Highlighted Year: Felipe Alou, 1966

First Baseman/Outfielder, Atlanta Braves

Age:  31 (May 12)

3^rd season with Braves

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’0”    Weight: 195 

Prior to 1966:

A native of the Dominican Republic, Alou was the son of a carpenter and blacksmith. He fished and swam in the nearby ocean and developed into an excellent athlete and student. He became a member of the Dominican national track team and played baseball for local amateur teams. He entered a pre-med program at the University of Santo Domingo and also played baseball and was a member of the Dominican Republic’s gold-medal winning squad in the 1955 Pan-American Games. Not initially interested in pursuing a major league career until his father and uncle lost their jobs, he signed with the New York Giants for $200. Alou was initially assigned to Lake Charles in the Class C Evangeline League in 1956, which was expelled from the league along with another integrated team. Reassigned to the Cocoa Indians of the Class D Florida State League, the 21-year-old outfielder was homesick and dealing with racism for the first time but performed well by batting a league-leading .380 with 15 doubles, 6 triples, 21 home runs, 99 RBIs, a .460 on-base percentage, and a .582 slugging percentage. Advancing to Minneapolis of the Class AAA American Association in 1957, Alou hit poorly and was demoted after 24 games to Springfield of the Class A Eastern League where he batted .306 with 12 home runs, 71 RBIs, a .354 OBP, and a .462 slugging percentage. With the move of the Giants to San Francisco, Phoenix of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League became their top minor league club and Alou was sent there to start the 1958 season. He was hitting .319 with 13 home runs and 42 RBIs when the Giants called him up in June. He got off to a hot start at the plate while playing regularly in right field but tailed off to finish at .253 with 4 home runs, 16 RBIs, and a .325 OBP. Part of a crowded outfield situation in 1959, Alou appeared in 95 games and hit .275 with 10 home runs, 33 RBIs, a .318 OBP, and a .466 slugging percentage. Impressive defensively, the team’s move to Candlestick Park in 1960 resulted in his batting .264 with 17 doubles, 8 home runs, 44 RBIs, a .299 OBP, and a .410 slugging percentage over the course of 106 games and 322 at bats. By 1961 his brother Mateo (known as Matty) was a teammate (and outfield platoon partner) on the Giants, and they would soon be joined by another brother, Jesus, yet another oufielder. Appearing in 132 games in ’61 Alou hit .289 with 18 home runs, 52 RBIs, a .333 OBP, and a .465 slugging percentage. He held the right field job to himself in 1962, a pennant-winning season for the Giants. He proved adept at adjusting to the tricky winds at Candlestick Park and also batted .316 with 30 doubles, 25 home runs, 98 RBIs, a .356 OBP, and a .513 slugging percentage. He was an All-Star for the first time and placed thirteenth in league MVP voting. In his first taste of postseason action, he hit .269 in the seven-game World Series loss to the Yankees and most gallingly struck out in the ninth inning of the climactic seventh game when he was unable to execute a sacrifice bunt with Matty on first base and no outs while down 1-0. He followed up with another solid year in 1963, batting .281 with 20 home runs, 82 RBIs, a .319 OBP, and a .474 slugging percentage. During this time, he became an outspoken advocate for Latin American ballplayers. In the offseason Alou was traded to the Milwaukee Braves as part of a seven-player deal. Having suffered a knee injury while playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic, Alou had difficulty at the plate and in the outfield. His hitting dropped off to .253 with 26 doubles, 9 home runs, 51 RBIs, a .306 OBP, and a .395 slugging percentage. Appearing primarily in center field, he was also utilized at first base. Returning to form in 1965, he batted .297 with 29 doubles, 23 home runs, 78 RBIs, a .338 OBP, and a .481 slugging percentage. Defensively he split time between first base and the outfield. A lame-duck team in Milwaukee in ’65, the Braves made the move to Atlanta in 1966.

1966 Season Summary

Appeared in 154 games

1B – 89, LF – 45, CF – 43, RF – 5, 3B – 3, SS – 1

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 706 [2]

At Bats – 666 [1]

Runs – 122 [1]

Hits – 218 [1]

Doubles – 32 [4]

Triples – 6 [17, tied with six others]

Home Runs – 31 [8]

RBI – 74

Bases on Balls – 24

Int. BB – 6

Strikeouts – 51

Stolen Bases – 5

Caught Stealing – 7 [19, tied with five others]

Average - .327 [2]

OBP - .361 [10, tied with Orlando Cepeda]

Slugging Pct. - .533 [9]

Total Bases – 355 [1]

GDP – 11

Hit by Pitches – 12 [3, tied with Adolfo Phillips]

