Bill White just got the Buck O’Neil Lifetime Achievement Award, and honestly, we’re here for it. The 92-year-old former Giants exec deserves all the flowers for basically saving the team from relocating to Florida back in 1992. But real talk? His Hall of Fame recognition should spark a much bigger conversation about Felipe Alou, one of the most disrespected legends in baseball history.

Alou, who’s now 90, was there at the very beginning when the Giants moved to San Francisco in 1958. He played for 17 seasons, managed for 14 more, and somehow still doesn’t have a plaque in Cooperstown. Meanwhile, Hall of Famer Tony La Russa straight up told us that Alou “paid a hell of a lot more dues” to become a big-league manager than La Russa did. That’s not shade, that’s facts.

Here’s the thing: Alou wasn’t just a baller. He was a trailblazer. He’s literally known as the “Jackie Robinson of the Dominican” because he was the first Dominican-born player in the majors and the first Dominican-born manager. But MLB wasn’t ready for a manager who was both Black and Latino, so instead of getting his shot earlier, Alou spent 17 seasons managing in the minors, 17 seasons, before finally getting his chance at age 57. That’s not a career path; that’s systemic racism, straight up.

When Alou finally did manage the Expos, he immediately turned around a team that lost 90 games. His 1994 squad was probably the best Expos team ever built, going 74-40 before the strike killed the season. He got National League Manager of the Year. Then he managed the Giants, won 100 games in his first year, and stayed on as a special assistant during their 2010, 2012, and 2014 championship runs.

The numbers tell part of the story: Alou is one of just three people ever with 2,000 hits, 200 home runs as a player, and 1,000 wins as a manager. The other two? Frank Robinson and Joe Torre. Both in the Hall of Fame. Also, Alou and his brothers, Matty and Jesus, formed baseball’s only all-brother outfield with the Giants in 1963. Combined, these three had over 5,000 hits. That’s more than the DiMaggio brothers.

What really gets us is that Alou never got serious Hall of Fame consideration. He received exactly three votes on the writers’ ballot and came off the ballot. He’s never even appeared on a veterans committee ballot as a manager. That’s an injustice, especially when you consider his impact on the game beyond just statistics.

Alou challenged racist manager Alvin Dark when he tried to force Spanish speakers to speak English in the clubhouse, even when Felipe was with his own brothers. That kind of leadership matters. The Buck O’Neil Award would be the perfect way to finally give Alou the recognition he deserves, and if he wins in 2029, he’d be the first Latino recipient. Let’s make it happen.