Alonso Téllez

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Alonso Téllez Jurado

  • Bats Right, Throws Right
  • Height 5' 11", Weight 180 lb.

BR Minors page

Outfielder Alonso Téllez had over 2,800 minor league hits plus over 1,000 more in winter ball; few players had more hits in professional baseball history than his 3,895. He set a Mexican League record with 17 straight seasons of 100+ hits (1988-2004). He spent 22 seasons in the minors and 19 in winter ball. A long-time consistent threat, he rarely led his league in any major department (one hit title in winter ball, one double title in summer ball). He was a reliable contact and power threat but did not walk much or steal many bases.

Téllez debuted in 1978 with Diaz Ordaz in the Mexican Center League; he hit .301/.377/.394. He came up to the Mexican League itself in 1979, splitting time between two clubs and hitting .228/.259/.366, hardly an impressive debut. In '80, he batted .247/.290/.298 for the Monterrey Industriales. Deemed not ready yet for prime time, he vanished from the Mexican League for four years. In 1985, Alonso returned to hit .307/.370/.464 with 16 home runs and 85 RBI for the Cafeteros de Cordoba.

Téllez was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers. He hit .244/~.275/.329 for the 1986 San Antonio Dodgers and was 2 for 7 for the Albuquerque Dukes. The next year, he batted .282/~.325/.390 for San Antonio. Returning to Mexico in 1988, he put up a .310/.351/.466 line for the Mexico City Red Devils with 86 runs, 95 RBI and 17 home runs. In the 1988-1989 Mexican Pacific League, Alonso hit .277/~.302/.395 for the Ostioneros de Guaymas.

The Chihuahua native batted .327/.383/.494 with 38 doubles, 84 runs and 82 RBI for the Industriales; he also was at .235/.250/.275 in a brief stint with the Jacksonville Expos, drawing just one walk in 26 games. It was his last appearance in the US minors. In 1989-1990, he hit .297/~.344/.409 in the Mexican Pacific League. He was 7th in average and also stole 18 bases, a rarity. Alonso's batting line for the 1990 Industriales was .312/.367/.503 with 29 doubles, 10 triples and 78 RBI. In the winter of 1990-1991, he hit .279/~.332/.426 for the Águilas de Mexicali.

In the summer of 1991, the veteran flyhawk hit .358/.396/.565 for the Industriales. He scored 83 runs, drove in 77, smacked 31 doubles and launched 20 dingers. Alonso hit .318 and slugged .532 for the 1991-1992 Naranjeros de Hermosillo. He led the Mexican Pacific League with 109 hits. He starred in the 1992 Caribbean Series, winning All-Star honors in right field; the other outfielders picked were Al Martin and Chad Curtis.

At age 31, Téllez hit .324/.354/.472 with only 22 walks in 132 games. In 1992-1993, he batted .280 and slugged .403 for Hermosillo. During the summer of '93, he hit .311/.347/.455 with 88 RBI. Though he had made his minor league debut 15 years prior, he still had over a decade left. In 1994, he batted .321/.370/.484 with 8 triples and 97 RBI, ending his 6-year run with Monterrey.

Moving to the Broncos de Reynosa in 1995, Alonso put up a .331/.387/.474 line. He hit .365/.443/.509 in a career year in 1996. He finished second in the Mexican League in average, .003 behind Matias Carrillo. Carrillo became the first native Mexican in 23 years (since the legendary Hector Espino) to pace the Mexican League in average, but Téllez almost got the honor instead. The right fielder batted .317/.384/.492 for the 1997 Broncos. In '98, he hit .294/.353/.424 and ground into 26 double plays.

Téllez rebounded to .311/.388/.488 for Reynoso in 1999, with 19 homers and a career-high 103 RBI at age 38. In 2000, he batted .282/.361/.464 with 37 doubles. He led the league in two-baggers, one ahead of Oscar Azocar. Through 2000, he had hit .314/.368/.472 in 16 seasons in the Mexican League, with 989 runs, 2,138 hits, 375 doubles, 65 triples, 191 homers and 1,095 RBI. He had just 56 steals in 124 tries and 580 walks (86 of them intentional). He was 4th in LMB history in doubles (behind Jesus Sommers, Nelson Barrera and Enrique Aguilar) and 9th with 3,216 total bases.

Alonso batted .330/.385/.472 with 34 doubles for the 2001 Broncos. The old-timer was 10th in the league in average and tied three former major leaguers (Julio Franco, Rudy Pemberton and Pedro Castellano) for second in doubles, trailing only Howie Clark. In 2002, he played for Reynosa (.271/.311/.422) and the Leones de Yucatan (.307/.358/.425). Still a starter at age 41, he hit .266/.320/.409 with 12 home runs for the 2003 Leones. He faded to .177/.296/.246 between three teams in 2004, then retired.

Overall, he had 1,132 runs in LMB player, 2,522 hits, 448 doubles, 226 homers and 1,289 RBI. He retired possibly as high as 5th in league history in hits (behind Sommers, Barrera, Espino and Aguilar), 3rd in doubles and 7th in RBI. This does not include his 252 hits in the US minors, 65 in the Mexican Center League or 1,056 in the Mexican Pacific League.

He later coached for the Broncos.

On his first ballot, 2010, he was voted into the Salón de la Fama. Two other outfielders went in on their first try that year, Derek Bryant and Gerardo Sánchez.

Sources[edit]

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