career was tarnished after a spitting / insulting incident with controversial umpire John Hirschbeck.

Sandy Alomar Jr. played 20 years in the majors with- San Diego (1988-1989) Cleveland (1990-2000) Chicago White Sox (2001-2004 / 2006) Colorado (2002) Texas (2005) Los Angeles Dodgers (2006) & Mets (2007). He batted .273 with 1236 hits 249 double 112 HRs & 588 RBIs making three All Star teams. 

Jr. played in five post seasons, getting to two World Series with Cleveland. Behind the plate he caught 1324 games (55th most all time).

Passing: On October 12th, 2025, Sandy Alomar Sr. passed away in Puerto Rico at age 81.