If the A-Roid scandal wasn't bad enough, we find out today that Roberto Alomar has full-blown AIDS.
The shocking claim was leveled by Ilya Dall, 31, who said she lived with the ex-Met for three years and watched in horror as his health worsened.
In papers filed in state and federal court, Dall said Alomar finally got tested in January 2006 while suffering from a cough, fatigue and shingles.
"The test results of him being HIV-positive was given to him and the plaintiff on or about Feb.6, 2006," the $15 million negligence suit says.
Nine days later, the couple went to see a disease specialist who discovered a mass in the retired second baseman's chest, the court papers say.
Alomar's skin had turned purple, he was foaming at the mouth and a spinal tap "showed he had full-blown AIDS," the suit says.
Alomar, 41, who quit baseball over health issues in 2005, could not be reached for comment.
His lawyer, Charles Bach, would not say whether Alomar is HIV-positive. "We believe this is a totally frivolous lawsuit. These allegations are baseless," Bach said. "He's healthy and would like to keep his health status private. We'll do our talking in court."
Alomar's father, Mets bench coach Sandy Alomar, said the claims were news to him. "That's the first time we ever heard of that," he said from Puerto Rico.
He didn't think his son could keep a serious illness secret. "I imagine I would know," he said.
It could all be crap, of course, but Wikipedia is taking it as fact.
In a 17-year career, Alomar was a .300/.371/.443 hitter with 210 home runs and 1,134 RBI in 2,379 games. He is 51st all-time with 2,724 career hits.
On February 11, 2009. The New York Daily News reported that Alomar was sued for allegedly having unprotected sexual intercourse with his ex-girlfriend and not notifying her of his HIV status. It is now known that he has full blown AIDS
In April 2005, Alomar told his ex-girlfriend he was suffering from erectile dysfunction and confided "he was raped by two Mexican men after playing a ballgame in New Mexico or a Southwestern state when he was 17.
I'm more than a little weirded out by this. Roberto Alomar's career is characterised by 14 years of Hall-of-Fame type work as second baseman, followed by 3 yeas of utter crap work in NYC, Chicago, and Arizona. I should know. I had him on my fantasy teams, year after year. The radical collapse in ISO, BABIP, contributed to a calamitous drop in his BA. He went from being an excellent ballplayer to being below average overnight. He never recovered. It was as if suddenly, the guy just couldn't hit or field for love or money, and became nothing like the elite player he was in the prevous years.
It was one of the most unfathomable collapses in a career, but if he was suffering from an early onset of AIDS, it sort of makes sense. This is sad news.
UPDATE:
Roberto Alomar is denying he has ful blown AIDS.
Roberto Alomar said Wednesday that he is in good health, a response to allegations made in a civil suit against him in which a former girlfriend claims he insisted on unprotected sex for four years despite having AIDS.
"This is a very private, personal matter and I greatly appreciate all the support I have received in the past few days from my family, friends and colleagues in baseball," the former All-Star second baseman said in a statement. "I am in very good health and I ask that you respect my privacy during this time."
Ilya Dall, a former girlfriend of Roberto Alomar, filed a civil suit Jan. 30 alleging that Alomar demanded unprotected sex with her despite showing obvious signs of AIDS, and that the 41-year-old Alomar later tested positive for the disease. Dall has not tested positive for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. She is seeking at least $15 million in damages.
"As for the lawsuit, it is filled with lies and I am deeply saddened that someone I cared for would make such terrible accusations and try to hurt me in this way," Alomar said in his statement.
Earlier Wednesday, his father told ESPN that Roberto is not ill.
"The only thing that I can tell you is that this is news to us," Sandy Alomar Sr. said. "When a person is sick like that, wouldn't he have to be in the hospital? I haven't seen my son sick like that. I am confident that he is fine.
"We are a family. We are very close, a family that is united. I am sure my son is fine. Other than that, we are going to let the lawyers handle it."
Alomar Sr. said he saw his son on Monday when Roberto ended a visit with the family.
"He was well. He wasn't sick," Alomar Sr. told ESPN.
There you go. He didn't collapse because of AIDS. His career didn't collapse because of AIDS, he probably just went from extreme hitters parks to extreme pitchers' parks. Who the hell really knows?
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