Appreciation: Moises Alou

I got to thinking yesterday about who Joe Rudi’s 1990s equivalent was, and I’ve narrowed it down to either Bernie Williams or this man, Moises Alou. Sure, their statistical careers were nothing at all alike—though all three were on World Series-winning teams—but that’s not the point. The point is that Williams and Alou, for all that they did for the game and all they excelled at it at their respective heights, the both of them will end up like Rudi: vaguely remembered by the majority and held in revere by those select, diehard few. Theirs is a future cursed by the Beckett label of ‘Semistar,’ just another card in the fifteen-for-a-dollar box.

That’s not to say their relative anonymity is bad. I for one have had a soft spot for Moises Alou ever since I learned the ‘Jesus is the Answer/What was the Question?’ joke. I also have a profound respect for Bernie Williams and his prowess with the Latin guitar. This coming from a lifelong Red Sox fan. And I’ve already gone into detail about my newfound adoration of all things Joe Rudi. So what better way to continue this appreciation than with a little dumpster diving? If I know an Alou or Williams or Rudi will be down there to greet me, all the better. If only Rudi had played in the Nineties. Think of all the worthless crap cards Fleer would’ve made of him.