Hanser Alberto tripled to right to begin the second inning of a March 2 Cactus League game against the Colorado Rockies.
He led off the fourth with a single to center. Alberto’s third at-bat in the sixth resulted in a double.
He was lifted for a pinch runner after that, so he didn’t have a shot at completing the cycle. But he continued hitting the next day with a single to center in his first at-bat against the Cincinnati Reds.
Alberto, a 30-year-old infielder and non-roster invitee to Chicago White Sox camp, has put together an impressive spring, hitting .471 (8-for-17) through Tuesday.
“I feel great up there,” Alberto said Sunday. “I’ve been doing a lot of work and it’s showing out there. I’m happy about it. I hope to continue to do the hard work and the results out there.
“I’m going out there with a good plan and just trying to be ready to hit and put the best swing I can, and I think I’m doing it right now.”
The veteran, who has played parts of seven major-league seasons with the Texas Rangers (2015-16, ‘18), Baltimore Orioles (2019-20), Kansas City Royals (2021) and Los Angeles Dodgers (2022), signed a minor-league deal with the Sox during the offseason.
“It’s a great organization,” he said. “I heard a lot of good things. I know the manager (Pedro Grifol), I know pretty much the staff and the guys around here. I knew a lot of them before I came here. I see a good opportunity here to make the team and have fun.
“Just go out there and do my thing, control what I can and whoever has to make the decision, they’ll do their job. Just go out there, have fun and try to be the best I can be here in the clubhouse and on the field.”
Alberto has a .272/.294/.380 slash line with 70 doubles, 19 homers and 121 RBIs in 458 career games. He slashed .244/.258/.365 with two homers and 15 RBIs in 73 games with the Dodgers last season.
“He’s doing what he does,” Grifol said Saturday of Alberto’s contributions. “He’s a leader, he’s high-energy, he’s a swinger, he has a knack for hitting, for situational hitting, he secures the baseball. This is not like (just) a spring training thing for him. This is who he is.
“I could probably tell you I’m impressed but I’m not. I’ve seen him play before. I’ve seen him play against us, and we’ve been on the same team (with the Royals). This is who he is.”
Alberto has shown his versatility, playing second, third and shortstop.
“You’ve got to be ready,” he said. “That’s why I come early, do a lot of early work with the infield coordinator and just prepare for wherever I’m going to play. Practice and get ready.”
Speaking generally Wednesday about completing the roster, Grifol said: “We have plenty of options. We’ve just got to put the right combination together … as far as how they can help us off the bench, how they can help us in the clubhouse. The energy that they bring. The makeup that it creates. There’s a lot to it.
“And there’s a lot of competition too, which is really good. And that’s a credit to Rick (Hahn) and Kenny (Williams) and Chris (Getz) and these guys in the front office that have developed some of the guys, signed the guys, identified good makeup guys, talent, specialty guys. All we’re doing now is just rounding off 13 guys that we feel can help us get off to a good start.
“It’s important. Culture’s important to me. Really important to me. I said it from day one and I’ll continue to say it until the very last day I’m here. Without good culture you can’t do what you want to do. On top of that, you have to have specialties. You have to do things that help the club win on any given night.”
Alberto’s clubhouse presence has been noticeable.
“This is my 32nd year in the game, but he’s probably the best teammate and clubhouse guy I’ve been around,” Grifol said. “There is zero ounce of selfishness to his game or to his being. This guy is all about working hard, winning, helping others, serving others. He wants to see everybody improve, and that’s the way he goes about his business.”
Said Alberto: “Every time you have the opportunity to put a smile on other faces, that’s good. That’s me. I’ve been like that my whole life and I’m not going to change.”
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