Inside Pulse Sports is proud to announce the 2010 IP Sports Hall of Fame Class. We have selected 6 inductees and have had readers select the 7th. Here is out first inductee…
Roberto Alomar, 2B
Padres (1988-90), Blue Jays (1991-95), Orioles (1996-98), Indians (1999-2001), Mets (2002-2003), White Sox (2003, 2004), Diamondbacks (2004)
Roberto Alomar was signed as a free agent out of Puerto Rico by the San Diego Padres in 1985. He made his major league debut in April 1988, where be became a fixture in the middle infield for the Padres. Following the 1990 season, he was traded along with Joe Carter to the Blue Jays for Fred McGriff and Tony Fernandez. Alomar spent the next 5 seasons with the Blue Jays, where he won 2 World Series. Alomar tested the free agent market after the 1995 season, where he received a 3 year $17MM deal from the Baltimore Orioles. His time in Baltimore showed the low point of his career; Alomar spit on umpire John Hirschbeck while arguing a called 3rd strike. Alomar claimed that Hirschbeck made a racial slur to him, so he spit and made a comment about ALD, which Hirschbeck lost a child to and had another that was diagnosed with it (since the incident, the two have apologized and became good friends). In 1998, the Indians signed Alomar to a 4 year $30MM deal; 1999 was the finest season of his career, where he finished 3rd in MVP voting. He was traded to the New York Mets prior to the 2002 season for Billy Traber, Matt Lawton, and Alex Escobar. His days in New York marked his decline phase; he hitting stopped and he defense began to drop off. The Mets traded him in mid-2003 to the White Sox for Andrew Salvo, Edwin Almonte, and Royce Ring. After the season, he signed a 1 year deal with the Diamondbacks; he was traded back to the White Sox by mid-season, this time for Brad Murray. He signed a minor league deal with the Devil Rays in 2005, but retired shortly after starting games in Spring Training.
During Alomar’s career, he was a 12 time All Star with 1 MVP, 10 time Gold Glover, and 4 time Silver Slugger. He finished with a .300 average with 210 home runs and 1134 RBIs. He led the league in Run in 1999 with 138.
Top 10 Similarity Scores that are in the HOF: Frankie Frisch, Ryne Sandberg, Joe Morgan, Charlie Gehringer, George Davis (also future HOFer: Derek Jeter, Barry Larkin)
Top 10 Similarity Scores that are in the IPS HOF: Lou Whitaker
We at Inside Pulse Sports were shocked when he didn’t make it into the MLB Hall of Fame this past January, but are honored to have him in our HOF.
View the IP Sports HOF here.
