Felipe Alou became the first Dominican manager in major league history when the Montreal Expos fired Tom Runnells on Friday and replaced him with the three-time All-Star.
Alou, who has been in the Expos' organization for 16 years, became the third minority manager in the majors, joining Hal McRae of the Kansas City Royals and Cito Gaston of the Toronto Blue Jays. He also joined McRae as the second current manager with a son on his own team."I was one of the first Dominicans to play in the major leagues, and now I'm very proud to be the first Dominican to manage in the majors," said Alou, a career .286 hitter with seven teams from 1959-74.
Runnells, 37, was the youngest manager in the majors when he replaced Buck Rodgers on June 3, 1991. Montreal was 20-29 at the time and went on to go 51-61 under Runnells.