# Yonder Alonso
**Yonder Alonso** (born 1987) is a Cuban-born former professional baseball first baseman who played 10 seasons in [Major League Baseball](https://www.edgepedia.org/major-league-baseball) from 2010 to 2019 for seven teams, hitting .259 with 100 home runs and 426 runs batted in, and was an American League All-Star in 2017.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/yonder-alonso-475174) Known by the nickname "Mr. 305", he batted left-handed and threw right-handed, stood 6 feet 1 inch, and weighed 230 pounds during his playing career.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/yonder-alonso-475174)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1987, in Havana, Cuba; moved to the United States as a child[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/yonder-alonso-475174) |
| Draft | 2008, 1st round, 7th overall, by the Cincinnati Reds; a $4.55 million big league contract with a $2 million bonus, the most lucrative draft deal in Reds franchise history at the time[2](https://www.baseballamerica.com/players/5020-yonder-alonso/) |
| MLB debut | September 1, 2010, with Cincinnati[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/yonder-alonso-475174) |
| Teams | Cincinnati Reds, San Diego Padres, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, and Colorado Rockies[3](https://as.com/us/us/2020/11/22/mlb/1606008904_140851.html) |
| Career totals | 1,072 games; .259 average, 100 home runs, 426 RBI, 22 stolen bases, .736 OPS[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/yonder-alonso-475174) |
| Best season | 2017: career-high 28 home runs and first AL All-Star selection, split between Oakland and Seattle[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/yonder-alonso-475174) |
| Retirement | Announced November 2020, after his final major league game on September 29, 2019[4](https://www.mlb.com/news/yonder-alonso-announces-retirement) • [5](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/alonsyo01.shtml) |
## Early life and college
Alonso was born in Havana, where his father, Luis, played for the Industriales club of the Cuban National Series.[6](https://www.umsportshalloffame.com/yonder-alonso.html) The family left Cuba for the United States when Alonso was a child; MLB.com gives his age at the move as 10, while Baseball Reference's Bullpen account says he left in 1996 at age 9.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/yonder-alonso-475174) • [7](https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Yonder_Alonso) He arrived with his father Luis, mother Damarys, and sister Yainee, and his father took a warehouse job and rented a one-bedroom house for the four of them.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/yonder-alonso-475174) • [8](https://www.mlb.com/news/manny-machado-yonder-alonso-share-special-bond) As a 14-year-old in Miami he cleaned offices to help his parents provide for the family.[9](https://www.mlb.com/news/yonder-alonso-comes-home-to-miami-for-asg-c241593936)
He attended Coral Gables Senior High School and the [University of Miami](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-miami), where he became one of college baseball's leading hitters.[9](https://www.mlb.com/news/yonder-alonso-comes-home-to-miami-for-asg-c241593936) • [2](https://www.baseballamerica.com/players/5020-yonder-alonso/) Alonso sits third on Miami's all-time list with 52 home runs and 215 RBI, fourth with 172 career walks, and joint fifth with a .637 slugging percentage; his 2008 season, featuring 76 walks and a .777 slugging mark, stands second on each of those single-season school lists.[6](https://www.umsportshalloffame.com/yonder-alonso.html) The Twins drafted him out of high school in 2005, but he did not sign.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/yonder-alonso-475174)
## Draft and minor leagues
The [Cincinnati Reds](https://www.edgepedia.org/cincinnati-reds) selected Alonso seventh overall in the 2008 amateur draft and signed him to a $4.55 million big league contract that included a $2 million bonus, at the time the most lucrative draft deal in franchise history.[2](https://www.baseballamerica.com/players/5020-yonder-alonso/) He began his professional career that August with Sarasota in the high Class A Florida State League and played for Waikiki in Hawaii Winter Baseball after the season.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/yonder-alonso-475174) In 2009, split between Class A Sarasota and Class AA Carolina, he hit .300 with 24 doubles, 9 home runs, and 52 RBI despite missing two months with a broken right hamate bone that required surgery.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/yonder-alonso-475174) He played in the All-Star Futures Game in both 2010 and 2011, and [Baseball America](https://www.edgepedia.org/baseball-america) rated him the Reds' number two prospect in 2010 and number four in 2011.[10](https://pressbox.athletics.com/Publications/Athletics%20Media%20Guides/2017%20Oakland%20A%27s%20Media%20Guide.pdf)
