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The 40 Greatest Orioles of All-Time - No. 37 - Roberto Alomar

37. Roberto Alomar, 2B (1996-1998)

All-Star: 1996, 1997, 1998
Gold Glove: 1996, 1998
Silver Slugger: 1996

Robbie Alomar was on the two most memorable Oriole teams of my lifetime (I was alive in '83, but barely), the 1996 and 1997 teams. Maybe I'm putting him here sentimentally. But without question, Alomar is one of the best players to ever wear an Orioles uniform.

Signed by the Padres in 1985 when he was 17 years old, Alomar made it to the show at age 20 in '88, and he started right away. He was immediately outstanding in the field and a decent stick, plus he could run. He stayed with the Padres for two more seasons before being traded to Toronto with Joe Carter in exchange for Fred McGriff and Tony Fernandez, one of the first real blockbuster deals I can recall really being wowed by.

Of course, Carter became a folk hero in Toronto, and Alomar (the 1992 ALCS MVP) was one of the best players on the Jays' back-to-back World Series championship teams of '92 and '93. After the '95 season, Alomar signed a three-year deal with the Orioles.

In 1996, Alomar was an All-Star and won a Gold Glove -- in fact, he was an All-Star every year from 1990 through 2001, and he won a Gold Glove every year from 1991 through 2001, except for '97. He hit .328 (seventh in the AL), had a .411 on-base percentage (ninth), scored 132 runs (third) and had 193 hits (sixth), all while being a legitimately great second baseman. He also hit 22 homers, stole 17 bases, walked 90 times, had 43 doubles and 94 RBI.

In '97, Alomar was hurt some and played in just 112 games due to a shoulder injury that allowed him to only bat left-handed, but was outstanding when he did play. In '98 he had a mediocre offensive season by his standards.

But let's get to the real juice and heart of Alomar's stay in Baltimore, and the reason I assume some of you won't like him even being on the list. The reason I included Alomar is because he was a great player, even just for three years, and even though things went sour for him here.

On September 27, 1996, Alomar spit on umpire John Hirschbeck. The two later made nice about it in public, but I don't know that Alomar ever really had the respect he'd had before the incident after it occurred. One thing you can say about Alomar, though, is that he didn't immediately let it get to him. In Cleveland, in game four of the ALDS, Alomar was heckled without relief at Jacobs Field, but he tied the game in the top of the ninth with a two-out RBI single off of Jose Mesa, and then he put it to bed about an hour later with a game-winning homer.

Then you have the '97 season, where he played 112 games, served a five-game suspension to start it off, and had a falling out with, well, everyone. Peter Angelos went public with the notion that Alomar's play was suffering because of the Hirschbeck thing, which I always found an odd thing for an owner to do. Alomar's 1998 season was a little rough (he was still a fine player), and at the end of it, he and manager Ray Miller apparently went about fifteen rounds arguing in August.

Alomar moved on, signing with the Indians, oddly enough, and winning his new team's fans over with three really good seasons, two of which were positively outstanding. He was traded to the Mets before the 2002 season, and that was pretty much the story of Roberto Alomar. He drank the cursed Cleveland-to-New York water that put Carlos Baerga out to pasture. He spent about one-and-a-half miserable seasons in New York before being traded to the White Sox in 2003. He signed with Arizona in 2004, and ended up back with the White Sox before the season was out. During spring training of 2005 with Tampa Bay, Alomar retired at 37.

Roberto Alomar was a truly great player, a phenomenal second baseman, a very good hitter, and he should be in the Hall of Fame. His stay with the Orioles, while it included some heroics and some wonderful play, was a little rocky. If you had a sour taste from Alomar when he left, have you held on to it? Have you forgiven whatever troubles he had? I look at him as a player who really could have and probably should have been in Baltimore for at least three more years, but it just wasn't in the cards. And it's too bad, because those three years he had after he left were really something.

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This one's tough for me
I find Robbie Alomar to be a textbook example of what's wrong with the modern player.  The sulking, "turn-it-on-turn-it-off" attitude is unbearable to this fan who grew up on team oriented platoon players.

Still, one can't deny his talent.  His is the best athlete to ever play the "keystone sack" for the Birds.

