from Amazon
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Felipe Alou
I love Felipe:
http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/managing-and-the-back-of-the-bus/
I think race cost Felipe Alou his shot at Cooperstown because he didn’t get his chance until he was 57. He got hired to manage at an age when most men, even most Hall of Famer managers, have at least one foot out the door. ... To look at it another way, Felipe Alou is one of the greatest managers in baseball history from the age of 57 onward.
Felipe Alou was a minor league coach with the Expos since 1982. Preceding him to MLB with the Expos were the very experienced Bill Virdon, the somewhat experienced (and well-liked) Buck Rodgers, and the inexplicable (and well-despised) and short-lived Tom Runnells, hand-picked by the otherwise intelligent Dave Dombrowski (who made Alou his bench coach). Alou’s “fault” in getting to the majors earlier may have been his allegiance to the Expos. Surely some team would have gone after such an intelligent, well-spoken, former MLB ballplayer?