Ten random notes about Roberto Alomar.

1. As Rob Neyer noted, Alomar is one of the few truly all-time greats to play for as many as five teams. Interestingly, two of the others are Joe Morgan and Rogers Hornsby, two of the three greatest second basemen of all time (along with Eddie Collins).

What kind of immediate impact did the career transactions of those three mean for the teams involved? Below, the years in bold are the years the player was with the team and what happened either the year before the player was acquired or the year after he left.

Joe Morgan
'64 Astros: 66-96
'65 Astros: 65-97

'71 Astros: 79-83
'72 Astros: 84-69
'71 Reds: 79-83
'72 Reds: 95-59 (won division)

'79 Reds: 90-71 (won division)
'80 Reds: 89-73
'79 Astros: 89-73
'80 Astros: 93-70 (won division)

'80 Astros: 93-70 (.571)
'81 Astros: 61-49 (.555)
'80 Giants: 75-86
'81 Giants: 56-55

'82 Giants: 87-75
'83 Giants: 79-83
'82 Phillies: 89-73
'83 Phillies: 90-72 (won division)

'83 Phillies: 90-72
'84 Phillies: 81-81
'83 A's: 74-88
'84 A's: 77-85

As you can see, winning teams followed Joe Morgan around. Every team he went to improved the year he joined them (except his rookie year with the Astros). Most of the teams declined when he left.

Rogers Hornsby
'15 Cardinals: 72-81
'16 Cardinals: 60-93

'26 Cardinals: 89-65 (won World Series with Hornsby as player/manager)
'27 Cardinals: 92-61
'26 Giants: 74-77
'27 Giants: 92-62

'27 Giants: 92-62
'28 Giants: 93-61
'27 Braves: 60-94
'28 Braves: 50-103

'28 Braves: 50-103
'29 Braves: 56-98
'28 Cubs: 91-63
'29 Cubs: 98-54

'31 Cubs: 84-70
'32 Cubs: 90-64 (Hornsby fired as player/manager in midseason, team went on to reach World Series)

Hornsby finished up with the Cardinals and Browns but didn't play much. His track record is nearly opposite of Morgan: Every team he left got better after he was gone. He did help the Giants and Cubs improve when he joined them, but he was also such a big headache that he played with four teams in four years.

Roberto Alomar
'87 Padres: 65-97
'88 Padres: 83-78

'90 Padres: 75-87
'91 Padres: 84-78
'90 Blue Jays: 86-76
'91 Blue Jays: 91-71 (won division)

'95 Blue Jays: 56-88
'96 Blue Jays: 74-88
'95 Orioles: 71-73
'96 Orioles: 88-74 (won wild card)

'98 Orioles: 79-83
'99 Orioles: 78-84
'98 Indians: 89-73 (won division)
'99 Indians: 97-65 (won division)

Good news, Mets fans. The three previous teams to acquire Alomar each made the playoffs the first year he joined the team.

2. With 2389 career hits (through age 33), Stats Inc. projects Alomar as having a 90 percent chance at 3000 hits and 3 percent chance at 4000 hits.

3. His 138 runs scored in 1999 is a major-league record for a switch-hitter.

4. History will regard Alomar as the best player on the '92-93 back-to-back World Series champion Blue Jays. However, let history also note that in '92 he finished sixth in the MVP vote behind teammates Joe Carter (3rd) and Dave Winfield (5th); and in '93 he again finished sixth, behind teammates Paul Molitor (2nd) and John Olerud (3rd). Alomar's best MVP finish was third in 1999 and fourth in 2001.

5. Alomar has won 10 Gold Gloves, one more than Ryne Sandberg for most by a second baseman.

6. Quick and dirty method for how many more wins Alomar means to the Mets (see this article for more details). Essentially, he replaces Robin Ventura in the lineup, with Edgardo Alfonzo sliding to third base.

According to Stats Inc., Alomar in 2001 created 139 runs (in 677 plate appearances). Ventura created 63 runs (in 549 plate appearances). Prorated to 650 PA, we get:

Alomar: 133 runs created (398 outs)
Ventura: 75 runs created (438 outs)

However, Shea Stadium is a very tough place to hit and suppresses run scoring by about 10 percent (Jacobs Field is relatively neutral). So, we'll adjust Alomar's total downward (by five percent) to 126. This creates a difference of 51 runs.

Each 10 runs gained is worth about one win, so Alomar is roughly five wins better than Ventura, 2001 version. Now, that doesn't factor in defense (Alomar vs. Alfonzo and Alfonzo vs. Ventura), which should be better for the Mets at both positions, assuming Alfonzo's back is healthy. If Alomar plays as well as last year, we'll give the Mets a six-to-seven wins improvement in the Alomar/Ventura comparison. But he probably won't hit as well as last year, so it's more like four-to-six wins depending on how much he slides.

7.Compare their seasons: Roberto Alomar, 2001 vs. Edgardo Alfonzo, 2000:

Player    AB   H   HR  RBI Runs BB  SB  AVG  OBP  SLG
Alomar   575  193  20  100  113 80  30 .336 .415 .541
Alfonzo  544  176  25   94  109 95   3 .324 .425 .542

8. Alomar's career postseason average: .313 (72-for-230), 4 HR, 33 RBI.

9. Alomar's walk/strikeout ratio in 2001: 80/71. Alex Escobar's walk/strikeout ratio in Triple-A in 2001: 35/146.

10.Compare their seasons: Roberto Alomar, 2000 vs. Matt Lawton, 2000:

Player    AB   H   HR  RBI Runs BB  SB  AVG  OBP  SLG
Alomar   610  189  19   89  111 64  39 .310 .378 .475
Lawton   561  171  13   88   84 91  23 .305 .405 .480