Yonder Alonso Biography
Yonder Alonso is a Cuban Analyst and former Pro Baseball Player (first baseman), working for MLB Network as an analyst. As a baseball player, he played for several MLB teams such as the Reds, the Padres, the White Sox, and the Rockies.
Yonder Alonso Age
Alonso was born on April 8, 1987 in Havana, Cuba. He is therefore 36 years old as of 2023. He celebrates his birthday on the 8th of April every year.
Yonder Alonso Height
Alonso stands at an approximate height of 6 feet and 1 inch.
Yonder Alonso Family
Alonso was born to Damaris Alonso (mother) and Luis Alonso (father). His dad has worked as a coach and player for Industriales of the Cuban National Series. Also, he coached baseball to his son Alonso. Alonso’s family migrated to Miami, Florida from Cuba in the year 1996.
Yonder Alonso Sister
Alonso grew up in Cuba alongside his younger sister, Yainee Alonso, who is 32 years old as of 2023 having been born in the year 1990. Yainee is well-known as the wife of Manny Machado (Alonso’s brother-in-law!), a prominent shortstop and baseball 3rd baseman for MLB’s San Diego Padres. Manny and Yainee have been married since the year 2014.
Yonder Alonso Wife / Children
Alonso is a married man and his spouse is Amber Alonso. The couple takes great pride in being dad and mom to their 2 children, Marie (daughter) and Troy (son).
Yonder Alonso Net Worth
Alonso has an estimated net worth of between $1 Million-$5 Million which he has earned through his successful career as an Analyst and Baseball Player.
Yonder Alonso Salary
As an MLB analyst, Alonso earns an annual salary ranging from $ 45,000 – $ 110,500.
Yonder Alonso Contracts
From 2013 to his last year as a baseball player (2020), Alonso had contracts with an annual salary range of $1 Million and $5 Million. However, in the year 2018, he had a contract that surpassed the range, receiving an annual salary of $7 Million. More information about his contracts is down in the professional career section on this post, so scroll down to see.
Yonder Alonso Career | Statistics
Alonso has a diverse career as a baseball player and as a baseball broadcaster. His career started while in college and ended in November 2020. In that case, this section is divided into two: his college and professional careers.
a). College Career | Education
Alonso is a proud alumnus of the University of Miami in Florida and Coral Gables Senior High School in Coral Gables, Florida. When he was in high school, the Minnesota Twins chose him in the sixteenth round of the Major League Baseball draft of the year 2005.
While at the University of Miami, Alonso played baseball and that was where he started his career. He played for the Hurricanes team for 3 seasons. In his 1st year at the university, he contributed to leading the Hurricanes to the College World Series with a team-leading 69 RBIs.
In his second year of college, Alonso did really well in baseball. He hit the ball with an average of .376, hit 18 home runs (more than anyone else in the Atlantic Coast Conference), brought in 74 runs, and scored 57 times. He was also the second-best in the ACC with a .519 on-base percentage and a .705 slugging percentage. In the year 2007, Alonso played in the Valley Baseball League, which is in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.
During that year and the next, he played summer baseball for the Brewster Whitecaps in the Cape Cod Baseball League and was named a league all-star in 2007. In the year 2008, Alonso hit .373 with 8 stolen bases, 51 RBIs, and 15 home runs. In April 2018, Alonso was honored and put into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame during its 50th yearly induction.
b). Professional Career | Trade
After college, Alonso began his MLB career on September 1, 2010, playing for the Cincinnati Reds, and made his last MLB appearance on September 29, 2019, playing for the Colorado Rockies. He has also played for other teams like the San Diego Padres, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Indians, and Chicago White Sox.
i). The Cincinnati Reds
In the year 2008, the Cincinnati Reds chose Alonso as their 7th overall pick in the draft. They gave him a big-league contract worth $4.55 M, which would last for 4 years (until the year 2012). His very 1st game in the Minor League was for the Class A Sarasota Reds on August 26, 2008, which was versus the Clearwater Threshers. After the season of the year 2008, Alonso went for the Hawaii Winter Baseball League joining the Waikiki Beach Boys.
In the year 2009, Baseball America considered him the top prospect in the Reds organization. Alonso began the 2010 season playing left field in Carolina because Joey Votto was already playing 1st base in Cincinnati. In May of that year, he was moved up to the Triple-A Louisville Bats, where he played 1st base in most of his 101 games and had 12 home runs and a batting average of .296. In the following year, Alonso started the season in Triple-A, where he played mainly in left field and hit .296. He was called up to the Cincinnati Reds on July 26, 2011, after trading with Johnny Gomes.
ii). The San Diego Padres
On December 17, 2011, the San Diego Padres got Alonso, Brad Boxberger, Yasmani Grandal, and Edinson Vólquez in exchange for Mat Latos. They thought Alonso would be their starting 1st baseman, replacing Anthony Rizzo who was later traded. In the year 2012, Alonso was still seen as a beginner, having only 117 at-bats in his career. He played 155 games for the Padres that year, mostly at 1st base, and had an on-base percentage of .348, a batting average of .273, and a slugging percentage of .393. He hit 9 home runs and also broke a Padres rookie record with 39 doubles, surpassing the old record of 33 set by Benito Santiago in 1987.
