Card-by-Yankees Card: The 1977 Topps Set, Sandy Alomar (Article 12)

by Paul Semendinger

***

Sandy Alomar played second base for the Yankees from 1974 through 1976. The Yankees acquired Alomar by purchasing his contract from the California Angels on July 8, 1974. He then played with the Yankees through the 1976 season. In February 1977, Alomar was traded from the Yankees to the Texas Rangers for Brian Doyle, Greg Pryor, and cash.

Before becoming a Yankee, Alomar had had a long and busy career. He traveled… a lot.

Alomar arrived in the major leagues in 1964 with the Milwaukee Braves and traveled with that team in 1966 when they moved to Atlanta.

In February 1967, he was traded to the Astros, but he never played for the Astros because a month later, in March 1967, he was traded to the New York Mets. Sandy spent most of 1967 in the minor leagues, but did appear in 15 games with the Mets. But, on August 15 of that same year, he was sent to the White Sox as a “player to be named later” in an earlier deal.

Sandy Alomar stuck with the White Sox until May 1969 when he was traded to the California Angels. He would stick with the Angels longer than any other team... until the 1974 trade to the Yankees.

Following his Yankees tenure, he played with the Rangers through the 1978 season before hanging up his suitcase, ummm, glove.

All in all, Sandy Alomar played 15 years in the big leagues. That’s extremely impressive. He played in 1,481 games batting .245/13/282.

In 1970 and 1971, for two consecutive years, Alomar played in every single game for the Angels . He was an All-Star in 1970 as well. In 1971, Sandy Alomar had a 5.2 bWAR. That’s quality stuff. He was a plus defender who also stole 30+ bases in 1970 and 1971.

As a Yankee, Sandy Alomar hit .248.

***

Sandy Alomar’s one son, Roberto Alomar is a Hall-of-Famer. Like his dad, he also traveled a lot. Roberto played for seven clubs in his career. Like his dad, he played for the White Sox and the Mets. In his career, Roberto Alomar batted .314/14/67 against the Yankees.

Sandy’s other son, Sandy Alomar, Jr. was a six-time All-Star who also played for seven clubs. Like his brother and dad, he also spent some time with the White Sox and the Mets.

Alomar Jr. hit .310/7/43 against the Yankees. His home run ended the 1997 ALCS. He hit that homer off Mariano Rivera. Only one other player ever took Rivera deep in the post season. That player was Jay Payton in the 2000 World Series.