CLEVELAND -- Luis Isaac wore a number of hats and held a variety of roles during his extensive tenure with the Cleveland organization, during which he impacted countless players and team personnel.
Isaac’s influence on Guardians first-base coach Sandy Alomar Jr., in particular, was profound.
“He was a huge mentor. He was like another father to me,” Alomar said on Monday. “Luis, a lot of things that I learned, I learned from him.”
Isaac, who passed away on Sunday at the age of 79, spent 43 years with Cleveland as a player, coach, manager or scout, beginning as a Minor League catcher in 1966. He served two stints as the organization’s big league bullpen coach, from 1987-91 and ‘94-2008, which intertwined with Alomar’s playing tenure (1990-2000).
Alomar (whose 17-season coaching tenure trails only Isaac’s 20 seasons in franchise history) remembered Isaac not only for his coaching skills, but his ability to connect with players on a personal level.
“He was a catching coach, pitching coach, mental coach, and a jokester,” Alomar said. “At the same time, he knew what to say to people to get them to perform and relax.”
Alomar’s relationship with Isaac predated their time in Cleveland. Isaac played winter ball with Alomar’s father, Sandy Sr., in Puerto Rico, and Sandy Jr. was around the clubhouse during his childhood.
As fate would have it, Isaac moved into a scouting role with Cleveland in ‘80, after his playing career ended, and Alomar emerged as a talented international catching prospect. Alomar recalled that Isaac pushed Cleveland to sign him in '83, but the Padres ultimately landed him.
The two stayed connected; Isaac served as Alomar’s catching instructor during winter ball in the '80s. As Alomar recalled, Isaac once again pushed Cleveland to land him -- when San Diego was interested in outfielder Joe Carter on the trade market during the 1989-90 offseason.
Cleveland acquired Alomar Jr., Carlos Baerga and Chris James in a deal for Carter, after which Isaac was one of the first people Alomar heard from.
“Right away, he was like, ‘Hey, we got you! We got you!’” Alomar said.
Alomar called Isaac “a special person” who was always prepared and worked hard. He noted how Isaac was especially an important figure for Cleveland’s Latin American players, and how he ensured things were communicated to them as equally as English-speaking players.
As much as Isaac was an influential coach, he was impactful on a human level.
“When he felt players were tense," Alomar said, "he always told them, 'Hey, come over here, come over here. I've got to tell you something,’” Alomar said. “And you thought it was about baseball stuff, but it wasn't. Anything but baseball.
"He had a good way and knew how to talk to people and was always focused on the task at hand. He was a good developer. I’ve got to say, a lot of things that I learned from catching, I learned from him.”