THIS DAY IN BÉISBOL December 1: Matty Alou traded to Pirates, goes on to win batting title

After six years in the majors, Giants outfielder Matty Alou had long shown he was hardly the hitter his older brother Felipe was. So when Matty was traded to the Pirates on this day in béisbol, December 1, 1965, for a losing pitcher and a weak-hitting infielder, Pittsburgh was hardly expecting the deal to turn out to be a steal.

But Matty Alou, a 25-year-old platoon player and lifetime .260 hitter to that point, paid instant dividends. In his first full season with the Bucs, he won the National League batting title with a .342 average. It was the first of four straight .300 seasons for the middle Alou brother (the youngest, Jesus, was a Giant), and the start of an eight-season stretch in which Matty hit .295 or better.

While the Dominican Republic native was never a power hitter like Felipe — Matty only totaled 31 homers over his 15-year career with six teams, as opposed to Felipe’s 206 — he made up for it as a table-setting base stealing threat who retired after the 1974 season with a lifetime .307 average.

Matty also got out from his older brother’s shadow after the Pirates trade — the runner-up for the NL batting title in 1966 was Felipe, who hit .327 for the Atlanta Braves.

Also on the day: In 1956, future Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio was named the American League Rookie of the Year. The smooth fielding Chicago White Sox shortstop hit .266 and led the AL with 21 stolen bases.

East Hills Shopping Center, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; LatinoBaseball.com illustration