Luis Alomá Barba (June 19, 1923 – April 7, 1997), nicknamed "Witto", was a Cuban-born
relief pitcher
In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...
in
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
who played for the
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...
from 1950 through 1953. Alomá batted and threw right-handed. He was born in
Havana
Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Washington Senators and the
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...
. His first game was on April 19 at the age of 26, and his last game August 30, 1953.
He died in
Park Ridge, Illinois
Park Ridge is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, and a suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 39,656. It is located north of downtown Chicago. It is close to O'Hare International Airpo ...
Appalachian League
The Appalachian League is a Collegiate summer baseball, collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wooden ...
and the Class A-1
Chattanooga Lookouts
The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home g ...
of the
Southern Association
The Southern Association (SA) was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class B (1902-19 ...
. He went a combined 8–7 with a 4.68
ERA
An era is a span of time.
Era or ERA may also refer to:
* Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time
* Calendar era
Education
* Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school
* ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia
* E ...
in 26 games, eight for starts. He then played the next two seasonswith the Lookouts. In 1945 he went 14–9 with a 3.17 ERA in 31 games, 29 starts, and in 1946 he went 16–11 with a 3.56 ERA in 36 games, 27 for starts.
In 1947 Alomá split the season between the Lookouts and the Class B
Charlotte Hornets
The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...
of the
Tri-State League The Tri-State League was the name of six different circuits in American minor league baseball.
History
The first league of that name played for four years (1887–1890) and consisted of teams in Ohio, Michigan and West Virginia.
The second league ...
. He had a dismal stint with the Lookouts, going 2–4 with a 6.93 ERA in 15 games. With the Hornets on the other hand he was quite impressive, going 8–7 with a 3.62 ERA in 18 games. He finished a combined 10–11 with a 4.74 ERA in 33 games.
He spent his last year in the Senators' farm system playing for his home town team, Havana Cubans of the Florida International League. In what would turn out to be his best professional season at any level, he went 19–6 with a 1.77 ERA in 28 games.
Detroit Tigers
In 1949 Alomá was sent by Washington to the
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...
. He spent the season with the Triple-A
Buffalo Bisons
The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...
of the International League. He compiled a 10–9 record with a 4.60 ERA in 38 games, 22 for start. This would be his only season in the Tigers' system.
Chicago White Sox
Alomá was again traded, this time on August 5, 1949, from the Tigers to
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...
in exchange for pitcher
Alex Carrasquel
Alejandro Eloy Carrasquel Aparicio (July 24, 1912 – August 19, 1969) was a Venezuelan pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for the Washington Senators and the Chicago White Sox over a span of eight seasons from 1939 to 1949. Nic ...
. He didn't pitch in the minors for the rest of the 1949 season.
Alomá was 26 years old when he broke into the big leagues on April 19, 1950, with the White Sox. He finished the 1950 season going an impressive 7–2 with a 3.80 ERA in 42 games, all out of the bullpen.
In 1951 Aloma continued his success at the Major League level, going 6–0 with a 1.82 ERA in 25 games. This would prove to be his best season in the Majors. On June 17, he received a spot start due to a packed White Sox schedule (seven games in four days) and shut out the
Philadelphia Athletics
The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, they became the Oakland ...
on five hits. It was the only start of his career, making him one of only four players ever to throw a shutout in their only start in the American or National Leagues.
He was again with Chicago in 1952 going 3–1 with a 4.28 ERA in 25 games. He compiled a career-high six saves in 1952.
His decline continued in 1953, as he was then 28 years of age, while compiling a record of 2–0 with a 4.70 ERA in 24 games. This was his last season pitching at the Major League level.
In 1954, Alomá spent his entire season with the Double-A Memphis Chickasaws of the Southern Association. He went 6–7 with a 4.25 ERA in 31 games, 14 starts for the Chickasaws. This was his last professional season of baseball. In a four-season career, he posted an 18–3 record with a 3.44
ERA
An era is a span of time.
Era or ERA may also refer to:
* Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time
* Calendar era
Education
* Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school
* ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia
* E ...
games pitched
In baseball statistics, games pitched (denoted by Games G in tables of only pitching statistics) is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher. The statistic is also referred to as appearances, especially to refer to the number of ...