New York Mets: Six wacky batting stances the fans will never forget

Moises Alou

Another Mets bench player from the mid-2000s who turned heads with an unusual batting stance was Moises Alou. He resided in Flushing in 2007 and 2008, which of course are better known for the collapses that occurred at the end of each season. Nonetheless, amidst some nagging injuries and disappointing team finishes each of the two years he spent in Flushing, Alou was one of the best pure hitters to ever suit up for the Mets.

Alou’s unusual batting stance had several elements to consider. He stood bow-legged with his knees buckled inwards, which set him apart from his fellow ballplayers who nearly always stood with their knees pointing straight ahead. Alou was also famous for never wearing batting gloves, which by the mid-2000s had become commonplace across all of baseball. Finally, he held the bat almost directly perpendicular to the ground while he awaited each pitch.

This batting stance clearly served him well throughout his prolific 17-year big league career. He amassed north of 2100 hits, 1100 RBI, 330 home runs, and 1200 RBI while hitting for a career .303 batting average. Alou finished top-25 in MVP voting seven times, was selected to six All-Star games, and won two Silver Slugger awards.

As a Met, his biggest claim to fame besides his batting stance was when in 2007, at age 40, he batted .341 in 87 games and put together a 30-game hitting streak that is, to date, the longest hitting streak in Mets history.

The Flushing Faithful often serenaded Alou with extended shouts of “Alooooouuuu” when he came up to bat or got a big hit, which no Mets fan or player could have mistaken for booing. He retired as a Met after the 2008 season and deserved every cheer and “Aloooouuu” he received while at Shea.