"Hey, That Guy Was Pretty Good!"

Sandy Alomar, Jr. - Career 1988-2007

This is the first in the new Runs Produced series “Hey, That Guy Was Pretty Good!” a look back at catchers of the past.

(image from: https://www.milb.com/pacific-coast/history/hall-of-fame/sandy-alomar-jr)

I was lucky enough to attend some Cactus League games in Arizona last week and during a Guardians/Giants matchup at Goodyear Stadium, I was hit with a blast from the past: former Indians catcher Sandy Alomar, Jr.

For whatever reason I had completely forgotten about Alomar, despite good odds that I probably saw him play multiple times in the 1990s against the Minnesota Twins in the Metrodome.

Alomar was serving as the first base coach for the Guardians and seeing him again inspired me to research his career and was the idea behind this new occasional series on Runs Produced: “Hey, That Guy Was Pretty Good.”

As you probably remember, Alomar comes from a baseball family. His father Sandy Alomar Sr. played and coached in the big leagues, and his brother, Roberto Alomar, is an MLB Hall of Famer who won two World Series rings with the Blue Jays.

Sandy was a good player in his own right - a potential Hall of Fame talent who was sidetracked by injuries. He was one of the top catchers of the decade in the 1990s and provided leadership to some excellent Indians teams. He had a large frame for a catcher, listed at 6’5’’ and 200 pounds, and when healthy, he was able to hit for both average and power.

Alomar came on the scene strong as a rookie, winning the 1990 American League Rookie of the Year Award after hitting .290 with 9 home runs and 66 RBI in 132 games. He was also an All-Star starter and won a Gold Glove that season.

He was named to five additional All-Star teams (1991, 1992, 1996, 1997, 1998) and finished his career with 112 home runs, 588 RBI, and a slash line of .273/.309/.406. These numbers would be much higher if he had had better health.

Alomar only played over 100 games four times in his career as he battled a variety of injuries, including rotator cuff, hand, and hip injuries, and back and knee injuries that required surgery. He never again eclipsed the 132 games he played as a rookie.

In total, he played 1377 games across 20 seasons for the Indians, White Sox, Padres, Rangers, Rockies, Dodgers, and Mets. Alomar had 1236 career hits, for an average of 0.87 hits per game. Using that same pace, if he averaged even only 120 games per season, he’d likely be looking at over 2,000 career hits and 200 home runs. That would put him in the top 10 most career hits by a catcher.

Alomar was a member of the 1995 squad that reached the World Series and also was a vital part of the 1997 squad that again reached the World Series (they lost both of these series - the 1997 loss particularly stings for Cleveland fans as they were the favorites over the upstart Marlins).

His best year was in that 1997 season, when he hit .324/.354/.545 and clubbed 21 home runs and 83 RBI. Alomar was the MVP of the All-Star game that season, which was played at his home stadium, Jacobs Field, and he finished 14th in MVP voting at the end of the year.

For his career, he totaled six seasons hitting better than .280 and three seasons when he hit better than .300. On the defensive side, Alomar was second in AL catcher fielding percentage in 1992 and third in 1994.

For these efforts, Cleveland inducted him into the Indians Hall of Fame in 2009. Alomar became eligible for Baseball Hall of Fame voting in 2013 but fell off the ballot after garnering only 2.8% of the vote.

It was a good career that could have been great and may have rivaled his brother’s career if Sandy had been a bit healthier.

Since his retirement in 2007, Alomar has served as a coach in the Mets and Indians/Guardians franchises. He served as interim manager in 2012 and filled in for Terry Francona as the acting manager in 2020.

As of 2025, he is the first base coach for the Guardians.

3/12/25: Alomar coaching during spring training and he kindly signed a ball after the game