Roberto Alomar Velázquez (born February 5, 1968 in Ponce, Puerto Rico) is a former Major League Baseball player (1988-2004), considered by many to be one of the best second basemen in history. In Baseball statistics, a hit (denoted by H) sometimes called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego California since their founding in 1969 See also 1988 Major League Baseball season Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Cincinnati Reds over Oakland Athletics (4-0 José Rijo, MVP The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Minnesota Twins over Atlanta Braves (4-3 Jack Morris, MVP Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Atlanta Braves over Cleveland Indians (4-2 Tom Glavine, MVP The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees over Atlanta Braves (4-2 John Wetteland, MVP Headline events of the year Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Ken Griffey Jr The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees over Atlanta Braves (4-0 Mariano Rivera, MVP Champions Major League Baseball Regular Season Champions Other champions Caribbean World Series: "Mets" redirects here For the medical term see Metastasis. Champions Major League Baseball Regular Season Champions Other champions Caribbean World Series: Headline event of the year The Florida Marlins become World Series champions holding off a dynastic New York Yankees team 4 games to The Chicago White Sox are a professional Baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. Headline event of the year The Florida Marlins become World Series champions holding off a dynastic New York Yankees team 4 games to Headline events of the year The Boston Red Sox win their first World Series since, ending the Curse of the Bambino. The Arizona Diamondbacks (also referred to as the D-backs) are a professional baseball team based in Phoenix Arizona. Headline events of the year The Boston Red Sox win their first World Series since, ending the Curse of the Bambino. The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also popularly known as the "Midsummer Classic" is an annual Baseball game between players from the National League For the award given to amateur boxers see Golden Gloves. In American Baseball, the Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to The For other events named "World Series" see World Series (disambiguation. The American League Championship Series was played between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Oakland Athletics from October 7 to October 14 The Major League Baseball All-Star Game MVP Award is given to the most outstanding player in each year's Major League Baseball All-Star Game. The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Events 1576 - Henry of Navarre converts to Roman Catholicism in order to ensure his right to the throne of France. Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Ponce ( IPA) officially the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce, is a municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Southern Coastal Plain region Puerto Rico (ˌpwertoˈriko officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ("Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico" {{lang-en|"Associated Free State of Puerto Rico"}} See also 1988 Major League Baseball season Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers Headline events of the year The Boston Red Sox win their first World Series since, ending the Curse of the Bambino. Second base, or 2B, is the second of four stations on a Baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that ^[1][2] He holds the record for most Gold Glove Awards at that position,^[3] and has also won the second most Silver Slugger Awards for a second baseman. For the award given to amateur boxers see Golden Gloves. In American Baseball, the Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to The ^[4]

A native of Salinas, Puerto Rico, Alomar was a switch-hitter and threw right-handed. Salinas (sah-LEE-nahs is a small municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico located in the southern coast of the island south of Aibonito and Cayey In Baseball, a switch-hitter is a batter who is able to hit from both the right and left sides of the plate He is the son of New York Mets third base coach Sandy Alomar, Sr., a former All-Star second baseman with a 15-year MLB experience. "Mets" redirects here For the medical term see Metastasis. Santos "Sandy" Alomar Sr, or in the Spanish naming system Santos Alomar Conde (born October 19, 1943 in Salinas Puerto Rico The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also popularly known as the "Midsummer Classic" is an annual Baseball game between players from the National League His older brother, Sandy Jr., was a Major League catcher. Santos "Sandy" Alomar Jr, or in the Spanish naming system Santos Alomar Velázquez (born June 18, 1966 in Salinas Puerto Rico Catcher is also a general term for a fielder who catches the ball in Cricket.

Career

San Diego Padres

Alomar broke into the Major Leagues in 1988 with the San Diego Padres, where he was regarded as an excellent fielder with speed and a solid bat. See also 1988 Major League Baseball season Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego California since their founding in 1969 Defensively, he displayed excellent lateral range and a powerful arm, often making spectacular plays on ground balls hit deep in the hole between first and second base, and on balls hit up the middle well behind second base. He was an All-Star for the first time in 1990. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Cincinnati Reds over Oakland Athletics (4-0 José Rijo, MVP

Toronto Blue Jays

Roberto Alomar is a member of the Toronto Blue Jays' Level of Excellence. The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

