Jesús Alou

Jesús María Rojas Alou (born March 24, 1942) is a Dominican former professional baseball outfielder. During a 15-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he played for the San Francisco Giants (1963–68), Houston Astros (1969–73; 1978–79), Oakland Athletics (1973–74), and New York Mets (1975). He was the youngest of the trio of baseball-playing brothers that included Felipe and Matty.

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Rojas and the second or maternal family name is Alou.
Jesús Alou
Right fielder / Left fielder
Born: (1942-03-24) March 24, 1942
Bajos de Haina, Dominican Republic
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 10, 1963, for the San Francisco Giants
Last MLB appearance
September 29, 1979, for the Houston Astros
MLB statistics
Batting average.280
Home runs32
Runs batted in377
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Alou was considered a better prospect than either of his brothers and received a $4,000 signing bonus. He made his debut at the end of 1963, and his first game, on September 10, was notable in that all three Alou brothers batted in the same inning (they were retired in order). Five days later, for the first time, the three played in the outfield for the Giants at the same time.[1]

In his first full year of Major League action in 1964, Alou failed to live up to expectations, hitting only .274 with little power, but on July 10, he went 6–6 with five singles and a home run. Alou was selected by the Montreal Expos in the 1968 MLB expansion draft and then was dealt to Houston. He had his most active season there, hitting .306 in 487 at-bats, but with few walks and little power. He was traded to the Athletics midway through the 1973 season, and served as a bench player on two World Series championship teams. Alou was released by the A's before the 1975 season, failed to catch on with the Mets and Córdoba of the Mexican League in short stints, and did not return to the majors until Houston signed him in 1978. He responded by hitting .324 in part-time action and became a player-coach the following year before retiring. Alou later served as a scout for the Expos, then moved to the Florida Marlins as the club's director of Dominican operations. He has held the same post with the Boston Red Sox since the 2002 season.

Jesús Alou was awarded the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame Pioneer Award at a pre-game ceremony at Minute Maid Park, on September 23, 2008.

See also

References
  1. "Today in Baseball". Washington Post. September 15, 2008. pp. E7.
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