Farewell to the Iron Pony: Remembering Sandy Alomar Sr., the Father of a Baseball Family

Baseball lost one of its quiet constants yesterday. Sandy Alomar Sr. the slick-fielding infielder, devoted baseball lifer, proud father, and one-time Mets coach passed away Monday in his native Puerto Rico at the age of 81.

To most fans, the Alomar name brings to mind his two remarkable sons , Roberto, the Hall of Famer, and Sandy Jr., the six-time All-Star but before either of them was turning double plays or catching big league fastballs, there was the original: a 5-foot-9 sparkplug who made a career out of hustle, heart, and a glove you could trust your paycheck to.

Santos “Sandy” Alomar Sr. spent more than half a century in professional baseball , 15 years as a player, and decades more as a coach and mentor. He broke in with the Milwaukee Braves in 1964 and would go on to wear the uniforms of the Mets, White Sox, Angels, Yankees, and Rangers. He even got a taste of October baseball with the 1976 Yankees, though you got the sense he’d have gladly traded the pinstripes for a little more playing time.

When he came to the Mets in 1967, the team was still learning how to crawl out of the cellar. Sandy didn’t hit much during his brief stay , in fact, his hitless streak set an early club record for futility but he left behind the kind of impression that only a true ballplayer can. The Mets moved on quickly, but the Alomar family story was just getting started.

In fact, the Alomars hold a unique spot in Mets history as all three wore orange and blue at some point. Sandy Sr. played 14 games for the 1967 Mets, though his stat line (0-for-22) didn’t quite capture his impact as a steady presence in a young clubhouse. His son Roberto, one of the greatest second basemen of his generation, joined the Mets in 2002 with sky-high expectations after a Hall of Fame-caliber run in Cleveland ,he hit .265 with 13 homers and 75 RBIs over a season and a half in Queens before moving on. And Sandy Jr., the longtime catcher, closed out his big-league career with the Mets in 2007, appearing in eight games and collecting one final hit ,ironically, he also had 22 at-bats as a Met, just like his dad. Fittingly, it was a single , the kind of contact his father would have appreciated. Three Alomars, three eras, one franchise. Not bad for a family from Salinas, Puerto Rico.

After bouncing around the league for a few seasons, Alomar Sr. found a home in Anaheim with the California Angels. There, his speed, durability, and steady glove finally got their due. He played every single game in 1970, stole 35 bases, and made the All-Star team. He even earned a nickname that fit him perfectly — “The Iron Pony” thanks to a streak of 648 consecutive games played. That wasn’t Cal Ripken territory, but it was enough to let you know that Sandy Alomar Sr. came to work every day.

Alomar’s playing career ended in 1978, but his baseball life never really did. He managed and coached in Puerto Rico, worked with young players in the minors, and eventually returned to the big leagues as a coach for the Padres, Cubs, Rockies, and, yes, the Mets ,coming full circle with the team that once shipped him out for a player to be named later.

During his time in Flushing, from 2005 through 2009, Sandy served as first-base coach, third-base coach, and eventually bench coach. In May of 2009, when manager Jerry Manuel was suspended for a game, it was Alomar who took the reins for a day. The Mets won 10-1. For one afternoon, Sandy Alomar Sr. was the manager of the first-place Mets. Tell me there’s not something poetic about that.

He was, by all accounts, a gentle and deeply spiritual man, devoted to his family and his faith. His wife María was the “spiritual leader of the family,” as he liked to say, but Sandy led by example , with quiet pride, discipline, and that unshakeable belief that effort and faith can take you farther than size or statistics ever could.

“Size really doesn’t matter if you have faith in yourself,” he once told a group of young players. “If you sacrifice, and you put the effort in, you will become what you feel it is you should become.”

That was Sandy Alomar Sr. in a nutshell ,never the biggest, never the loudest, but always there, always working, always teaching. He raised two sons who became stars, but he also helped shape countless players who never made a headline but carried his lessons with them long after the lights went out.

He may not have had Cooperstown credentials, but Sandy Alomar Sr. belonged to that noblest class of baseball men ,the lifers, the grinders, the teachers, the ones who make the game better just by being in it.

So here’s to Sandy Alomar Sr. the Iron Pony, the proud father, the coach, the Met, the man. Baseball, and all of us who love it, are better for having had him in our game.

Rest easy, Sandy.