The baseball world was saddened with the news of the passing of Matty Alou yesterday. He was 72 years old. The brother of Jesus and Felipe, Matty played 15 seasons in the big leagues from 1960-1974, the last of those with the San Diego Padres.

Clipped from: www.hardballtimes.com (share this clip)

He wasn’t a big guy, standing just 5’9″ and weighing a mere 160 lbs during his playing days, but he excelled at making contact; rarely striking out, and even more rarely walking. Alou once lead the league is hits and doubles and was a two-time all-star, both coming as a member of the Pirates. He was also the first batter that Hall of Famer Tome Seaver ever faced in the big leagues. Alou doubled in that at bat. Bruce Markusen of the Hardball Times remembers Matty Alou.

(more…)