Alonso started the 2013 season as the 1st baseman. On April 10 of that year, during a game against the Dodgers, he played 1st base. He did something unusual in the ninth inning. The 2nd baseman, Alexi Amarista, was replaced by a pinch-hitter, so Alonso moved to 2nd base for the first time in his career. In the year 2014, he played in 84 games and had a batting line of .240/.285/.397 with 27 RBIs and 7 home runs. He had to take some time off due to injuries in the year 2015, but he came back on June 2 of that same year. During that year, he played in 103 games and had a batting average of .282. He hit got 31 RBIs and 5 home runs.
iii). Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners
The Padres traded Marc Rzepczynski and Alonso to the Oakland Athletics, on December 2, 2015. In return, they got José Torres, Drew Pomeranz, and a promise of another player or cash (which later turned out to be Jabari Blash).
The A’s and Alonso made a deal on January 13, 2016, and concurred on a 1-year contract worth $2.65 million to avoid arguing about salaries. In the year 2016, Alonso played and had a batting line of .253/.316/.367. He hit got 56 RBIs and 7 home runs.
Then, in December 2016, he avoided salary disputes with the Athletics for another year by signing a $4 million contract for the 2017 season. In the 1st part of the 2017 season, Alonso did really well, hitting a career-high 20 home runs. He was even chosen to play in the 2017 MLB All-Star Game. However, on August 6, 2017, the Athletics traded him to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for Boog Powell.
iv). Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox
On December 20, 2017, Alonso signed a contract with the Cleveland Indians for 2 years. It was worth $16 million, and they made it official on December 23. In his first year with Cleveland, Alonso kept hitting home runs, getting 23 of them and also had his best year in terms of RBIs with 83 in 145 games. However, when it came to fielding, he had the lowest percentage among all the 1st basemen in the major leagues, with .990.
Then, on December 15, 2018, Alonso was traded to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for a minor-league outfielder named Alex Call. However, things didn’t go well with the White Sox. On June 28 of that year, they decided to remove him from the team after he hit .178, with 27 RBIs and 7 home runs in 67 games. He was placed on release waivers on July 3. 2018.
v). Colorado Rockies and Later
On July 11, 2019, Alonso made a deal with the Colorado Rockies, but it was a minor league deal. Then, on July 23, the Rockies decided to bring him into the team officially. In the Rockies, Alonso mostly worked as a pinch hitter. He had a batting average of .260 and hit 3 home runs with 10 RBIs in 73 times he came up to bat. Later, on February 14, 2020, he signed another minor league deal, but this time with the Atlanta Braves.
Before the season started, he was removed from the team. He got traded with the San Diego Padres in exchange for some money on August 11, 2020. Then, on November 2, 2020, Alonso became a free agent. On November 20, he shared on Instagram that he retired from his baseball career.
Yonder Alonso Stats (Overall)
Below is an average statistic analyzed from Alonso’s career as a baseball player.
- Home runs 100
- Batting average .259
- Runs batted in 426
Yonder Alonso Injury
When Alonso was with the San Diego Padres, something unfortunate happened on June 6, 2013. He got hit on the hand by a pitch from Aaron Loup back on May 31, 2013. As a result, he had to take a break and was put on the 15-day disabled list (DL). While he was recovering, Jesús Guzmán and Kyle Blanks filled in for him. At that time, he was doing well, hitting .284 with 29 RBIs and 6 home runs. He came back to play on July 12, 2013. Unfortunately, on August 30, 2013, he got another injury, this time to his right hand, missing most of September.
On June 19, 2014, he had to take a break because of right-hand tendinitis, and he was put on the 15-day disabled list (DL). He returned to the team on July 26 after missing thirty games. However, his season didn’t last long. On August 17, 2014, Alonso couldn’t play anymore that year since he had a forearm strain. In the year 2015, he also had to go on the DL twice because of a shoulder injury and a strained lower back.
Yonder Alonso Tattoos
On his right hand, he has tattoos of colorful flowers and sentences. He once explained in an interview that the tats are for the love he has for his mother, who often sent him scriptures every day before his baseball games. He actually has a sentence tattoo “Patience and with God, you can achieve all goals”, which his mom used to send him mostly.
Yonder Alonso MLB Network
Alonso is working at MLB Network alongside other famous MLB analysts, hosts, and commentators, such as;
- Greg Amsinger
- Rubén Amaro Jr.
- A.J. Andrews
- Alex Avila
- Bob Costas
- Ron Darling
- Ryan Dempster
- Mark DeRosa
- Robert Flores
- Cliff Floyd
- Peter Gammons
- Lauren Gardner
- Jon Heyman
- Brian Kenny
Yonder Alonso Social Media Platforms
He is active on his social media accounts and is often seen posting on his Instagram and Facebook. He has over 38.4K followers on Instagram.
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