Remembering Matty Alou

There was definitely a time period when the Alous were the most famous brother act in American sport.

Felipe, Matty and Jesus were all on the roster of the San Francisco Giants at the same time in the 1960s and in 1963 they became the first trio of siblings to man outfield spots in the same lineup. Beyond that, they were also among the first wave of Dominican players to reach the majors and act as pioneer role models for Latin American players.

These were just a few of the thoughts that came back to me when Matty died of complications from diabetes earlier this month at the age of 72. Too bad, was my first reaction, considering it another piece of my youth slipping away since I followed the Alous closely way back.

What an intriguing mix of talent and personalties those Giants teams of the 1960s had. The Alous were part of it. Of course the team was led by Willie Mays and he was complemented by Willie McCovey, Hall of Famers both.  Orlando Cepeda joined them as a big bat in the lineup and in the Hall eventually. The star on the mound was Juan Marichal and he has his own plaque in Cooperstown, too.

While saddened to hear of Matty’s death I was not surprised because last year Marichal told me his close friend was in poor health. I do not know the Alous personally, but I am friendly with Juan after working on a book with him and I know he is grieving for the loss of his pal. Marichal’s friendship with the Alous dates to boyhood. They were all so tight he was just about a fourth Alou brother. Marichal met his wife Alma through the Alous and Jesus was the best man at his wedding.

As youths, not only did they all play baseball together they swam, fished, went diving and snorkleing. Always Alou was the big brother, by virtue of age, but also because of wisdom and sound judgment.

When Marichal was promoted to the Giants his English was still very rough and he lived in a private home with Matty, he said, and together they learned English, encouraged by the woman who owned the house and treated them like sons.

It is ironic that Matty is so closely identified with the Giants–primarily because of his shared experience there with his brothers–but his greatest success came with the Pittsburgh Pirates. After six years with the Giants Matty Alou was traded East. Almost overnight with the Pirates he matured into a star, leading the National League in batting with a .342 average his first season in Pittsburgh in 1966.

Pirate batting coach Harry Walker changed his swing and approach and the tweaking was just what Alou needed in order to emerge and reach a new level of play. The thing Marichal remembered best about Matty’s coming out in Pittsburgh, spraying hits to all fields, was the way he turned himself into an expert bunter because third basemen  got into the habit of playing him too deep.

“Sometimes the third baseman would back up and Marty would bunt on two strikes, which not too many hitters do,” Marichal said. “He would drop the ball in there and get on base. That would drive the other team crazy.”

Matty was a two-time All-Star and although he never hit with power his lifetime average over 15 seasons was .307. Can’t complain about that.