Sac Hits – 2

Sac Flies – 2 

League-leading at bats were +10 ahead of runner-up Glenn Beckert

League-leading runs scored were +5 ahead of runner-up Hank Aaron

League-leading hits were +13 ahead of runner-up Pete Rose

League-leading total bases were +13 ahead of runner-up Roberto Clemente

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 17, HR - 20, RBI - 45, AVG - .298, SLG - .504, OBP – .326

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Most hits, game – 5 (in 5 AB) at San Francisco 4/26

Longest hitting streak – 16 games

HR at home – 19

HR on road – 12

Most home runs, game – 2 on six occasions

Multi-HR games – 6

Most RBIs, game – 3 at LA Dodgers 7/9, at LA Dodgers 8/23

Pinch-hitting – No appearances

Fielding (1B)

Chances – 832

Put Outs – 769

Assists – 53

Errors – 10

DP – 63

Pct. - .988

Awards & Honors:

NL All-Star: Sporting News

All-Star

5^th in NL MVP voting (83 points – 2 first place votes, 30% share)

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In their first season in Atlanta, the Braves went 85-77 to finish fifth in the NL, 10 games behind the pennant-winning Los Angeles Dodgers while drawing 1,539,801 spectators to Atlanta Stadium and leading the league in runs scored (782), home runs (207), RBIs (734), and walks drawn (512). The hard-hitting Braves, taking advantage of their new power-friendly home venue, and lacking quality pitching, were at 52-59 when manager Bobby Bragan was replaced by Billy Hitchcock in August. The club caught fire and went 33-18 the rest of the way to finish with a winning record. Splitting time between first base and the outfield, Alou was typically the leadoff hitter and contended for the NL batting title, eventually finishing second to brother Matty.

Aftermath of 1966:

Hindered by bone chips in his elbow in 1967, Alou’s batting production dipped to .274 with 26 doubles, 14 home runs, 43 RBIs, 76 runs scored, a .318 OBP, and a .408 slugging percentage. He still saw most of his action at first base while making 56 appearances in the outfield. He rebounded in 1968 to .317 with 37 doubles, 5 triples, 11 home runs, 57 RBIs, and a league-leading 210 hits while also compiling a .365 OBP and .438 slugging percentage. Defensively, he appeared exclusively in center field. Hitting well to start the 1969 season, Alou suffered a broken finger and missed two weeks in June. The Braves swung a trade with San Diego for veteran outfielder Tony Gonzalez, who platooned with Alou in center field during the remainder of the season. Appearing in 123 games, Alou batted .282 with 13 doubles, 5 home runs, 32 RBIs, a .319 OBP, and a .345 slugging percentage. In the offseason he was traded to the Oakland Athletics for RHP Jim Nash. Playing primarily in left field with the A’s in 1970, he hit .271 with 25 doubles, 8 home runs, 55 RBIs, a .308 OBP, and a .367 slugging percentage. Dealt to the New York Yankees early into the 1971 season, he returned to splitting time at first base and the outfield, and following a slow first half, he came on strong to finish at .288 with 21 doubles, 6 triples, 8 home runs, 69 RBIs, a .333 OBP, and a .409 slugging percentage. Primarily a first baseman in 1972, Alou played in 120 games and batted .278 with 25 extra-base hits and a .326 OBP. Hitting only .236 for the Yankees in 1973, he was dealt to Montreal where he finished the season. Sold to the Milwaukee Brewers in the offseason, he lasted only three games before being released, thus ending his playing career at age 39. For his major league career, Alou batted .286 with 2101 hits that included 359 doubles, 49 triples, and 206 home runs. He scored 985 runs and compiled 852 RBIs, 107 stolen bases, a .328 OBP, and a .433 slugging percentage. With the Braves he batted .295 with 989 hits, 464 runs scored, 163 doubles, 20 triples, 94 home runs, 335 RBIs, 40 stolen bases, a .338 OBP, and a .440 slugging percentage. Appearing in eight postseason games he hit .259 with one RBI. A three-time All-Star, he twice finished in the top 10 in NL MVP voting. Following his playing career, Alou managed in the Dominican Republic and in the minor leagues. He also coached and managed at the major league level, producing a 1033-1021 record with the Montreal Expos and San Francisco Giants. He received National League Manager of the Year recognition with the Expos in 1994. His brother Matty played in the major leagues until 1974 and Jesus from 1963-79, most notably with the Giants and Houston. His son Moises was an outfielder from 1990 until 2008, most notably with Montreal, the Marlins, Houston, the Cubs, and the Giants.

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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league in one of the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum of 10), runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20); or pitchers who led a major league in wins, strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a minimum of 10). Also included are participants in annual All-Star Games between the National and American Leagues since 1933. This category also includes Misc. players who received award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the postseason, or had notable seasons in non-award years.