Friday, November 3, 2017

no. 720 - matty alou


Who is the man: Matty Alou appeared in 155 games for the Pirates in 1970, coming to the plate an NL-high 677 times and producing 201 hits.

Can ya dig it: I've always liked this card just because you could spot that red hat from about 100 feet away.

Right on: This is the second straight card in which the final series allowed Topps to get a player that was traded during the 1970-71 offseason into his new team's uniform. Alou was dealt from the Pirates to the Cardinals in late January of 1971. In fact, the two players that went to the Pirates in exchange for Alou, Nelson Briles and Vic Davalillo, are featured in the '71 set as Cardinals.

You see that cat Alou is a bad mother: Alou won the 1966 NL batting title by hitting .342 for the Pirates.

Shut your mouth: Alou was dealt to the Cardinals in part to make room for a young outfielder named Al Oliver. But Alou never forgot his Pirates days. "I think of myself mostly as a Pirate," Alou said. "Because they gave me confidence, they treated me good, and I had the best years of my life there."

No one understands him but his woman: After Alou married his wife, Maria, he, his brother Felipe and Juan Marichal all lived together with their wives in the same house in San Francisco during the 1963 season.


(A word about the back): Matty and Felipe are still the only brothers to finish 1-2 in batting.

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