Matty Alou, who played outfield for six different teams over a 15-year career, passed away in Miami on Thursday, according to Dominican Today.
Former Giants, Pirates Outfielder Matty Alou Passes Away
Alou came up with the San Francisco Giants in 1960, joining his brother Felipe, and eventually playing in the outfield with Felipe and his other brother Jesus on September 15, 1963, the first time that three brothers played in a major-league outfield at the same time. The Alou brothers finished their careers with 5,094 hits, the highest total of any brother trio in baseball history, with over 200 hits more than Joe, Dom, and Vince DiMaggio.
While Alou is well-known for his time with his brothers in San Francisco, he had his best seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, who acquired him in a 1965 trade for Joe Gibbon and Ozzie Virgil. Alou was traded after a disappointing 1964 with the Giants, but he took to the hitting instruction of Harry "The Hat" Walker in Pittsburgh, hitting .327/.360/.398 for the Pirates over five years, making two All-Star teams, and collecting MVP votes in three different seasons.
The best year of Alou’s career might have come in 1968, the Year of the Pitcher, when he hit .332/.362/.392 while the rest of the league was mostly hitting like Hal Lanier. The ‘68 season was the third year out of four straight in which Alou hit .330 or better, and in 1969, he lead the National League in hits with 231.
Alou also played with the St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland A's, San Diego Padres, and New York Yankees over his career. He was 72.
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