Alvarez’s anticipated debut was uneventful
PITTSBURGH – The most-anticipated debut by a Pittsburgh Pirates’ player in nearly a quarter-century was just uneventful as the last one. Unless horrendous fielding is your thing, that is. Pedro Alvarez arrived from Class AAA Indianapolis on Wednesday night, ostensibly to provide a lift to a franchise that hasn’t had a winning season since Barry Bonds, the last player to make such a ballyhooed debut, still called Pittsburgh home.
Alvarez, the left-handed power-hitting third baseman, went 0-for-2 with a walk and an error as the Pirates’ losing streak reached 10 games with a 7-2 defeat at the hands of the Chicago White Sox at PNC Park.
The 23-year-old Alvarez struck out swinging at a 3-2 fastball from left-hander John Danks in his first plate appearance in the second inning. Alvarez then walked on a full count in the fifth and flied out to left field on a 2-2 pitch in the seventh.
Alvarez also committed an error that allowed the White Sox to score their last run in the ninth inning when he missed the throw to third base from catcher Ryan Doumit on a stolen base attempt by Juan Pierre. It was the last of six errors by the Pirates, just the 15th time they had made that many miscues in a game in the franchise’s 124-year history.
“I thought Pedro’s at-bats were good,” Pirates manager John Russell said of Alvarez, who saw six pitches in each of his three trips to the plate. “Defensively, it’s still going to be a learning experience for him as he goes along.”
Alvarez’s debut was reminiscent of Bonds’ on May 30, 1986 at Three Rivers Stadium as the eventually all-time home king went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts and a walk against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
While Alvarez made little impact in his first major-league game, getting to the big leagues seemed to humanize him.
Alvarez had seemed like the typical Scott Boras client prior to Wednesday, somewhat wooden during his interviews while giving what seemed to be rehearsed answers. He didn’t seem to enjoy baseball, much the way Stephen Strasburg has acted during his first two weeks in the majors.
However, the smile on Alvarez’s face as he met with the media nearly four hours before the start of the game made it clear that he had reached his lifelong dream on one of the greatest days of his life. His parents, sister and fiance sat in the crowd and smiled just as broadly.
Alvarez is the fourth player to be called up from Indianapolis in recent weeks, joining right-hander Brad Lincoln, second baseman Neil Walker and left fielder Jose Tabata, who hit his first major-league home run in the eighth inning off Danks. Pirates fans also have high hopes for the other three and already seen the potential brilliance of second-year center fielder Andrew McCutchen.
Yet, there is no question the expectations are higher on Alvarez. He was the second overall pick in the 2008 draft from Vanderbilt and signed a four-year major-league contract worth than $6,335,000.
Alvarez is also the big-time power hitter the Pirates have been missing since Brian Giles was in his prime and he has the potential to hit the most tape-measure home runs since Willie Stargell was putting balls in the upper deck at Three Rivers, and before that, over the roof at Forbes Field.
Alvarez has known since the day he was drafted that a beleaguered fan base – one shrinking faster than ever as evidenced by Wednesday’s attendance of just 15,281 – hopes he can lead the Pirates out of the wilderness of 17 straight losing seasons, a streak certain to reach 18 sometime in September.
“All I ask the people of Pittsburgh and Pirates’ fans is that they let me show how much I love the game and how hard I play,” Alvarez said. I have great expectations for myself. I want to do well and help the Pirates win, and no one will ever put more pressure on me than I do on myself.”
Alvarez must be pretty tough on himself. The only pressure on his in this situation is to resurrect the deadest franchise in professional sports.
Herald-Standard sports correspondent John Perrotto is the editor-in-chief of BaseballProspectus.com