Alou was part of the Expos organization as a player, instructor or manager for 27 of its 36 years of existence. The highly respected baseball man joined the Expos as an instructor following a successful 18-year playing career – that included a 19-game stint with Montreal in 1973 – in which he hit .286, collected 2,101 hits and was selected to three all-star games.
Born in 1935 in Bajos de Haina, San Cristobal, Dominican Republic, Alou developed into a star in the Expos’ coaching ranks shortly after he was hired in 1976. Following managerial stints with the Expos’ Class-A and Double-A affiliates in 1977 and 1978, he was promoted to Dick Williams’ big league staff in 1979 and 1980.
Alou returned to the minors in 1981 to manage the Expos’ Triple-A Denver Bears to a league title and when the Expos shifted their Triple-A affiliate to Wichita the following season, Alou moved with the team. After another coaching stint with the big club in 1984, Alou served as the dugout boss of the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians in 1985 and the Class-A West Palm Beach Expos from 1986 to 1991. After leading the latter club to a Florida State League championship and being named the league’s top manager in 1991, Alou was hired as the Expos big league manager on May 22, 1992.
In accepting the position, Alou became the first Dominican manager in major league history. In parts of 10 seasons as Expos manager, he accumulated a franchise-record 691 wins and led the budget-conscious club to three second-place finishes (1992, 1993, 1996) and had the Expos sitting in first-place in 1994 when the season was cancelled due to a players’ strike. For his efforts, Alou was named National League Manager of the Year in 1994 and the manager of the National League All-Star team in 1995.
After leaving the Expos, Alou worked as a bench coach with the Detroit Tigers in 2002, before serving as manager of the San Francisco Giants from 2003 to 2006. In 2006, he became the first Latin manager to win 1,000 games in the big leagues. Since 2007, he has worked as a special assistant to Giants general manager Brian Sabean. The 2015 season represents his 60th in professional baseball.
“I’m very honoured to be included in this great class,” said Alou on his induction.
CAREER MAJOR LEAGUE STATISTICS
| G | AB | R | H | D | T | HR | RBI | TB | BB | SO | SB | OBP | SLG | AVG |
| 2082 | 7339 | 985 | 2101 | 359 | 49 | 206 | 852 | 3176 | 423 | 706 | 107 | .328 | .433 | .286 |
For season by season career stats click HERE.
