September 15, 1963: The Alou Brothers Game

Left to right: Matty, Felipe and Jesús Alou

September 15, 1963, 60 years ago: For the 1st time, a major league outfield is made up entirely of three brothers.

All 3 brothers were from Haina, in the Dominican Republic. Felipe Rojas Alou was born on May 12, 1935. He arrived in the major leagues in 1958, with the San Francisco Giants, who were in their 1st season in San Francisco, after moving from New York. Mateo Rojas Alou was born on December 22, 1938. He debuted with the Giants in 1960. Jesús María Rojas Alou was born on March 24, 1942. He debuted with the Giants on September 10, 1963.

Five days later, the Giants played the Pittsburgh Pirates at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. The Giants jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the 1st inning, thanks to a home run by Willie Mays, who, as would be expected, was playing center field. Willie McCovey, whose preferred position was 1st base, was playing left field, because Orlando Cepeda was a 1st baseman and he had seniority, if only by 1 year. And the starting right fielder was Felipe Alou.

The Pirates tied the game in the bottom of the 5th. But the Giants scored 5 runs in the 7th inning, including Felipe, having drawn a walk, scoring on a McCovey single; and 4 runs in the 8th, including Felipe, having singled and driven in shortstop José Pagán, scoring on a single by Mays.

For the bottom of the 7th, Giant manager Alvin Dark moved Felipe to left field, replacing McCovey in the field; and Jesús Alou was brought in to play right field, replacing McCovey in the batting order. For the bottom of the 8th, Dark rearranged the chessboard some more: He replaced Cepeda at 1st base with Norm Larker, took Mays out, moved Felipe Alou to center field, and put Matty Alou in left field.

Thus, the outfield now consisted of Matty Alou in left, Felipe Alou in center, and Jesús Alou in right. This game became one of the great baseball trivia questions: "What was the only all-brother outfield in Major League Baseball history?"

Years later, a question occurred to me: "What happened to Willie Mays? Why wasn't he playing center field for the Giants that day? Was he injured? Did he simply get the day off?"

Nothing of the kind. Indeed, Mays started in center field, and was the big hitting star of the game, going 2-for-4, with a home run, driving in 4 runs and scoring 3. It was only in the 8th inning that he was replaced, with Felipe moving from left field to center field, and Matty going into left field. So the great trivia question is flawed: The 3 brothers didn't all start the game together, and were only in the field together for 2 innings.

For the record: Felipe went 1-for-5 with a walk, an RBI and a run scored, and had 2 putouts in the field; Jesús went 0-for-2, and had no fielding chances; and Matty had neither a plate appearance nor a fielding chance.

The Giants won the game, 13-5. Billy O'Dell went the distance, and was the winning pitcher. For the Pirates, Roberto Clemente went 0-for-4, although Willie Stargell went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

Felipe would be traded to the Milwaukee Braves, and was with them when they moved to Atlanta in 1966. He returned to the postseason in 1969, when the Braves won the National League Western Division title. He made 3 All-Star Games, and last played in 1974 with the Milwaukee Brewers.

He later managed the Montreal Expos, being named NL Manager of the Year in 1994, when the Strike of '94 cut short the Expos' fine chance at a title. In 2003, he managed the Giants to an NL West title. The Giants have elected him to their Wall of Fame. As of September 15, 2002, he is still alive, at age 87.

His son Moisés played for him in Montreal and San Francisco, and was arguably the best player in the family. Another son, who goes by "Luis Rojas" instead of "Luis Alou," due to a clerical error at the start of his playing career, never played in the major leagues, but has managed the New York Mets, and has coached for both them and the New York Yankees. (Felipe and Matty both played for the Yankees. Jesús did not, but did play in New York, for the Mets.)

Matty won the NL batting title in 1966, while playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 1969, he led the major leagues in hits and doubles. He made 2 All-Star Games, and won a World Series with the Oakland Athletics in 1972. He last played in the majors in 1974, with the San Diego Padres, before playing 2 more seasons in Japan. He died on November 3, 2011, at the age of 72.

Jesús was the last to leave the Giants, in 1968. With Matty having been traded by then, he was acquired by the A's, and was a member of their 1973 and 1974 World Series winners. Having been with the Houston Astros during their Ball Four season of 1969, he returned to them, and last played in the majors with them in 1979. He later scouted for major league teams, including the Expos under Felipe. He died on March 10, 2023.