Sandy Alomar Jr.

John Hirschbeck called Roberto Alomar on Tuesday to wish him luck in the Hall of Fame vote. When Alomar spat on the umpire 14 years ago during an argument following a called third strike, it created a national furor. Now the two are fast friends. "I know we both wish it didn't happen, but it did," Hirschbeck said. "On the other hand, I've told a lot of people who have called, I think it made us both better people for it." A 12-time All-Star second baseman, Alomar is among 15 first-time candidates on this year's Hall of Fame ballot, joining holdovers that include Mark ... Read Full Story

First, please stop snickering at the word “shaft.” Moving on… Andre Dawson was the only legend voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame this afternoon. The Hawk received 420 out of 539 votes for 77.9% — 2.9% more than the 75% needed to be inducted. [math whiz] Continue reading and comment on this story at Sports Untapped . Read Full Story

Sandy Alomar Jr.'s baseball career has brought him back home. The Indians' popular former All-Star catcher has been hired by new Cleveland manager Manny Acta as the team's first-base coach. Alomar had spent the past two seasons as a catching instructor for the New York Mets. He will also mentor Cleveland's catchers. "He's going to be huge overall for us," Acta said. Alomar played 20 seasons in the majors — 11 in Cleveland — before retiring in 2007. While in New York, he served on the same coaching staff as his father, Sandy Alomar Sr., who was the team's bench coach. The 43-year-old Alomar ... Read Full Story

Roberto Alomar has career numbers that compare favorably with many of baseball's greatest second basemen. The question is how will one memorable lapse impact his bid to make the Hall of Fame. On the ballot for the first time, the 12-time All-Star's resume is impressive. He was a two-time World Series champion with Toronto, and hit .300 with 210 homers, 1,134 RBIs and 474 stolen bases in 17 seasons. But his stats have often been overshadowed by an incident in late 1996 when, after being called out on strikes, he spit in the face of umpire John Hirschbeck. Alomar and Hirschbeck grew close after ... Read Full Story

The New York Mets have shuffled their coaching staff after the team slumped to a fourth-place finish in the NL East this season. The Mets announced Monday that first base coach Luis Alicea will not be back next season and bench coach Sandy Alomar Sr. will be offered another position in the organization. Third base coach Razor Shines and catching instructor Sandy Alomar Jr. will remain with the staff but will have different roles. Hitting coach Howard Johnson, pitching coach Dan Warthen and bullpen coach Randy Niemann will be back in their same positions next season. The injury-riddled Mets finished with a 70-92 record, ... Read Full Story