In 1966 when the Braves came to Atlanta, Hank Aaron was their best player. But in their inaugural season in Atlanta, their most all-around productive player was Felipe Alou.
While Aaron led the National League in home runs (44) and RBIs (130) that season, Alou hit .327 with 31 homers while leading the league in runs (122), hits (218), at bats (666) and total bases (355). Ironically he would finish that season second in the batting race to his brother Matty, who hit .342 for San Francisco.
Well known for both his play on the field and work later as a manager, Alou is baseball royalty. His brothers Matty and Jesus each played in the majors for 15 years. His son Moises, a star for 17, made the All-Star team six times.
Alou grew up in the poor Dominican Republic city of Haina. He was a track star in high school but made the switch to baseball when he attended a university on the island. He played for the Dominican team in the Pan American Games, gaining the notice of a New York Giants scout in 1955.
Always dreaming of becoming a doctor, Alou wanted to remain in school but needed money. He took the $200 signing bonus to sign with the Giants, who two years later would move to San Francisco.
Alou spent two full seasons in the minors before making his major league debut in San Francisco in 1958. It took four years to slowly work his way into a lineup with Willie Mays but he made the All-Star team in 1962, hitting .316 with 25 homers and 98 RBIs. The Giants went on to face the Yankees in the World Series that year and Alou hit .269 in 28 plate appearances in an exciting seven-game battle that New York eventually won.
His brothers joined him in San Francisco and the trio remains the only brothers to ever play in the same outfield, which they did on three occasions in 1963. But Alou’s average dropped to .281 that season and he was included in a seven-player trade that sent him to Milwaukee that December.
He joined Aaron in the Braves outfield but his two seasons in Milwaukee were mostly uneventful before he recorded his best year in ’66 in Atlanta, finishing fifth in the MVP voting. (Roberto Clemente won, Aaron finished eighth and Matty ninth).
Alou played four full seasons in Atlanta and had a league-leading 718 at-bats in 1968. He was also on the Braves team that won the NL West the following year.
But after that season, the Braves dealt him to Oakland for pitcher Jim Nash. He then went to the Yankees two seasons later before finishing his career with one season in Montreal and a final year back in Milwaukee. He wound up with a career .286 average in 2,082 games with 206 homers and 852 RBIs. He appeared in three All-Star Games.
Alou, who loved his playing time in Montreal, was hired there as a coach two years after he retired and in 1985 was offered the manager’s job in San Francisco. He turned it down, intrigued with what the Expos were building in their minor league system, which included Larry Walker and son, Moises.
In 1992, he became the first Dominican-born manager in the majors, promoted from Expos bench coach in Montreal. With Moises anchoring his outfield, the club began a run which included the best record in baseball (74-40) in the strike-shortened season of 1994.
Baseball never came back that year but Alou was named NL manager of the year. From there, however, the Expos started cutting payroll and Alou struggled to keep the team competitive. He was fired during the 2001 season.
He would coach a season in Detroit before going back to the Giants as their manager in 2003. That year, he led the club to a 100 wins before the Giants lost to Florida in the NL Division Series. His son rejoined him in San Francisco in 2006 for one last year before he retiring after the season, finishing his managerial career with a 1,033-1,021 record.
Where he lives: Alou has been married to wife Lucie for of 31 years. They reside in Boynton Beach, Fla. They have six children — Moisés, Valerie, Christia, Jennifer, Maria, Cheri — and 11 grandchildren.
What he does now: Alou, 81, is still in baseball for a 61st season. He has served as special assistant to the Giants general manager for nine seasons. He also loves to fish.
On how he first became interested in baseball: "The Dodgers went to have spring training in the Dominican Republic in 1947, the first year of Jackie Robinson. They had spring training in the Dominican Republic to get Robinson away from the South. I was born in '35, so I was 12 years old when Jackie and many more players became superstars later on in the big leagues. I believe that was a big thing."
On playing with brothers Matty and Jesus: "A lot of people don't know that in winter ball in the Dominican Republic — obviously the Giants signed all three of us — but in winter ball in the Dominican Republic, we played the outfield, all three of us, for a long time. For about 10 years, it was the three Alous in the outfield. So when we played in the big leagues the three of us, it was really not that big for us."
On the Braves moving to Atlanta in 1966: "The word came that we were going to move to Atlanta. There were some concerns about going to the South. They used to say the 'Deep South.' I really didn't know what that meant, but to tell you the truth, Atlanta was a nice baseball city. Atlanta was great to us. I had probably my best year ever in baseball I had in 1966, the same year that we moved to Atlanta."
On playing with Aaron: "To me, Hank Aaron is the best hitter I've ever played with. To me, Willie Mays was the best ballplayer I ever played with. [Hank] was a real nice mild-mannered man, great teammate and great outfielder. Because he hit so many home runs, a lot of people have missed the point in what a commendable all-around player Hank Aaron was. He was the complete package."
On managing son Moises: "I was kind of hard on him at the beginning. I wanted to make sure that he established himself as a good player, that he was without my help and he didn't let me down. He became a real good major league player. He became a superstar."
On how the game has changed: "It is a game more protective of the athletes, which makes sense. The way the game is played between the lines hasn't changed. I don't believe the men before were better than the men now. I believe it is the same type of men, the same type of athletes. The conditioning is supposed to be better now, but more people are getting hurt now."
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