I rank Davey and Grich (actually Grich and Davey)higher myself only because they were "ours" and Robbie never will be.

by howie14 on Feb 22, 2006 4:23 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

I was pretty sick of Alomar...
by the time he left. But long term I've forgotten most of that stuff. He was a hell of a player, although like howie above I suspect he turned it on and off a bit. I remember thinking the '98 All Star Game (in which he was spectacular) felt like he was auditioning to get traded.

by rebop on Feb 22, 2006 5:19 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

I'm with you
In my mind Alomar (and Belle, Erickson) represented what had gone wrong with the O's.  Growing up during the 70's salad days had spoiled me. Watching a bunch of assembled free agents that never seemed to gel as a team, even though they had some winning years, was just not as fun. Or perhaps I was older and more jaded. The spitting incident and the subsequent total collapse in the 1996 playoffs actually turned me off for a season or two. Even though he could be a hell of a player, and he apologized, Alomar has pretty much negative connotations. He represents the Orioles gone bad.

BTW, I do not expect to see Belle appear in this list.

"Mike will be absolutely in charge." Peter Angelos

by drj on Feb 22, 2006 11:27 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

I'm surprised...
...that he's not higher on the list.

I forgave him for the spitting. While it was inexcusable, he apologized and did his best to get get past it.

He made a point of seeking out Hirshbeck the next time they were in a series together (it was the following April) and talking to him and saying he was sorry. He also donated $50k to research for the disease that killed Hirschbeck's son, and donated all of his pay from his 5-game suspension to charity (over $200k).

In this era of Kenny "I had a right to shove the cameraman" Rogers, and countless players blatantly lying about steroid use, Alomar's standing up and admitting he screwed up is a breath of fresh air.

And man, was he fun to watch turn 2. I think to this day the Ripken-Alomar DP was the best in Orioles history, and probably one of the best all-time.

by zknower on Feb 22, 2006 9:56 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

re:
He could be higher. But three years is three years and one of them he missed 50 games.
"My best game plan is to sit on the bench and call out specific instructions like 'C'mon Boog,' 'Get ahold of one, Frank,' or 'Let's go, Brooks.'" - Earl Weaver

by SC on Feb 22, 2006 10:14 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

overblown
The whole spitting thing was overblown.  I also feel that he should be higher on the list. If only Angelos wasn't an idiot and would have kept him around for another few seasons, I guess he would have been way up the list.

Then again, Robbie is my favorite player of all time.  In his years in Toronto and up until his last year here in Baltimore, he was one of the most beautiful players to watch.  
I'm not talking beautiful physically, I mean he played with a style that few others had.  He could field, run, get on base, was a switch hitter,  and hit for power when needed.  I'm not sure if I believe in someone being "clutch," but if such thing exists, Robbie had it.

Not only did he pretty much single handedly pull out that playoff game that SC mentioned, he had big homeruns for the Jays in their World Series runs.

I think the day the O's signed him as a free agent was one of the happiest days of my life and I'm kind of sad to see that people still focus on some of the negatives.  We had a chance to watch one of the two best second baseman (along with Lil' Joe Morgan) of all time while he was in his prime.  

by wetnap on Feb 23, 2006 8:08 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

I don't blame...
Angelos for Alomar leaving Baltimore. Alomar clearly wanted to go to Cleveland and play with his brother once his Oriole contract was up. Even were it not for his desire to play with his brother, Robbie didn't want to resign with Baltimore. He was not getting along with Ray Miller, Angelos or nearly anyone else in the Oriole organization by the time he left. Alomar gave us 2.75 great years, but he had no intention of sticking around after 1998, none.

by rebop on Feb 23, 2006 1:13 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

the reason
i know someone who worked on the field for the o's during the '96 and '97 seasons and i was told that the ump called alomar a "greasy spic". i'm not excusing the spitting, but judge for yourself whether the ump had it coming or not.

by joet on Feb 23, 2006 2:23 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

I can back that up with equally unreliable sources
FWIW:  I worked in Camden Yards as a random Joe in 95-96, but that was what I heard as well.  

by MattR on Mar 7, 2006 1:14 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

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