The White Plains Journal News described Hudson Valley manager Joe Alvarez throwing batting practice in August 2008, at the age of 53.
Alvarez then described to The Journal News why he was out there.
"I love it," Alvarez told The Journal News. "It keeps me young. Thirty-five years in this business, if I didn't enjoy being out there, I don't think I would do it."
Alvarez' time in the business included time as a player and manager in the minors and as a minors coordinator. His long career has even taken him overseas as a coach in Korea and south to Mexico.
Alvarez' career began in 1974, taken by the Yankees in the third round of the draft out of St. Patrick's High School in New Jersey. Alvarez was also credited as Jose Alvarez.
Alvarez' playing career lasted four seasons. He stayed with the Yankees for two of them, getting to single-A Fort Lauderdale. He then moved to the Astros and saw AA Columbus, then finished with the Orioles between single-A and AA.
He then turned coach, first in the Orioles system, then with the Dodgers. He made manager in the Gulf Coast League in 1984, then with single-A Vero Beach for 1989 and at high-A in 1990.
When he joined Vero Beach in 1989, he pledged to continue his aggressive approach to the game, The Indian River Press Journal wrote.
"You'd be surprised how a team will adopt the personality of the manager," Alvarez told The Press Journal. "I was an aggressive individual when I played - not foolish, but aggressive. If you let the opposition know you're going to play aggressively, you can create mistakes."
After 1990, Alvarez then turned to Korea, to serve as a coach for the Ssang Bang Wool Raiders. He bypassed an opportunity to join the White Sox system to do so.
He stayed in Korea for eight seasons, where he worked with three teams. He returned stateside to coach at a prep school in Miami, then joined the Phillies in 2006 as hitting coach at Batavia. More recently, he's credited as managing the GCL Rays in 2009 to 2011 and then in Mexico in 2017 and 2018 with Durango.
- Indian River Press Journal, Jan. 28, 1989: Alvarez Brings Gung-Ho Style To VB Dodgers
- White Plains Journal News, Aug. 17, 2008: Alvarez winning, smiling
Made the Majors:1,292-33.6%
Never Made Majors:2,558-66.4%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors:528
10+ Seasons in the Minors:323
No comments:
Post a Comment