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Moises Alou)
Moisés Rojas Alou (born July 3, 1966 in Atlanta, Georgia) is an all-star baseball player. He comes from a family in which baseball is a way of life. His father Felipe, who is the San Francisco Giants manager, uncles Matty and Jesús, all had long and admired careers in the major leagues. Alou is married to wife Austria Alou. They have three sons: Perico, Kirby and Moisés Jr.
Baseball Career
Alou, who was more interested in playing basketball during his youth, did not play organized baseball until he attended Canada College in California. It was there that baseball scouts noticed his tremendous bat speed and speed on the base baths. In 1986, Alou was the second overall pick in the amateur draft, chosen by the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 1990, he was traded to the Montreal Expos where he would later play under his father who managed the Expos.
Alou suffered a severe ankle injury in 1993 that would rob him of his speed and force him to become strictly a corner outfielder. He recovered though, and by 1994 was one of the best hitters in baseball hitting .339. In 1994, he returned to get the game winning hit in the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. For the next two seasons, he would enjoy stellar seasons at the plate in Montreal, however losing a number of games due to injury.
Prior to the 1997 season Alou signed as a free agent with the Florida Marlins, where he led the team with 23 home runs and 115 RBIs. The Marlins made the playoffs as a wildcard team where they defeated first the San Francisco Giants then the Atlanta Braves and advanced to the World Series. Florida ended up winning their first World Series in a nail bitting seventh game which ended on an Edgar Renteria base hit. In the end, Alou lead the team by hitting .321 with three home runs and nine RBIs in the World Series.
Before the 1998 season, the Marlins traded Alou to the Houston Astros. In Houston, Alou played the best baseball of his career. In his first season with the team, he hit a career high 38 home runs and drove in 124 runs while leading the Astros to a franchise record 104 wins. However, during the offseason, he would be bitten by the injury bug once more when he tore his ACL in a freak treadmill accident. Alou ended up missing the entire 1999 season. Once recovered, he returned to the Astros lineup to hit .355 and .331 respectively while driving in at least 108 runs in each season. After the 2001 season, the Astros did not offer Alou a new contract so he in effect became a free agent. In December of 2001, he inked a 3-year, $27 million dollar contract with the Chicago Cubs.
In 2002, Alou once again ended up on the disabled list at the start of the season, and once healthy, he could never really get into a groove as he did in Houston. He finished up with a disappointing season in his own accounts when he hit only .275 and 15 home runs.
After the disappointing 2002 season, Alou hired a personal trainer and dedicated himself to return to his old form. In the 2003 season, he showed flashes of his old self when he batted over .300 for most of the season while driving in runs as he used to. But a late season slump caused Alou's average to drop to .280. He ended up with 22 home runs and 91 RBIs. However, during the post season, he showed no signs of a slump. Alou lead the team in average in their two series against the Atlanta Braves and Florida Marlins. In the end, he would make history in the playoffs, but some he would like to forget.
It was the 8th inning of Game 6 of the NLCS which the Cubs were leading and only had five outs to go to clinch a World Series birth for the first time since 1945, a fan named Steve Bartman reached out and snagged the ball out of the air-and practically Alou's glove. Alou violently gestured toward the fan, but to no avail. Because of the play, the Florida Marlins, Alou's former team, were allowed to tie the game and eventually take the lead and hold on to win. The Cubs eventually lost game 7 to the Marlins, who went on to beat the New York Yankees in the World Series.
Alou is currently enjoying a fine 2004 season as the starting left fielder for the Chicago Cubs, whose star-studded roster includes current greats Sammy Sosa, and Nomar Garciaparra. In July of 2004, Alou was named to the National League All Star Team.
Awards
- NL All Star 1994
- NL All Star 1997
- NL All Star 1998
- NL All Star 2001
- NL All Star 2004
- 1994 NL Comeback Player of the Year
- 1994 Silver Slugger Award
- 1998 Silver Slugger Award
Little Known Facts
- As a child, Alou was attacked and nearly killed by a dog. However, father Felipe said young Moisés didn't shed a tear.
- During most of his youth, Moisés lived with his mother. Alou's parents divorced when he was only a young child.
- Moisés owns nearly 100 race horses in the Dominican Republic. Many of the horses are named after present and past team mates.
- Moisés' best friend and favorite team mate is Jeff Bagwell of the Houston Astros.
- Recently, Moisés admitted in an interview with ESPN, that he urinates on his hands frequently to prevent blisters.
Career Injuries
- Torn ACL
- Torn labrum
- Fractured fibula & ankle
- Dislocated shoulder
- Partially torn calf
See also
External link
- Moisés Alou's career statistics at Baseball-Reference.com (http://www.baseball-reference.com/a/aloumo01.shtml)
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