In 1991 he and Joe Carter were traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for Fred McGriff and Tony Fernández. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Minnesota Twins over Atlanta Braves (4-3 Jack Morris, MVP Joseph Christopher Carter (born March 7 1960 in Oklahoma City Oklahoma) is a former Right fielder in Major League Baseball who played The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Frederick Stanley "Crime Dog" McGriff (born October 31, 1963 in Tampa Florida) is a former left-handed Major League Baseball player Octavio Antonio Fernández Castro (born June 30, 1962 in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic) better known as Tony Fernández It was in Toronto that he developed into a premier offensive second baseman, combining a . 300-plus batting average with above average power and high end speed on the bases. Batting average is a Statistic in both Cricket and Baseball measuring the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters, respectively In 1993 he batted . Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Toronto Blue Jays over Philadelphia Phillies (4-2 Paul Molitor, 326, third in the league behind teammates John Olerud, and Paul Molitor. John Garrett Olerud (ˈoʊlɚˌud born August 5, 1968; nicknamed Big Rude, and Johnny O') is a former American First baseman in Paul Leo Molitor (nicknamed Molly or The Ignitor) (born August 22 1956 in Vadnais Heights Minnesota) is a former American Baseball player He was a large part of Toronto's World Series championships in 1992 and 1993. For other events named "World Series" see World Series (disambiguation. The 1992 World Series was the first Series ever played outside of the United States of America. The 1993 World Series was the second Series in a row played outside the United States of America and the second to be won outside the USA Next to Joe Carter's World Series-winning shot in 1993, his home run against Dennis Eckersley in the 1992 ALCS is considered by many as the most important hit in the club's history; Alomar was the MVP of the ALCS. Dennis Lee Eckersley (born October 3 1954 nicknamed "Eck" is a former American Major League Baseball player The American League Championship Series was played between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Oakland Athletics from October 7 to October 14 In each of his five seasons with the Blue Jays, Alomar was on the All-Star team, and won the Gold Glove award.

He is commonly regarded by Blue Jay fans to be the best player they have ever had. On March 20, 2008, the Toronto Blue Jays announced that Alomar would be elevated to the Level of Excellence at Toronto's Rogers Centre, joining such Blue Jay legends as George Bell, Joe Carter and Tony Fernández. George Bell may refer to George Joseph Bell (1770 — 1843 Scottish jurist George Bell (publisher (1814 — 1890 British publisher Joseph Christopher Carter (born March 7 1960 in Oklahoma City Oklahoma) is a former Right fielder in Major League Baseball who played Octavio Antonio Fernández Castro (born June 30, 1962 in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic) better known as Tony Fernández Alomar also announced that if he is elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame he would like to go in wearing a Blue Jays hat, which would make him the first player to do so. At 6:55 PM (ET), on April 4, 2008, Alomar's name and number were added to the Level of Excellence at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, along with Paul Beeston, prior to the home opener game of the 2008 season. SkyDome redirects here for other uses see SkyDome (disambiguation Paul McGill Beeston, CM (born June 20 1945) is the former president of Major League Baseball and former president of the Toronto Blue Jays Alomar and Beeston were presented commissioned portraits at the ceremony.

Baltimore Orioles

In 1995, Alomar moved to greener pastures, signing with the Baltimore Orioles at a time when Toronto was moving to rebuild and Baltimore was building toward a championship-calibre team. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Atlanta Braves over Cleveland Indians (4-2 Tom Glavine, MVP The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland. In Baltimore, Alomar paired with Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. to form one of the most decorated double-play combinations in baseball history. He would play again in the playoffs in 1996 and 1997 for the Orioles, although the Orioles were defeated in the American League Championship Series in both years. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees over Atlanta Braves (4-2 John Wetteland, MVP Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Florida Marlins over Cleveland Indians (4-3 Liván Hernández,

Controversy

On September 27, 1996, during a game against his former team, the Blue Jays, he got into a heated argument over a called third strike with umpire John Hirschbeck and spit in his face. John Francis Hirschbeck (born September 7 1954 in Bridgeport Connecticut) is an umpire in Major League Baseball who has worked in He defended himself by saying Hirschbeck had uttered a racial slur and that Hirschbeck had been bitter ever since one of his sons had died of ALD, and then learned that another one had it also. Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD (also known as Addison-Schilder Disease or Siemerling-Creutzfeldt Disease) is a rare (1 in 20000 boys inherited disorder that leads to He was suspended for five games and donated $50,000 to ALD research. Alomar and Hirschbeck settled their differences publicly and made apologies to each other on April 22, 1997, standing at home plate and shaking hands in front of the crowd before an Orioles game and now consider one another friends. Regarding the incident at his retirement, Alomar said, "That, to me, is over and done. It happened over nine years ago. We are now great friends. We have done some things with charity. God put us maybe in this situation for something. But I think people who know me, people who have had the chance to be with me on the same team, know what kind of person I am. Anything I ever did wrong, I would confront it and now it is OK. "

