The son of a major leaguer, Roberto Alomar grew up in baseball. When Alomar’s father Sandy played for the Angels, that meant picking the brain of the pitcher who stood on the mound when young Robbie stepped into the batter’s box on this date — April 22 — in 1988 for his own major league debut.
Yes, Nolan Ryan was still intimidating.
“I’ve always admired him,” a 20-year-old Alomar said after the Padres’ 3-1 victory over the Houston Astros at Jack Murphy Stadium. “He used to teach me how to pitch. But I really never thought he’d still be pitching when I got here.