Roberto Alomar

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Roberto Velázquez Alomar or better known Roberto Alomar (Spanish pronunciation: [aloˈmar], English: /ˈæləmɑr/; born February 5, 1968 in Ponce, Puerto Rico) Roberto Alomar is a former Major League Baseball player (1988–2004), considered by many to be one of the best second basemen in history. During his career he won more Gold Gloves (10) than any other second baseman in history, and also won the second-most Silver Slugger Awards (4) for a second baseman. On January 5, 2011, Alomar was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, during his second year of eligibility, along with Bert Blyleven. 

A native of Salinas, Puerto Rico, Roberto Alomar was a switch-hitter and threw right-handed. He is the son of former New York Mets bench coach Sandy Alomar, Sr., a former All-Star second baseman with a 15-year MLB career. His older brother, Sandy Jr., was a In 2002, Alomar hit only .266/.331/.376 with 53 RBI and 73 runs scored while falling apart defensively at second base. The Mets were puzzled by Alomar's mediocre play, which is generally attributed to his lack of comfort with being under the scrutiny of the New York fans and media. However, not even a midseason trade back to the American League to the Chicago White Sox in 2003 could revive Alomar from his funk. There was more misery ahead with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2004, after missing two months with a broken right hand. On August 5, he returned to the White Sox, and finished hitting just .263/.321/.392 in 56 games.

Alomar agreed to a one-year contract with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for the 2005 season. However, on March 19, 2005, after a spring plagued by back and vision trouble, he decided to retire from the game.

In a 17-year career, Alomar was a .300/.371/.443 hitter with 210 home runs and 1,134 RBI in 2,379 games. He is 51st all-time with 2,724 career hits. In his first year of Hall of Fame eligibility, 2010, Alomar missed induction by eight votes, garnering 73.7% of the vote. 405 votes were necessary for election. On June 19, 2010, Alomar was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys, Ontario. 

On his second time on the ballot, Alomar was one of two candidates (Bert Blyleven) elected to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame, being named on 90% of the ballots (523/581).