Cleveland Indians

In 1999, Alomar signed with the Cleveland Indians, joining his brother, Sandy Jr. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees over Atlanta Braves (4-0 Mariano Rivera, MVP The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was in Cleveland that Roberto would have two of his finest seasons -- and perhaps two of the finest seasons ever for a second baseman. In 1999 he hit . 323/. 422/. 533 with 24 HRs, 120 RBIs and 37 stolen bases, and in 2001 he collected . In Baseball, a stolen base occurs when a Baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the Pitcher is delivering the ball to Home plate 336/. 415/. 541, 20, 100 and 30. Cleveland would make the playoffs in both years only to lose in the American League Division Series. In Major League Baseball, the American League Division Series ( ALDS) determines which two teams from the American League will advance to the American Alomar finished third in MVP voting in 1999. The Most Valuable Player Award (commonly known as the MVP award is an annual award given to one outstanding player in each league of Major League Baseball.

On the field, Alomar teamed with shortstop Omar Vizquel to form one of the most decorated defensive combinations of all time. Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and Third base. Omar Enrique Vizquel Gonzalez (born April 24, 1967 in Caracas, Venezuela) is a Major League Baseball Shortstop playing In 2000, with Vizquel committing just three errors all season long, the entire infield committed 34 errors--just one more than the record set by the New York Mets infield the year before. In Baseball statistics|statistics]] an error is the act in the judgment of the Official scorer, of a fielder misplaying a ball in a manner "Mets" redirects here For the medical term see Metastasis. As a result, Vizquel, Alomar and third baseman Travis Fryman each won the Gold Glove Award that season, and the Vizquel-Alomar duo won three consecutive Gold Gloves together, joining a select list of only eight shortstop-second baseman duos to have accomplished this feat in the same year. A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in Baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of David Travis Fryman (born March 25, 1969 in Lexington Kentucky) is a former Third baseman and Shortstop in Major League Baseball For the award given to amateur boxers see Golden Gloves. In American Baseball, the Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to

He was finally traded to the New York Mets before the 2002 season, in the same trade that brought pitcher Billy Traber and outfielders Matt Lawton and Alex Escobar to the Indians. Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in Baseball farthest from the batter Matthew Lawton III (born November 3, 1971 in Gulfport Mississippi) is a former Right fielder in Major League Baseball who played Alexander José Escobar (born September 6, 1978 in Valencia Carabobo State, Venezuela) is a Major League Baseball Outfielder

Last years

In 2002, Alomar hit only . 266/. 331/. 376 with 53 RBIs and 73 runs scored while falling apart defensively at second base. The Mets were puzzled by Alomar's mediocre play, which is generally attributed to his lack of comfort with being under the scrutiny of the New York fans and media. However, not even a midseason trade back to the American League to the Chicago White Sox in 2003 could revive Alomar from his funk. The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League ( AL) is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in The Chicago White Sox are a professional Baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. There was more misery ahead with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2004, after missing two months with a broken right hand. The Arizona Diamondbacks (also referred to as the D-backs) are a professional baseball team based in Phoenix Arizona. On August 5, he returned to the White Sox, and finished hitting just . 263/. 321/. 392 in 56 games.

Alomar agreed to a one-year contract with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for the 2005 season. The Tampa Bay Rays are a Major League Baseball franchise based in St However, on March 19, 2005, after a spring plagued by back and vision trouble, he decided to retire from the game.

In a 17-year career, Alomar was a . 300/. 371/. 443 hitter with 210 home runs and 1,134 RBI in 2,379 games. He is 51st all-time with 2,724 career hits.

Career milestones

In his career, Alomar established remarkable milestones for a second baseman, including:

• making twelve straight All-Star teams (1990-2001)
• winning a record ten gold gloves at second base (1991-96,1998-2001)
• batting over . 300 nine times (1992-1997, 1999-2001)
• posting an OBP over . In Baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP (sometimes referred to as on-base average ', as the statistic is rarely presented as a true Percentage) 400 five times (1992-93, 1996, 1999, 2001)
• scoring 100 or more runs six times (1992-93, 1996, 1999-2001)
• driving in 100 or more runs twice (1999, 2001)
• stealing 30 or more bases eight times (1989, 1991-93, 1995, 1999-2001)
• winning four Silver Slugger awards (1992, 1996, 1999-2000)

References

See also

• List of AL Gold Glove Winners at Second Base
• List of major league players with 2,000 hits
• List of Gold Glove middle infield duos
• List of AL Silver Slugger Winners at Second Base
• Players from Puerto Rico in MLB
• Top 500 home run hitters of all time
• Famous Puerto Ricans
• List of Major League Baseball players with 400 doubles
• List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
• List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBI
• List of Major League Baseball runs scored champions
• Major League Baseball hitters with three home runs in one game
• List of Major League Baseball players with 400 stolen bases
• List of second generation MLB players

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube