#283 Sandy Alomar - Chicago White Sox

Santos Alomar
Chicago White Sox
Second Base

Bats:  Both  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'9"  Weight:  140
Born:  October 19, 1943, Salinas, Puerto Rico
Signed:  Signed by the Milwaukee Braves as an amateur free agent before 1960 season.
Major League Teams:  Milwaukee Braves 1964-1965; Atlanta Braves 1966; New York Mets 1967; Chicago White Sox 1967-1969; California Angels 1969-1974; New York Yankees 1974-1976; Texas Rangers 1977-1978

Sandy Alomar played in nearly 1,500 games over his 15 year career before embarking on a long coaching career between 1986 and 2009.  Used sparingly over the fist four seasons of his big league career, Alomar got his first shot as an every day player with the White Sox in the late 1960s and the Angels in the early 1970s.  He went to the All-Star Game in 1970 and led the league in plate appearances in both 1970 and 1971 as the Angels' regular second baseman.  His longevity was most likely due to his versatility in the field, as he was able to play all infield and outfield positions.  An excellent bunter, Alomar was also speedy on the basepaths and accumulated 227 career stolen bases.  Over his career, he finished in the top ten for stolen bases six times and in the top ten for singles four times.  He finished his playing career as a reliable pinch hitter for the Yankees and Rangers in the mid-1970s.

Alomar was a long-time manager in both Puerto Rico and the minor leagues in between major league coaching stints with the Padres (1986-1990), Cubs (2000-2002), Rockies (2003-2004) and Mets (2005-2009).  He's the father of long-time catcher Sandy Alomar, Jr., who has served as an interim manager for the Indians, and Hall of Fame second baseman Roberto Alomar.

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.

Building the Set / Card #262
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)

In mid-March last year, over a year ago at this point, Doug and I attended the Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show, held within the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania.  My main focus for this show was accumulating as many 1969 Topps commons as possible, which I did by adding a grand total of 193 cards to our set.  That's almost 30% of the entire set added in one enjoyable afternoon.  I wrote a full summary of the show in a post over at The Phillies Room, found here.

This is the 185th of the 193 commons and semi-stars purchased, pulled and stacked from the first two neon green binders housing 1969 Topps cards at the multi-table spread of Uncle Dick's Cards from Babylon, New York.  My method was simple - I pulled up a chair, found a card I needed, picked the best of the group from the binder page and set it aside.  After each 100 cards, I'd ask the dealer to tell me how much damage I had done so far.  With a budget in mind, I kept going twice, continuing after card #100 and card #200, and stopping at card #298.  The final amount due was 17% off the sticker price for the pile of 193 cards, with this card costing me a little over $2.

The Card / White Sox Team Set / Accuracy Index -12

Alomar is hatless and wearing a Mets jersey, in a photo already used in the 1968 Topps set, and taken in 1967.  Despite playing for parts of three seasons with the White Sox, and in 167 games, Alomar never appeared in a Topps flagship set wearing an actual White Sox uniform.  The back of the card highlights his infield versatility and his team-leading 20* stolen bases in 1968.

*This is an uncorrected error as Alomar had 21 stolen bases and teammate Tommy McCraw (#388) had 20.

Accuracy Index:  Alomar's card sinks to -12 for the Mets jersey (-5), the previously used photo (-4) and the lack of a hat (-3).

1969 Season
Alomar was the opening day second baseman for the White Sox, getting off to a slow start in 22 games with the team, before a mid-May trade sent him to the Angels.  On May 14th, Alomar and Bob Priddy (#248) were dealt to California for Bobby Snoop (#445).  He assumed the every day second baseman role with the Angels, batting .250 with 18 stolen bases and 30 RBIs over the duration of the season.  Alomar teamed with shortstop Jim Fregosi (#365) for one of the stronger double play combinations in the American League.  Alomar's 138 singles were second in the league.

1965 Topps #82

1967 Topps #561

1973 Topps #123

1976 Topps #629

1979 Topps #144

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #82
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (15):  1965-1979
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2016 Topps Archives 65th Anniversary Edition #A65-SAS
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  86 in the Beckett online database as of 3/11/24.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog

#282 Pat Jarvis - Atlanta Braves / #284 Expos Rookie Stars