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Baseballers of Lesser Note: Wilson Alvarez; The Scrooge Edition
Topic Started: May 18 2011, 11:46 AM (640 Views)
Scrooge McSuck
I'll get you next time, toilet!
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Baseballers of a Lesser Note: Wilson Alvarez


This seems weird for me to do one of these, mainly because I don't like to steal anyone's thunder by running with something they've done, but heck, it's always worth a shot, right? Wilson Alvarez is one of those names as a child that basically comes down to baseball cards. Growing up in New York (and for a bit, in Port Charlotte, FL), I was only really aware of what the Yankees and Mets did, but through baseball cards, I learned about players and their accomplishments, and one of those cards was a "Wilson Alvarez No-Hitter" card (1992 Donruss series, I believe), and every card after that for a few seasons would list that accomplishment under his stats. Later on, I would adopt the Tampa Bay Devil Rays as my team, and while researching their history, I came across old Wilson again as a key player in their (at the time) young tenture. Which brings us to the man of the hour today...


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Major League Service with...
Texas Rangers (1989)
Chicago White Sox (1991-1997)
San Francisco Giants (1997)
Tampa Bay Devil Rays (1998-2002)
Los Angeles Dodgers (2003-2005)


Career Stats:
14 Seasons; 102-92 record, 3.96 ERA, 1,330 K, 1747.2 IP
1994 All-Star Selection



What Can You Tell Us About Him?

Wilson Alvarez was signed as a 16-year old out of Maracaibo, Venezula, by the Texas Rangers. Alvarez had shown flashes of dominance with high strike out totals throughout his Minor League career, but could also show a bit of a wild side, posting incredibly high walk totals, as well. Despite his flaws with control, Alvarez was listed at one point, as the #26 top prospect while in the Rangers farm system, no doubt a huge gambling chip for any potential trades the Rangers would want to make.



What Were His Notable Accomplishments?

Alvarez's career can be summed up with three memorable starts over the course of a 14-year career. After bouncing around the Rangers minor league systems for three seasons (including a stop with the (PORT) CHARLOTTE Rangers, WOOO!), he finally got the call to make his first appearance against the Toronto Blue Jays (on July 24th, 1989), a rising force in the American League standings. What would follow is a very unimpressive debut for someone regarded as one of the top pitching prospects in the Minor Leagues. Alvarez's start lasted all of 5 batters. A lead-off single to Junior Felix, a 2-run home run by Tony Fernandez, a solo home run by Kelly Gruber, and walks to George Bell and Fred McGriff before being pulled from the game. Alvarez was traded less than a week later, along with prospect Sammy Sosa, to the Chicago White Sox, in a deal that sent Harold Baines to the lone-star state.

Alvarez's next start wouldn't come until August 11th, 1991, rocking the black of the Chicago White Sox. Going up against the lineup of the Baltimore Orioles that included such greats as Cal Ripken Jr., uh... David Segui? Okay, so the Orioles weren't sporting the greatest lineup in history, but a Major League team is still a Major League team. In an (almost) complete contrast of his last and only Major League appearance, Alvarez did not allow a hit, although he did show off his wild side by walking 5 batters, and two of them only one out away from tossing the No-Hitter. Alvarez ended the game the way he started, with a strikeout.

Alvarez's greatest career accomplishment, or most widely known and recognized by even casual fans, that is, is being the guy on the mound for the first game in Tampa Bay Devil Rays history, on March 31st, 1998, and yes, he threw a ball to Brian Hunter. The rest of the start is an ugly line score, allowing 6 runs on 9 hits (no walks, surprisingly), in only 2.1 innings of work. Alvarez not only tossed out the first official ball in Rays history, but became the first to lose a game too, and there was a LOT of losing for the Rays back in those days.



What Happened To Him?

Midway through the 1997 season, Alvarez, along with Roberto Hernandez (another inaugural Ray) and Danny Darwin, were traded to San Francisco, for a whole lot of nothing. Alvarez entered free agency, and the Rays, desperate to fill their rotation with someone with name recognition, offered him a 5-year deal worth around 35. million dollars, or roughly 7 mil. a season.

For the first two seasons of his Rays tenture, Alvarez struggled with his health, spending considerable time on the DL. After a disappointing 98 season, Alvarez seemed to be progressing on the field the next season, before being shut down, and undergoing arthroscopic shoulder surgery. Alvarez missed the entire 2000 season, sans one minor league appearance (9 million for 4 innings), then made only 9 minor league appearances in 2001 (a mil a start), without setting foot on a major league field. Alvarez finally returned to the Rays in 2002, splitting time as a starter and long reliever, and putting up numbers that weren't acceptable for a player with his salary, and was not offered a new deal after the 2002 season came to a close.

Alvarez would have one more good season, with the Los Angeles Dodgers, in 2003, working in the same position as "wherever needed", posting a 6-2 record with an ERA under 2.50. He would continue to contribute acceptable numbers for the next two seasons, but quietly called it a career after the 2005 season. Alvarez is just one in the long list of players with so much potential, but for some reason, dropped off once signing to a large, long-term contract, but managed to go out with a little bit of dignity in Los Angeles after a disastrous stint in St. Pete that would set the tone for mismanagement from the early days of the Tampa Bay front office.
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torturedsoulv1
true maharajah Jinder Mahal
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I remember him very well, well at least I thought he did

Because i thought he had better #s than the ones you listed, so guess I thought he was a better pitcher than he really was
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Scrooge McSuck
I'll get you next time, toilet!
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He had a pretty good season in 1993, other than leading the league in walks (122 in 207 IP), and was an All-Star selection in 1994 (retiring the side conisting of Bonds, Piazza, and Camminiti), so it wasn't that he was a bad pitcher, but his 5 years in Tampa Bay REALLY sucked the juice out of his numbers and reputation.
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Erick Von Erich
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I'm Big E and I tell it like it is
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For Scrooge's first (P)BBOLN:

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And I'd argue that Alvarez was more well-known for his no-hitter than being Tampa Bay's Opening Day starter.
DWS Apparel Store- Buy. Consume. Obey.
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Scrooge McSuck
I'll get you next time, toilet!
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My only argument... The ball from the Rays game is in the Hall, a ball from his no-hitter isn't. I won't deny throwing a no-hitter in your second career start isn't a good tidbit, either. Or just throwing one period. Ask Bud Smith about that. :P
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Erick Von Erich
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I'd say expansion team Opening Day starters are only known to their local audiences. For instance, I'll always remember David Nied and Bryn Smith for their initial Rockies starts (away and home). But I'm having a hard time remembering who was Arizona's first-ever starter... and I remembering watching it on TV.

Until you mentioned it, I didn't know Alvarez was Tampa Bay's Opening Day man. I wasn't alive, but I have no idea who did it for KC, San Diego, etc.
DWS Apparel Store- Buy. Consume. Obey.
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Scrooge McSuck
I'll get you next time, toilet!
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I honestly can't do it for anyone else except for Colorado and Florida (Charlie Hough's 800 year old knuckleballing ass!), so you got me there. :P
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