Santos “Sandy” Alomar Sr. — A Godly Man Who Was More Than a Fine Major Leaguer

On October 13, 2025, Sandy Alomar Sr. passed away in Salinas, Puerto Rico (PR), six days before turning 82. The Salinas native had a solid 15-year big-league career (1964-1978) plus a remarkable two-decade PR Winter League (PRWL) playing career, 1961-62 to 1980-81, while playing in the 1973-74 post-season after resting in the 1973-74 regular season and all of 1979-80. He was a successful PRWL skipper for the Santurce Crabbers, Ponce Lions, and Caguas Criollos—Ponce was first in 1989-90 (regular season); Caguas competed in the February 2001 Caribbean Series (CS). His friends called him Santitos on the Island, and Sandy in the States. Sandy was a 1970 American League (AL) All-Star 2B with the California Angels, and Jim Fregosi’s double-play partner.

The author met Sandy at a Ponce Lions baseball game in the “Lions Den” early 1990s. We covered “a lot of ground” from his siblings to his philosophical outlook. “Luis [Rodríguez] Olmo signed me for Arecibo (1961-62 expansion team) and Milwaukee,” noted Sandy. “He saw me play Little League and Pony baseball. I spent much time practicing with my brothers: Tony played with Caguas, San Juan, and Santurce; Demetrio with Santurce and Arecibo; and Rafael with Ponce.” According to Dr. Andrés Anglade Delannoy, Sandy’s 1961 pro baseball signing kept him from completing his Senior year of high school. Anglade recalled their close friendship that included being teammates on the 1956 Guayama Boys Club Little Team.

One Game Shy of Williamsport, Pennsylvania

Guayama’s 1956 Little League team faced eventual champion Baldrich, organized by renowned Island music composer Rafael Hernández. “Fernando Zegrí won twice versus Santitos,” stated Anglade. “We split a Saturday doubleheader but returned the following Saturday for the tiebreaker. Zegrí won again…Santitos (age 12) was our star player.”

Olmo’s Influence on Sandy Sr.

Mr. Olmo— “El Pelotero de las Americas” (The Ballplayer of the Americas)—knew that Sandy was an exceptional human being. Olmo scouted for the Milwaukee Braves and previously signed Juan “Terín” Pizarro to a Milwaukee contract/bonus in 1955. He (Olmo) encouraged Sandy to do well in the minors circa 1961-1966; Olmo was his first PRWL manager (1961-63) and was proud of “his pupil” for making his National League (NL) debut in a September 15, 1964, twin-bill versus St. Louis. It came during a tight pennant race—lefty Ray Sadecki and righty Bob Gibson started the first and second contests. Sandy, age 20 years and 11 months, faced Gibson in the 1961-62 PRWL.

Sandy’s PRWL Career Takes Off

The 1961-62 expansion Arecibo Wolves had a working agreement with the Milwaukee team. Thus, Tommie Aaron, Phil Niekro, Bob Uecker, Ed Charles, Moe Drabowsky, and Lee Maye played under Olmo’s leadership. Octavio “Cookie” Rojas, their regular 2B, came via the Cincinnati Reds organization before being traded to the Phillies. (Arecibo was allowed 10 Imports, two more than the other five PRWL teams.) The Wolves (42-39) made the semi-finals after defeating San Juan (41-40) in a tiebreaker for fourth place. It was the final 80-game league season—went to 70 games from 1962-63 to 1974-75, and 60 games: 1975-76 to 1980-81—Sandy’s last playing season as a player-manager. In a late-season game versus San Juan, Olmo made signs for Sandy to pinch-hit. Arturo López, a 24-year-old PRWL rookie, convinced Olmo that he should pinch-hit against ace reliever Luis “Tite” Arroyo. “What the hell are you [Olmo] doing? I’ve (López) faced better pitchers in the minors.” Olmo replied: “If that is true, go hit.” López doubled in three runs with a blast over Roberto Clemente’s glove in CF. Sandy got 20 hits in 98 AB (.204 BA) in Arecibo’s rookie season.

Some of Sandy’s significant PRWL accomplishments included: 1020# regular season games—second to Juan Beníquez’s 1077. #Sandy played in an estimated 63 games, 1963-64. His 168 career SB are third all-time, behind Carlos Bernier’s 286 and Canena Márquez’s 217. Moreover, Sandy led the loop in SB six times, one more than Bernier, as shown in Table I. He accomplished this with three different teams: Arecibo (2x), Ponce (3x), and Santurce (1x). Other PRWL achievements were: 1069 career hits—fourth-best, 1970-71 league MVP and batting champion (.343 BA), and three titles with Ponce (1968-69, 1969-70, and 1971-72). Sandy and his younger son, Roberto, became the second father-son in PRWL history to win batting crowns. Roberto posted .362 and .347 BA, respectively, in 1995-96 and 1996-97. Conversely, Perucho Cepeda won back-to-back batting titles with 1938-39 and 1939-40 Guayama Witches (.465 and .383), followed by Orlando Cepeda’s .362 BA in 1958-59.

