Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 5, 1990 TAG: 9007050086
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B6 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: CLEVELAND LENGTH: Medium
He is a rookie. He plays in Cleveland. And there are plenty of other catchers with greater name recognition, and a couple with better numbers.
Alomar, though, overcame the odds and on Wednesday was announced as the first rookie catcher to be selected a starter in an All-Star game. He got 1,043,116 votes, beating out two-time starter Terry Steinbach of Oakland, who got 939,392.
Ray Fosse in 1971 and Manny Trillo in 1983 were the only other Indians players voted to the team since fan voting was reintroduced in 1970. Cleveland's low attendance traditionally has hurt its players' chances of winning fan balloting.
"Being in Cleveland, nobody expected me to win the thing," Alomar said. "But if you play 100 percent, they're going to vote for you. I heard they were supporting me in San Diego and in New York because I had a good series there. Somebody has to play for Cleveland, and I like it here."
Alomar is hitting .298 with three home runs and 31 RBI. He has thrown out 20 of 50 runners attempting to steal, and he has adapted well to a pitching staff that includes knuckleballer Tom Candiotti.
"It's deserved. It's earned. It's not a gift," Cleveland manager John McNamara said. "Probably this last homestand put him over the hump. We're very proud Sandy was selected by the fans."
Ironically, Alomar's counterpart on the National League is Benito Santiago, whose solid work in San Diego kept Alomar in the minor leagues for an extra year. Alomar, 24, hit .297 for the Padres' Class AAA Las Vegas affiliate in 1988 but was sent back to the minors in 1989 because Santiago was ahead of him.
Santiago, however, will not be able to play because of a broken arm. San Diego traded him to Cleveland last December in the deal that sent Joe Carter to the Padres.
"It's really special because I got traded from the National League to the American League," Alomar said. "I don't try to bad mouth the Padres. They took care of me in the minor leagues. They let me play every day in the minors, even during my first two years when I was struggling."
Alomar's brother, Roberto, is the second baseman in San Diego. Roberto finished a distant second to the the Cubs' Ryne Sandberg in NL voting.
"I wish he [Roberto] would get picked so we can both be there," Alomar said.
Keywords:
BASEBALL
by CNB