Rich Aldrete

Richard Aldrete

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 11", Weight 185 lb.
• School University of California
• High School Monterey (CA) High School
• Born January 1, 1965 in Carmel, CA USA

BR minors page

Biographical Information

The brother of Mike Aldrete and uncle of Michael Aldrete, Rich Aldrete played 9 years in the minor leagues before going into coaching. A singles hitter, he batted .300 or better six times in his nine seasons.

Aldrete hit over .400 three straight years in high school. After college, he was drafted in the 31st round of the 1987 amateur draft by the San Francisco Giants. He debuted professionally with the Everett Giants, hitting .300/~.382/.372 in 59 games. Aldrete was 10th in the Northwest League in batting average that season.

In 1988, Aldrete hit .301/~.387/.445 for the San Jose Giants. He scored 85 and drove in 109 in 141 games, drew 74 walks and stole 15 bases in 18 tries. He was sixth in the California League in average and second in RBI, behind only teammate Mark Leonard. He made the Cal League All-Star team at first base ahead of John Jaha and Paul Sorrento.

Aldrete kept on hitting for fine averages in 1989, when he was with the Shreveport Captains. He produced at a .321/~.354/.393 clip. He was third in the Texas League in average behind only Bobby Rose and Ramon Sambo and right ahead of Ray Lankford, Shon Ashley and Warren Newson. Chris Cron, a much better power hitter, beat him out for the TL All-Star spot at first.

In his second year at Shreveport, Aldrete finally struggled in baseball, hitting just .228/~.290/.300 in 23 games. He again showed fine contact-hitting skills in 1991 for the Phoenix Firebirds, batting .302/~.359/.349, apparently used in a platoon role with Jim Wilson.

Aldrete moved to the St. Louis Cardinals system for 1992. He only went 2 for 18 with a walk in 10 games for the Louisville Redbirds and hit .214/~.295/.343 in 23 games for the Arkansas Travelers.

In 1993, Aldrete joined the new Northern League and became a productive player once more. As a DH/1B for the Sioux Falls Canaries, he batted .328/?/.473 and finished fifth in the league in average. He outhit teammate Pedro Guerrero. He struggled in 1994, though, hitting .208/?/.283 for Sioux Falls.

In 1995, Aldrete joined the Milwaukee Brewers during the player's strike. He was one of the team's best hitters during the spring, but was not kept around once the minor league season began. Aldrete did find work in the independent Western Baseball League with the Salinas Peppers, hitting .337/?/.416 and finishing fourth in the league in batting average in his final professional season.

Aldrete was the head coach of California State University, Monterey Bay from 2006 to 2010.

Aldrete's son, Carter Aldrete, was drafted by the Giants in the 15th round of the 2019 amateur draft.

Sources include 1988-1996 Baseball Almanacs, 1989 and 1991 Baseball Guides and a Monterey County Weekly article on the Aldretes