The Los Angeles Dodgers see manager Felipe Rojas Alou as a perfect fit for their team, but for the Dominican, leaving Montreal and the Expos will not be an easy decision. The Dodgers are reportedly making Alou a multiyear contract that is too good to refuse and hope to be able to introduce him as the team’s manager before the World Series. The Dodgers’s offer supposedly surpasses what Montreal might spend to retain the manager who has had a .519 winning percentage in seven seasons. Alou, 63, has had success in Montreal despite the team’s low payroll, blamed for the departure of many key players through trades or free agency. Star players who have left Montreal include Alou’s son, Moises, along with Larry Walker, John Wetteland, Pedro Martinez, Andres Galarraga, Marquis Grissom, and Mike Lansing. During the strike-shortened 1994 season the Expos had a 74-40 record – the best in baseball, and Alou was named Associated Press Manager of the Year and NL Manager of the Year by the Baseball Writers Association of America. The Expos were 94-68 in 1993, and 88-74 in 1996. It is yet to be seen if the Expos will get the investment to build the announced new ball park. Alou has said this is not about money. Expos general manager Jim Beattie said he is authorized to match the Dodger’s financial offer and planned to meet with Alou at Alou’s winter home near Miami. They hope to keep him. More so, Alou has a Canadian wife and Canadian children. Alou has been Montreal’s manager since May 22, 1992, and has one year remaining on his contract with the Expos. Dodgers general manager Kevin Malone and Dodgers president Bob Graziano visited the DR to speak with Alou and tour the team’s training facility, the Campo Las Palmas, which suffered major damages during Hurricane Georges. The academy is closed for repairs and will reopen 6 January. Speaking to the Dominican press at a press conference from the baseball academy, Malone said they are close to reaching an agreement with Alou. The Expos gave the Dodgers permission Monday to talk to Alou about the managerial job, vacant since it was announced last week that Hoffman would return as a member of the coaching staff, not as manager. He was an in-season replacement for Bill Russell. Malone was hired Sept. 11 to become the Dodgers’ third general manager in a six month period. Malone was general manager of the Expos during the 1994 and 1995 seasons, and Alou’s boss then. They have continued to be close friends ever since. Alou is the Dodgers’s number one candidate to the post of manager of the team. Other candidates are Davey Johnson and Kevin Kennedy.