## Major league career
**Cincinnati and San Diego.** Alonso debuted with the Reds on September 1, 2010, and appeared in 69 games for [Cincinnati](https://www.edgepedia.org/cincinnati) over 2010 and 2011 before being traded to San Diego, where he became the Padres' number one prospect heading into 2012.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/yonder-alonso-475174) • [7](https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Yonder_Alonso) His first full major league season, 2012, set career highs in nearly every offensive category: 155 games, 150 hits, 39 doubles, 9 home runs, 62 RBI, and 62 walks.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/yonder-alonso-475174) He led all major league rookies in games played and doubles, set a Padres rookie record with his 39 doubles, and finished sixth in National League Rookie of the Year voting, a award won by [Bryce Harper](https://www.edgepedia.org/bryce-harper).[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/yonder-alonso-475174) • [3](https://as.com/us/us/2020/11/22/mlb/1606008904_140851.html) His four seasons in San Diego were interrupted by repeated injuries, including five stints on the disabled list over three seasons, and [Petco Park](https://www.edgepedia.org/petco-park)'s pitcher-friendly conditions suppressed his power numbers.[10](https://pressbox.athletics.com/Publications/Athletics%20Media%20Guides/2017%20Oakland%20A%27s%20Media%20Guide.pdf) • [11](https://blogs.fangraphs.com/sunday-notes-yonder-alonso-yankees-dodgers-pitch-selection-more/)
**Oakland and the 2017 breakout.** Traded to Oakland, Alonso played a career-high 156 games in 2016, batting .253 with 7 home runs and 56 RBI, with the fourth-lowest slugging percentage (.367) and OPS (.683) in the [American League](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-league).[10](https://pressbox.athletics.com/Publications/Athletics%20Media%20Guides/2017%20Oakland%20A%27s%20Media%20Guide.pdf) His 2017 season transformed his career: he hit a career-high 28 home runs after entering the year with 39 career homers over five seasons, earned his first AL All-Star selection, and set career bests in runs, walks, RBI, and all the rate stats, including a .365 on-base percentage that ranked 12th in the league.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/yonder-alonso-475174) Alonso's 22 home runs for the Athletics were the highest total an A's first baseman had produced since [Jason Giambi](https://www.edgepedia.org/jason-giambi)'s 32 in 2001; he also slugged 10 home runs in May 2017, a league-leading figure for the American League that month, which brought him his first AL Player of the Week honor.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/yonder-alonso-475174) On August 6, 2017, with Oakland out of contention, the Athletics traded him to the [Seattle Mariners](https://www.edgepedia.org/seattle-mariners) for outfielder Boog Powell.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/yonder-alonso-475174) • [7](https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Yonder_Alonso)
**Cleveland and final seasons.** After the 2017 season, [Cleveland](https://www.edgepedia.org/cleveland) signed Alonso to a two-year, $16 million contract with an option for a third year, filling the first-base vacancy left when [Carlos Santana](https://www.edgepedia.org/carlos-santana) signed with Philadelphia.[12](https://as.com/us/us/2017/12/24/mlb/1514076901_187442.html) In his only full season with the Indians, 2018, he ranked second among AL first basemen in RBI (81), hit two grand slams, homered in a career-high three straight games, and appeared in two games of Cleveland's ALDS loss to Houston.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/yonder-alonso-475174) His 2019 season collapsed: split between the [Chicago White Sox](https://www.edgepedia.org/chicago-white-sox) and the Colorado Rockies, he batted .199/.296/.346 in 121 games.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/yonder-alonso-475174) The White Sox designated him for assignment in late June 2019 and released him on July 3; Colorado then signed him to a minor league contract, and his final major league appearance came as a pinch hitter for the Rockies on September 29, 2019.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/yonder-alonso-475174) • [5](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/alonsyo01.shtml)
## The fly-ball revolution
Alonso's 2017 breakout made him a symbol of a league-wide change in hitting approach. FanGraphs called him "the new poster boy for the fly ball revolution", a reference to the trend of hitters deliberately elevating the ball to trade contact for home runs.[13](https://blogs.fangraphs.com/yonder-alonso-is-the-new-poster-boy-for-the-fly-ball-revolution/) The jump was stark: 7 home runs in 532 plate appearances in 2016 became 28 in 521 plate appearances in 2017.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/yonder-alonso-475174) A FanGraphs analysis of his new approach noted that he ranked 21st in baseball with 16 left-handed home runs hit to right field, and described him as a player "trying to swim with the game's current, not against it".[14](https://blogs.fangraphs.com/indians-sign-fly-ball-poster-boy-yonder-alonso/) The same analysis cautioned that a month of Statcast data is a small sample, even before his full breakout was established.[13](https://blogs.fangraphs.com/yonder-alonso-is-the-new-poster-boy-for-the-fly-ball-revolution/)
## Retirement and personal life
Alonso signed a minor league contract with the [Atlanta Braves](https://www.edgepedia.org/atlanta-braves) on February 14, 2020, but did not appear in a major league game that season.[15](https://pressbox.athletics.com/Publications/MLB%20Media%20Guides/Archives/2020%20Media%20Guides/2020%20Atlanta%20Braves%20Media%20Guide.pdf) In November 2020 he announced his retirement on Instagram after 10 major league seasons, writing, "A Cuban kid with big dreams of making it in a free country, I have surpassed everything and a little more."
