Pedro Alvarez

Lore & Background

Álvarez was born in the Dominican Republic to Pedro and Luz Álvarez. As a young boy, he grew up in the Washington Heights neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan. He first attended the Mott Hall School for gifted and talented students in Morningside Heights, then the Horace Mann School in the Bronx. He holds numerous baseball records there, most notably home runs, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and RBIs. He was named Athlete of the Year his senior season. He led his club team, the Bayside Yankees, to a national title in 2005. Louisville Slugger crowned him the Player of the Year in New York and named him to its All-America team. After high school, he was drafted in the 14th round of the 2005 MLB draft by the Boston Red Sox but chose to play college baseball for the Vanderbilt Commodores. He set a single-season school record in home runs (22) and earned National Freshman of the Year honors. He was selected to the USA National team, leading the team in batting average. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Álvarez in the first round, with the second overall selection, in the 2008 MLB draft. He agreed to a $6 million minor league contract on August 15 but later signed a four-year major league contract at $6.4 million. He made his MLB debut on June 16, 2010. He was selected to the National League All-Star team in 2013 and participated in the Home Run Derby. He finished the 2013 season with 36 home runs (tied for most in the NL) and 100 RBI. On October 9, 2013, he became the first player in baseball history to record an RBI in each of his first 6 postseason games.

In Their Own Story

The PNC Park lights hummed to life on a July evening in 2013. The crowd was already a low roar, the kind that builds before the third inning when the night's tension peaks. Alvarez stepped into the box, the number 14 on his back catching the stadium lights. He took a breath, the smell of cut grass and hot tar mixing with the summer air. The pitcher wound up. Alvarez's bat came around like a whip crack, and the ball left the barrel with a sound the whole stadium felt in its chest. The right-field stands erupted. He started his trot, not looking up, already knowing where the ball had gone—past the wall, into the dark beyond the lights. The Pirates dugout was a wall of arms and noise. For a few seconds, the whole city was one held breath released.

Reader's Guide

During his playing career, Álvarez stood 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) and weighed 250 pounds (110 kg). A third baseman until late 2014, he transitioned to first base for the Pirates in 2015, and in 2016 became a designated hitter for the Orioles. On June 19, 2018, he was designated for assignment by the Orioles.

Did You Know?

• Álvarez was nicknamed "El Toro" (Spanish for "The Bull").
• He was an A student at the Mott Hall School for gifted and talented students.
• He hit a 469-ft home run, the longest by a Pirate in PNC Park history at the time.
• He was the first player in MLB history to record an RBI in each of his first 6 postseason games.