Pedro Alvarez
Pittsburgh Pirates — No. 53
Third Baseman
Born: February 6, 1987 (1987-02-06) (age 22) New York, New York
Bats: Left	Throws: Right

Pedro Manuel Alvarez Jr. (born February 6, 1987, in New York City, New York^[1]) is a baseball player who was drafted second overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft. Alvarez is currently playing for the Altoona Curve in AA baseball.

Alvarez grew up in the Washington Heights neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan.^[2] Pedro's nickname is El Toro which means the bull. He has been nicknamed this because of his strength and athletic build.

Contents 1 High school career 2 Vanderbilt career 3 Professional career 4 Awards and honors 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

[edit] High school career

Alvarez first attended the Mott Hall School for gifted and talented students in Harlem, where he was an A student. He then attended Horace Mann School^[2] in the Bronx, where he holds numerous baseball records, most notably home runs, batting average, on base percentage, slugging percentage, and RBIs.^[3] Alvarez was named Athlete of the Year his senior season. Though he attended a small private school, Alvarez's abilities attracted the attention of scouts throughout the New York City area, especially after he led his club team, the Bayside Yankees, to a national title in 2005. In recognition of his success, Louisville Slugger crowned him the Player of the Year in New York and also named him to its All-America team.

[edit] Vanderbilt career

After graduating from high school, Alvarez was drafted in the 14th round of the 2005 major league draft by the Boston Red Sox. Though offered a substantial signing bonus,^[4] Alvarez instead chose to play college baseball for the SEC's Vanderbilt University. Alvarez started slowly and had some trouble adjusting to the college game. However, after growing comfortable, he became an integral member of the Commodore lineup. Alvarez put up some of the best offensive numbers in the history of Vanderbilt, setting single-season school records in home runs (22) and second in RBIs to Warner Jones. These stats earned Alvarez National Freshman of the Year honors from several publications, including Baseball America. Alvarez was then selected to the USA National team, leading the team in batting average. Baseball America ranked him as the 2nd best pro prospect on the squad. In addition, Sports Illustrated ranked him as the best pro prospect on the team and said that he was the "early favorite to be drafted first in 2008," due to his impressive performance over the summer and as a freshman.^[5]

Before the 2007 season began Alvarez was named to the watchlist for the SEC and national player of the year awards. He was also chosen as a 1st team pre-season All-American. During the season, Alvarez had great success, hitting .397 with 17 home runs, 65 RBI, 72 runs, an on-base percentage of .467, and a slugging percentage of .706 for the 51-11 Commodores. His strong play was one of the key reasons Vanderbilt captured its first ever SEC regular-season championship. During the SEC Tournament, Alvarez powered Vanderbilt to a come-from-behind championship despite the team dropping the tournament's first game. No other team in SEC history had ever come back to win after losing its first game, and Alvarez was named Tournament MVP.

Alvarez was invited back to Team USA after his strong performance in 2006 and would prove to be a leader on the field. He led the team in homers, RBIs, batting average, hits, and slugging percentage.

[edit] Professional career

Alvarez was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first round as the #2 pick overall. He agreed to a $6 million minor league contract with the Pirates on August 15, minutes before the deadline but did not immediately sign it.^[6]

He was placed on the restricted list after the Major League Baseball Players Association filed a grievance against Major League Baseball over draft picks being signed minutes after the August 15 deadline. On September 22, Alvarez agreed to renegotiated terms on a four-year major league contract at $6.4 million.

In 2009, he attended Spring Training with the Pirates, but was assigned to the minor league's spring training on March 16, 2009.^[7] Alvarez is currently playing for the Pirates' Double-A affiliate, the Altoona Curve.

After playing several months with the Pirates High-A affiliate, Lynchburg Hillcats, Alvarez was assigned to AA-Altoona Curve in late June.

[edit] Awards and honors

• 2007 Golden Spikes Award Finalist
• 2007 Baseball America First Team All American^[8]
• 2007 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association First Team All American^[9]
• 2007 American Baseball Coaches Association Second Team All American^[10]
• 2006 Baseball America National Freshman of the Year^[11]
• 2006 Baseball America First Team All American^[12]

[edit] See also

• Vanderbilt University
• Vanderbilt Commodores
• Tim Corbin
• David Price

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Career statistics and player information from The Baseball Cube
• National Player of the Year watchlist
• Official Vanderbilt profile

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