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Matty Alou

Matty Alou Marquee

b. December 22, 1938 · San Francisco Giants 1960–1965, Pittsburgh Pirates 1966–1970, St. Louis Cardinals 1971–1973, Oakland Athletics 1972, New York Yankees 1973, San Diego Padres 1974

He had hit .231 for San Francisco in 1965 and been traded to Pittsburgh, where Harry Walker told him to choke up, use a heavier bat and hit the ball on the ground to the left side. He hit .342 in 1966, the best average in the National League. Felipe Alou hit .327 for Atlanta and finished second. No two brothers have ever run one-two like that.

He hit .330 or better in four straight seasons and led the league in hits and doubles in 1969, with 231 and 41. Fifteen seasons gave him 1,777 hits, 236 doubles, 156 stolen bases and a .307 average, with two All-Star selections.

He played beside both of his brothers in a San Francisco outfield in 1963, which had never happened, and finished with Oakland, the Yankees and San Diego. He played in Japan after that. The 1980 ballot gave him five votes of 385. He died in 2011, at seventy-two.

Honors

AwardTimesYears
All-Star selection 2 1968, 1969
The Sporting News All-Star 1 1969

Batting, season by season

YearTeam GABR H2B3B HRRBIBB SOSBAVG
1960 SFG 4311 000 0000 .333
1961 SFG 812003862 726 2415183 .310
1962 SFG 781952857 813 1414173 .292
1963 SFG 6376411 100 22130 .145
1964 SFG 1102502866 421 1411255 .264
1965 SFG 1173243775 1222 18172810 .231
1966 PIT 14153586183 1892 27244423 .342
1967 PIT 13955087186 2172 28244216 .338
1968 PIT 14655859185 2840 52272618 .332
1969 PIT 162698105231 4161 48423522 .331
1970 PIT 15567797201 2181 47301819 .297
1971 STL 14960985192 2867 74342719 .315
1972 OAK/STL 14052557161 2224 47353513 .307
1973 NYY/STL 13450860150 2212 2931435 .295
1974 SDP 4881816 300 3560 .198
Career 166757897801777 2365031 427311377156 .307

Pitching, season by season

YearTeam WLG GSSVIP HERBB SOERA
1965 SFG 0010 02.03 0130.00
Career 0010 02.03 013 0.00

On this day & linked events

1938

Born December 22, 1938

Bajos de Haina, San Cristóbal, D.R.

2011

Died November 3, 2011

1960

Major-league debut: Matty Alou

Matty Alou made a major-league debut on September 26, 1960.

1974

Final major-league game: Matty Alou

Matty Alou played a final major-league game on June 21, 1974.

Image: ebay.com, front of photo, back of photo, public domain