[4](https://www.mlb.com/news/yonder-alonso-announces-retirement) • [3](https://as.com/us/us/2020/11/22/mlb/1606008904_140851.html) He said he intended to stay in the game by mentoring young players, drawing on his experience as an All-Star, an everyday player, a role player, and a bench player.[3](https://as.com/us/us/2020/11/22/mlb/1606008904_140851.html)
His sister, Yainee, is married to major league All-Star Manny Machado, making Alonso Machado's brother-in-law; Alonso and his wife, Amber, have two children, Troy and Marie.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/yonder-alonso-475174) Since his playing days in San Diego he has been a sustained supporter of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade, the club he attended as a child, and extended that charity work to other cities during his career, including a bowling event benefiting the Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago.[16](https://www.mlb.com/news/yonder-alonso-happy-to-pay-it-forward-to-charities/c-60984330) He was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame in 2018.[17](https://thebaseballcube.com/content/player.asp?ID=54699&view=draft)
## References
1. [Yonder Alonso Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/player/yonder-alonso-475174)
2. [Yonder Alonso Stats & Scouting Report, Baseball America](https://www.baseballamerica.com/players/5020-yonder-alonso/)
3. [Yonder Alonso anuncia su retiro de Grandes Ligas, AS (November 22, 2020)](https://as.com/us/us/2020/11/22/mlb/1606008904_140851.html)
4. [Yonder Alonso announces retirement, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/news/yonder-alonso-announces-retirement)
5. [Yonder Alonso Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More, Baseball-Reference.com](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/alonsyo01.shtml)
6. [Yonder Alonso, University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame](https://www.umsportshalloffame.com/yonder-alonso.html)
7. [Yonder Alonso, BR Bullpen, Baseball-Reference.com](https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Yonder_Alonso)
8. [Manny Machado, Yonder Alonso share special bond, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/news/manny-machado-yonder-alonso-share-special-bond)
9. [Yonder Alonso comes home to Miami for ASG, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/news/yonder-alonso-comes-home-to-miami-for-asg-c241593936)
10. [2017 Oakland A's Media Guide, Yonder Alonso biography](https://pressbox.athletics.com/Publications/Athletics%20Media%20Guides/2017%20Oakland%20A%27s%20Media%20Guide.pdf)
11. [Sunday Notes: Yonder, Yankees, Dodgers, Pitch Selection, more, FanGraphs Baseball](https://blogs.fangraphs.com/sunday-notes-yonder-alonso-yankees-dodgers-pitch-selection-more/)
12. [ya hay sustituto de carlos santana en cleveland](https://as.com/us/us/2017/12/24/mlb/1514076901_187442.html)
13. [Yonder Alonso Is the New Poster Boy for the Fly Ball Revolution, FanGraphs Baseball](https://blogs.fangraphs.com/yonder-alonso-is-the-new-poster-boy-for-the-fly-ball-revolution/)
14. [Indians Sign Fly-Ball Poster Boy Yonder Alonso, FanGraphs Baseball](https://blogs.fangraphs.com/indians-sign-fly-ball-poster-boy-yonder-alonso/)
15. [2020 Atlanta Braves Media Guide (non-roster invitee listing)](https://pressbox.athletics.com/Publications/MLB%20Media%20Guides/Archives/2020%20Media%20Guides/2020%20Atlanta%20Braves%20Media%20Guide.pdf)
16. [Alonso happy to pay it forward to charities, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/news/yonder-alonso-happy-to-pay-it-forward-to-charities/c-60984330)
17. [Yonder Alonso, The Baseball Cube (draft and honors record)](https://thebaseballcube.com/content/player.asp?ID=54699&view=draft)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Baseball and related bat sports › Professional baseball in the Americas › MLB players and personnel biographies › First basemen*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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