Leonard Eugene Alley (born July 10, 1940) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player. He played his entire career in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

as a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

for the Pittsburgh Pirates from through . A two-time All-Star player, Alley was a member of Pirates teams that won three consecutive National League Eastern Division titles between and and, won the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

in . Alley was a modest hitter but an exceptionally steady shortstop with good range and an accurate throwing arm. He won two Gold Glove Awards at shortstop (1966–67) and garnered two All-Star appearances primarily on the strength of his glove. He spent most of his career turning double plays with Baseball Hall of Fame second baseman

Bill Mazeroski William Stanley Mazeroski (born September 5, 1936), nicknamed "Maz" and "The Glove", is an American former second baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played his entire career for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1956 to 1972. A 7-time All-St ...

, and the duo set an MLB record of 161 double plays in a season in 1966 that still stands (when the Pirates set a National League record with 215 total double plays). They also joined a select list of eight shortstop-second baseman duos to each win a Gold Glove the same season while playing together twice (1967–68). Shoulder and knee problems ultimately ended his career and prevented him from realizing his full potential. On September 2, 1970, Alley hit an

inside-the-park In baseball, an inside-the-park home run is a play where a batter hits a home run without hitting the ball out of the field of play. It is also known as an "inside-the-parker", "in-the-park home run", or "in-the-park homer". Discussion To score ...

grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

Jarry Park Stadium Jarry Park Stadium (french: Stade Parc Jarry ) is a tennis stadium in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was formerly a baseball stadium, home to the Montreal Expos (now Washington Nationals), from 1969 through 1976. The Expos were Major League Baseba ...

in Montreal, against the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

. With the bases loaded, facing

Carl Morton Carl Wendle Morton (January 18, 1944 – April 12, 1983) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through for the Montreal Expos and the Atlanta Braves. Morton was named the ...

, Alley hit a line drive which landed in front of center fielder Boots Day, who slipped on the wet grass. The ball rolled all the way to the wall in deepest center field, and all the baserunners and Alley scored. In 1998, Alley was inducted into the

Virginia Sports Hall of Fame The Virginia Sports Hall of Fame honors athletes, coaches, administrators, journalists and other contributors to athletics. Many of the more than 350 inductees since 1972 were born in Virginia or enjoyed success in college, professional, amateur or ...

External links

Gene Alley
at SABR (Baseball BioProject) {{DEFAULTSORT:Alley, Gene 1940 births Living people Major League Baseball shortstops Baseball players from Richmond, Virginia Pittsburgh Pirates players National League All-Stars Gold Glove Award winners

See also

External links