Career
He also played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) with the Taiheiyo Club Lions from 1974 through 1976. He was the middle of a trio of baseball-playing brothers that included the older Felipe and Jesúson They were the first set of three siblings to play together in the same outfield (on September 15).
Matty had been teammates with Felipe during the prior three campaigns, and was likewise with Jesús for the following two.
Matty and Felipe later reunited with the Yankees in 1973. Alou was born in Haina, Dominican Republic.
He was a platoon player for the Giants for several years and was mostly unremarkable. He batted.333 in the Giants" losing effort against the Yankees in that year"s World Series.
While he was primarily an outfielder, Alou also appeared in one game in 1965 as a pitcher, pitching two scoreless innings.
After Alou was traded to the Pirates before the 1966 season, he received instruction from expert hitting instructor Harry "the Hat" Walker that helped turn him into a formidable hitter. He also led the league in at bats twice (1969-1970), hits once (1969) and doubles once (1969). After leaving the Major Leagues following the 1974 season, he played three seasons in Japan (Taiheiyo Club Lions) and managed in the Dominican Winter League.
On June 23, 2007, the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame inducted Matty Alou into their Hall of Fame during an on-field, pre-game ceremony at American Telephone & Telegraph Company Park before a game between the San Francisco Giants and the New York Yankees.
He, along with San Francisco Giants shortstop Omar Vizquel were inducted in front of over 43,000 fans. Alou died in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic of diabetes complications, according to his former Dominican team, Leones del Escogido.
The Giants also confirmed his death and said Alou had been sick for several years with a variety of health issues.