Table I: PRWL SB Leaders, 1938-39 to 2024-25

##Sandy managed Rickey Henderson part of 1980-81. AG=Aguadilla, AR=Arecibo, B=Bayamón, C=Caguas, CAR=Carolina, H=Humacao, M=Mayagüez, P=Ponce, S=Santurce, SJ=San Juan. Source: https://beisbol101.com/lideres-por-temporada/

Managing Cooperstown Hall of Famer (HOF) Rickey Henderson and Sandy’s Sons

Stan Williams resigned as Ponce’s skipper more than halfway through 1980-81. Owner Chiro Cangiano approved Sandy’s promotion to interim manager, with Julio Gotay and Félix Juan Maldonado remaining as coaches. On Lions left-fielder Rickey Henderson, who stole a record 44 bases that winter: “Henderson had tremendous talent, but he was difficult to manage. He might take a shower in the seventh inning. There were times he didn’t feel like playing. Other times, he’d go all out.”  Sandy managed his older son, Sandy Jr., with the 1985-86 Santurce, after owner Reinaldo “Poto” Paniagua fired Frank Verdi. He also managed Sandy Jr. and his younger son, Roberto, with Ponce (1989-90). Ponce (31-19) finished first (regular season) but last (3-15) in the four-team round-robin setup. Joey Cora and Terry Francona contributed to Ponce. Four years later (1993-94), he managed his sons with Ponce, but his best managing experience (2000-01) was taking Caguas to the Caribbean Series in Culiacán, Mexico. The Águilas Cibaeñas from the Dominican Republic won it, helped by David “Big Papi” Ortíz, Luis “The Atomic Ant” Polonia, Tony Batista, Miguel Tejada, etc. Carlos Beltrán and Gary Matthews Jr. were named to the 2001 CS All-Star Team for Caguas. 

Author Sees Sandy Play SS in Anaheim Behind HOF Nolan Ryan

On June 18, 1974, the author took a bus from Los Angeles to Anaheim to watch a New York Yankees-California Angels game. (He was in Los Angeles with his mom to be with his maternal grandmother for her 90^th birthday.) Nolan Ryan (8-6) pitched six shutout innings, allowing three hits, fanning seven, and walking three. Skip Lockwood pitched a three-inning save. Dick Tidrow (5-6) pitched an 8-inning CG for New York. Mickey Rivers (CF) led off for California. Eliseo (Ellie) Rodríguez caught Ryan/Lockwood and batted seventh. Sandy hit eighth and played SS. Thurman Munson caught, and Chris Chambliss played 1B for the visitors.

Sandy later recalled that he was in the on-deck circle when Chambliss hit the walk-off HR of KC’s Mark Littell, in Game 5 of the 1976 ALCS. (Chambliss played for San Juan, 1973-74.) Sandy befriended Munson during the 1969-70 PRWL season, when the catcher played for San Juan, along with Roberto Clemente. Coincidentally, the Angels traded Sandy to the New York Mets on July 8, 1974. He remained a Yankee until they traded him to the Texas Rangers on February 17, 1977, for Greg Pryor, Brian Doyle, and cash. His 15-year big-league career ended with the 1977 and 1978 Rangers. A positive influence was Grover “Deacon” Jones, a hitting instructor/coach in the White Sox system, when Sandy was traded to the White Sox by the New York Mets on August 15, 1967. Jones, who was fluent in Spanish and played against Sandy in the PRWL, helped instill confidence in the 5-foot, 9-inch switch-hitter from PR.

PRWL Trades and Player Movement

A PRWL trade, pre-1974- 75 season, brought Sandy and José “Polilla” Ortíz to Santurce, from Ponce, for Gilberto Flores and Angel “Cookie” Mangual. Sandy was also acquired by Ponce, via Arecibo, before the 1967-68 campaign. Ponce native and current Rhode Island resident William Esteban Albino-Echevarría recalled the moment Sandy became property of the Ponce Lions: “When he (Sandy) arrived in Ponce, it was like a ‘Three Kings Day’ gift. While Ponce played in the [1970 and 1972] Caribbean Series, the city was paralyzed, and everyone would listen to the games on their radios!” Table II comprises Sandy’s pro baseball hitting stats, starting with the PRWL.

