The middle brother of the three Alous ....Coming off his all around best season where he showed
greater pop (6 homers) and more RBI production (72) than ever before....Famous
early for having two brothers on the SF Giants...performance was definitely inconsistent
hampered by injuries and sibling or superstar competition...it wasn’t until a
trade to Pirates that Mateo made his name....1966 astounded the baseball world
with a .342 best in NL....the cause was totally new batting approach that
emphasized choking up on the bat, hitting downward, and bunting when
needed....next 3 seasons more of same, a .330+ average, finishing 3rd,
2nd, and 4th in successive years...1969 was especially
effective leading the league in at bats, hits, doubles plus was starting all
star....1970 BA dropped to .297 a figure still very good for most....still led
NL in at bats....hit .307 in 1972 splitting time in St Louis then
Oakland....Traded to Yankees for 1973 where he hit .296 good for 10th
place in AL....made a brief return to Cardinals at the end of season addition
for an intended playoff berth....1974: sold to Padres but could not get
untracked and was released mid season....finished with a .307 lifetime BA....passed away in 2011
The 3 Alou brothers were in the same outfield only once - in a September 1963 game.
ReplyDelete(Had to find room for Willie Mays, after all!)
Harry "The Hat" Walker worked wonders with Matty's hitting, once he came to Pittsburgh.
Yes for 1 1/2 innings they were all together. It probably would have happened more but Jesus did not get called up until late 1963. You are absolutely right about Harry Walker, Matty was a totally different player. I like the Alou story. I like how each played a little different. I've always admired Felipe's ability to manage teams.
ReplyDeleteI think I remember the deal that sent him from Pittsburgh to St. Louis. Wasn't it a complicated multi-team, multi-player trade?
ReplyDelete