Wilson Alvarez

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Wilson Alvarez

Pitcher

Born: March 24, 1970 (1970-03-24) (age 38)
Batted: Left	Threw: Left
MLB debut
July 24, 1989 for the Texas Rangers
Final game
September 28, 2005 for the Los Angeles Dodgers
Career statistics
Win-loss	102-92
Strikeouts	1,330
ERA	3.96
Teams
Texas Rangers (1989) Chicago White Sox (1991-1997) San Francisco Giants (1997) Tampa Bay Devil Rays (1998-1999, 2002) Los Angeles Dodgers (2003-2005)
Career highlights and awards
All-Star: 1994 (AL) Led league in walks allowed: 2001

Wilson Eduardo Alvarez Fuenmayor (born March 24, 1970 in Maracaibo, Zulia State, Venezuela) is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher who played in 13 seasons for the Texas Rangers (1989), Chicago White Sox (1991 – 1997), San Francisco Giants (1997), Tampa Bay Devil Rays (1998 – 2002) and Los Angeles Dodgers (2003 – 2005).

Acquired from the Rangers two years before, Alvarez provided one of the highlights of the 1991 Chicago White Sox season by pitching a no-hitter against the Baltimore Orioles at Memorial Stadium in only his second Major League start. It was quite a contrast to his only previous appearance, when he faced five batters for the Rangers and gave up two base on balls, a single and two home runs without retiring a man, giving him a career ERA, prior to his no-hit gem, of infinity.

Alvarez had control problems in the minors, and it carried over to the big leagues. After shouldering a very heavy workload in 1991, the prospect was kept under scrutiny for most of the 1992 season. Between the Majors, minors and winter league action, Alvarez worked close to 300 innings in '91; a significant number for anyone, but especially for a 21-year-old pitcher. But it wasn't until 1993 that he managed to break into the rotation permanently. That season, Alvarez won 15 games but led the league with 122 walks.

In 1994 Alvarez went 12-8 and made the American League All-Star team. After a disappointing 8-11 in 1995, he had 15 wins and 181 strikeouts in 1996. He was sent to the Giants in 1997 as part of a 10-players mega-deal. A free agent after the season, he signed a five-year contract with Tampa Bay. He was their first pitcher, and started Opening Day on March 31, 1998, throwing the Rays' first ever pitch (a ball to Detroit's Brian L. Hunter).

The inconsistency and poor conditioning continually kept the talented lefty from realizing his notorious potential. In his first season with the Rays, Alvarez missed two months with tendinitis in his shoulder while losing 14 games. The following year he made two trips to the disabled list. Finally, he had arthroscopic shoulder surgery and missed the next two seasons. After finishing his contract with Tampa Bay, Alvarez signed with the Dodgers. He began the 2003 season as a starter for the Triple-A Las Vegas. After going 5-1 with a 1.15 ERA, he filled the long relief role for the Dodgers at the mid-season. Later he got a chance to start, collecting 5-0 and 1.06 over a stretch of nine games. In 2004 he went 7-6 in 40 games (15 as a starter).

On August 1, 2005, Alvarez announced he would retire after the season.

Alvarez compiled a career 102-92 record with 1330 strikeouts and a 3.96 ERA in 1747.2 innings.

Currently, he is the pitching coach of the State College Spikes.

[edit] Trivia

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In José Canseco's book, Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Big, he dedicated a whole chapter on how he gave Wilson Alvarez steroids because of Alvarez's battles with his weight.
Alvarez's no-hitter came exactly one year after the death of his son due to premature birth.