ALVAREZ Eddy

General
WINTER AND SUMMER OLYMPIAN
He played baseball for the Salt Lake City Community College Bruins in the United States of America while also competing in short track, but was forced to choose between the two when he began experiencing problems with his knees, and opted to focus on short track. He went on to win silver as part of the 5000m relay team at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi. In June 2014 he switched back to baseball and signed a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox. "Playing pro baseball has definitely been a goal of mine. There were times when I thought of dropping skating completely and just focusing on baseball. It's something me and my parents always joked about - 'What if I make it to the Olympics in baseball too?' The fact that could become a reality is pretty nuts. I'm just super excited. It's an absolute dream come true of mine to be a dual-sport Olympian. Making it to the big leagues was one thing, but this kind of feels full circle, with the potential of going to the Olympics and representing Team USA in a completely different sport. It feels like a redemption trip. Our team in 2014 won silver, so this feels like the opportunity to come back home with gold." (mlb.com, 06 Jun 2021; apnews.com, 09 Jun 2021; isu.org, 26 Aug 2020; espn.go.com, 11 Jun 2014; miamiherald.com, 25 Jan 2014)

OLYMPIC CONCENTRATION
He says he has used his experience competing at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games to provide insight into the Olympic experience for his baseball teammates, in order to help them stay focused. "It's a 26-man roster, and I think I've basically repeated every story to 26 different guys. I'm trying to relay as much information as I can to them so they're not what I was when I got there [to Sochi in 2014], which was over-the-moon excited. It took away from my concentration. We've just got to do our job and take things one step at a time. You don't want to think too far ahead." (eu.palmbeachpost.com, 05 Jun 2021)

CLUB JOURNEY
In 2014 he was signed as a free agent by the Chicago White Sox on a minor league contract. From 2014 to 2020 he spent six seasons playing in the minor leagues, and in 2019 was traded by the White Sox to Miami Marlins. He made his MLB debut for the Miami Marlins in 2020, playing in 12 games for the Marlins that season before being assigned to Triple-A affiliate Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp in 2021. He is a utility player who has played at second base, shortstop, third base and left field during his professional career. Although he ultimately wants to return to the MLB, he was happy to forgo the big leagues in 2021 to play at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. "This was a no-brainer, a no-doubter. My parents even asked me if I'd be giving up the possibility of getting called up to the big leagues. This [the Olympic Games] has a lot more meaning at the moment for me. When the possibility was presented to me, I didn't hesitate to jump on it." (mlb.com, 06 Jun 2021; milb.com, 13 Jun 2021)

In August 2020, after making his MLB debut for the Miami Marlins, he became the first athlete to have competed at the Olympic Winter Games and play Major League Baseball. (mlb.com, 06 Jun 2021; fishstripes.com, 18 Feb 2021)