Table II: Sandy’s Hitting Stats, PRWL (some Post-Season), Caribbean Series, Minors, AL-NL

#Ponce semis/finals. Sources: Baseball Reference and Baseball Almanac. Rafael Costas, Enciclopedia Béisbol Ponce Leones, 1938-1987. https://beisbol101.com/jugador/santos-alomar/

Coaching Expertise in the Majors

When Willie Randolph got the New York Mets managing job for 2005, he immediately contacted Sandy to be his bench coach. Some 30 years earlier, on December 11, 1975, the Pittsburgh Pirates traded Randolph, LHP Ken Brett, and RHP Dock Ellis to the Yankees for RHP Doc Medich. Medich, from Aliquippa, Pennsylvania—near Pittsburgh—was pursuing his medical degree. When 1976 spring training opened for Billy Martin’s Yankees, Sandy went “out of his way” to help and support Randolph with baseball wisdom and tips, knowing that Randolph was about to take his (Sandy’s) starting 2B job. Sandy became a valuable IF utility, pinch-hitter, and pinch-runner for the eventual AL champions. Chris Chambliss was so impressed with Sandy’s knowledge and baseball acumen that he told reporters, “Sandy would be my bench coach if I ever got a big-league managing job.”

Robin Yount 1974-75 Santurce Crabbers Testimonial

Nineteen-year-old SS Robin Yount of the Milwaukee Brewers was injured in his rookie big-league season. Arrangements were made between Harry Dalton, Brewers Executive, and Hiram Cuevas, owner of Santurce, to give Yount some needed winter ball experience. “I was injured the last month of the 1974 big league season and needed some extra work,” said Yount. “It was very helpful having Frank Robinson as a manager and teammates like Ellie Hendricks, Sandy Alomar Sr., and [Orlando] Cepeda. Sandy was my double-play partner and really great to play with. Cepeda was a hero of mine since I grew up in California as a San Francisco Giants fan. I still like the ‘arroz con pollo’ [rice and chicken] that we ate back then.”

Randy Ready Sr. Recalls Sandy’s San Diego Padres Coaching Expertise

Perhaps a more impressive testimony came via a Randy Ready text to the author on October 14, 2025, the day after Sandy’s passing. Randy vividly remembered how special Sandy was as a San Diego Padres coach in the late 1980s. Some context: Jack McKeon took over the 1988 Padres managing duties from Larry Bowa after 46 games. San Diego’s starting line-up had three PR natives—catcher Benito Santiago, rookie 2B Roberto Alomar, and LF Carmelo Martínez. Dickie Thon backed up Garry Templeton at SS. John Kruk and Ready got plenty of playing time, too. McKeon had managed Sandy with the 1975-76 and 1976-77 Crabbers—thought highly of the latter’s baseball IQ. Here is Randy’s text on Sandy’s character and smarts.

“Hey Tom—I did see and spoke with some baseball people [on Sandy’s passing]. Great man and great family. Senior coached me in San Diego and helped me tremendously with my game. He was a great teacher of the fundamentals and mental approach! I will miss the sneaky look on his face when he knew he was right! Haha. He was right a lot of the time…As you know, I played with [Sandy] Jr. and Roberto in the Padres system. Sandy Sr. will be sorely missed by players he touched, and the game will miss the baseball Man. Condolences to the Alomar family. Warm regards to you.” Note: Randy Ready, with the Mayagüez Indios, went 14-for-30 (.467 BA) in the 1986 CS to tie Pedro Formental (Havana Lions) for most hits in one event. Roberto Alomar—1995 San Juan Senators Dream Team—got 14 hits, as did Emilio Bonifacio of the Licey Tigers in the 2023 “Winter Classic.”

Grateful acknowledgment to Sandy Alomar Sr. for his time and insights. Thanks to William Albino-Echevarría, Andrés Anglade Delannoy, Chris Chambliss, Arturo López, Jack McKeon, Randy Ready, and Robin Yount. Jorge Colón Delgado, Official Historian of the Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League, handled the editing and photo placement.    

Tom Van Hyning

Tom Van Hyning se crió en Santurce, Puerto Rico. Su familia se mudó a esta preciosa Isla cuando tenía dos años. Tom es el autor de tres libros: “Puerto Rico’s Winter League”, “The Santurce Crabbers” y “The Caribbean Series: Latin America’s Annual Baseball Tournament 1949-2024, que fue publicado en 2025. Laboró como Economista de Turismo en el estado de Mississippi y es miembro de SABR, Capítulo Cool Papa Bell en Mississippi. Sus artículos han sido publicados por SABR en la revista National Pastime y Baseball Research Journal. Igualmente escribe para las páginas web negroleaguerspuertorico.com y safabpp.com.