Luis René Alicea de Jesús (born July 29, 1965) is a former

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), ...

second baseman and coach. Alicea played for the Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers,

Anaheim Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

and

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

. He played college baseball for the Florida State University Seminoles with his brother Edwin under head coach Mike Martin. Alicea played 13 seasons, during which he played in 1,341 games. He was a career .260 hitter, with 47 home runs and 422 runs batted in. He had a lifetime .346 on-base percentage, and a .369 slugging percentage. He ranked in the top 5 in triples three times in his career (1992, 1997, 2000). In 12 career postseason games, Alicea batted .267, with a .371 on-base percentage.

St. Louis Cardinals

He was drafted by the

in the first round (23rd pick) of the 1986 amateur draft. He made his major league debut in a 12–9 Cardinals loss to the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

on April 23, 1988. Starting at second base and batting eighth, Alicea went 1-for-4 with a triple, a walk and a run scored in his debut. He hit .212 with one home run and 24 RBI in 93 games with the Cardinals that season. Alicea spent the next few seasons in the minor leagues before returning to the big leagues with St. Louis in , hitting .191 without a single RBI in 56 games. Despite his struggles, the Cardinals brought him back to the big leagues in and he hit .245 with a pair of homers and 32 RBI in 85 games. He continued to improve as, in , Alicea hit .279 with three home runs and 46 RBI, stealing 11 bases in 12 attempts, over 115 games. Despite a drop in playing time in , Alicea set a then-career high in home runs with five while hitting .278 with 29 RBI in 88 games.

Boston Red Sox

On December 7, 1994, he was traded to the

for

Jeff McNeely Jeffrey Lavern McNeely (born October 18, 1969) is a former center fielder/designated hitter in Major League Baseball who played briefly for the Boston Red Sox during the 1993 season. Listed at 6' 2", 190 lb., McNeely batted and threw right-h ...

and Nate Minchey. He played one season with the Red Sox, batting .270 with six homers and 44 RBI. Alicea was one of a few Boston players to perform well in the

American League Division Series In Major League Baseball, the American League Division Series (ALDS) determines which two teams from the American League will advance to the American League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring e ...

against the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

. He hit .600 (6-for-10) with a double and home run as the Red Sox were swept in three games.

St. Louis Cardinals, second stint

Alicea was waived by the

Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

, returning to the

Cardinals Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

on a one-year, $500,000 contract on March 19, 1996. He hit .258 with five home runs and 42 RBI in 129 games for St. Louis.

Anaheim Angels

In January , Alicea signed a one-year deal with the

, taking over at second base for

Randy Velarde Randy Lee Velarde (born November 24, 1962) is an American former baseball infielder and utility player who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played the majority of his career for the New York Yankees, and also played for the ...

. In 128 games with the Angels, Alicea hit .253 with five home runs and 37 RBI, stealing a career-high 22 bases.

Texas Rangers

In December 1997, Alicea signed a two-year, $1.5 million deal with the Texas Rangers. In his first season in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, Alicea hit .274 with six home runs and 33 RBI in 101 games. In , he hit .201 with three homers and 17 RBI in 68 games with the Rangers. It was in that he had his best season establishing career highs with a .294 average, 85 runs, 159 hits, and 63 RBI.

Kansas City Royals

He played his last two seasons with the Kansas City Royals before retiring following the season. In , Alicea hit .274 with four home runs and 32 RBI in 113 games. In his final big league campaign, he hit .228 with a homer and 23 RBI in 94 games.

Coaching career

After his playing days ended, he managed the

Lowell Spinners The Lowell Spinners were a baseball team based in Lowell, Massachusetts. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL) as the Class A Short Season affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. With Major League ...

in and and was skipper of the

Greenville Drive The Greenville Drive are a Minor League Baseball team based in Greenville, South Carolina. They are the High-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox and are a member of the South Atlantic League. They play their home games at Fluor Field at the West E ...

in . On November 29, 2006, Alicea was named by the Red Sox as their first base coach, taking over for

Bill Haselman William Joseph Haselman (born May 25, 1966) is an American professional baseball coach and former player. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 13 seasons between 1990 and 2003. A first-round selection in the 1987 MLB draft, he ...

. He served in this position through the and seasons. On October 22, , Alicea was told by manager

Terry Francona Terrence Jon Francona (born April 22, 1959), nicknamed "Tito", is an American baseball manager and former player who is the manager of the Cleveland Guardians in Major League Baseball (MLB). Previously, he was the manager of the Boston Red Sox fo ...

that he was not going to be offered a contract for . Alicea was then hired by the

to be their first base coach for the season. On October 5, 2009, after the Mets' dismal 70–92 season, they announced that Alicea would not return to the Mets coaching staff in the 2010 season.

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
:
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alicea, Luis 1965 births Living people Anaheim Angels players Arkansas Travelers players Boston Red Sox coaches Boston Red Sox players Greenville Drive managers Erie Cardinals players Florida State Seminoles baseball players Kansas City Royals players Louisville Redbirds players Lowell Spinners managers Major League Baseball first base coaches Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico Major League Baseball second basemen New York Mets coaches New York Mets players St. Louis Cardinals players St. Petersburg Cardinals players Texas Rangers players Sportspeople from San Juan, Puerto Rico All-American college baseball players Anchorage Glacier Pilots players