Antonio Enrique Álvarez Cisneros (; born 9 May 1979) is a Venezuelan politician and a former professional baseball player. Born in Caracas, he played professionally under the name Tony Álvarez. Furthermore, he is commonly known as El Potro Álvarez, a moniker that he has been using since starting his baseball career at a young age.

Baseball career

Álvarez was a highly touted as a five-tool

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

prospect. In addition to his playing in the 2002 All-Star Futures Game and the 2006 World Baseball Classic, he usually smashed hard

line drive In the sports of baseball and softball, a batted ball is a pitch that has been contacted by the batter's bat. Batted balls are either fair or foul, and can be characterized as a fly ball, pop-up, line drive, or ground ball. In baseball, a fou ...

s into the

infield Infield is a sports term whose definition depends on the sport in whose context it is used. Baseball In baseball, the diamond, as well as the area immediately beyond it, has both grass and dirt, in contrast to the more distant, usually grass-c ...

or deep into the

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In cricket, baseball a ...

, played aggressive baserunning, and crashed the walls in pursuit of a fly ball, delighting baseball fans for most of a decade. "People come out to the ballpark and pay money to watch the game", Álvarez explained in an interview. "I'm an aggressive player and it's hard for me to change. If I lose my aggressiveness, I won't be the same player", he added. Additionally, during the same period Álvarez found time to develop a successful but not remarkable musical career, ventured in politics and even married three times, each one of his wives being former beauty queens, which led him to achieve celebrity status in his country. (Spanish) At age 25, Álvarez was ranked by '' Baseball America'' as one of the top ten prospects in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, but was never able to fulfill the potential that he showed in the

Minor Leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...

. Listed at 6' 1" , 200 lb. , Álvarez batted and threw right-handed. He was signed by Pittsburgh at the age of 16 while attending high school in Venezuela. After graduating, he joined the

Gulf Coast League Pirates The Florida Complex League Pirates are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Pirates. The team plays its h ...

rookie level in 1998 and gained five promotions in the next three years.Minor League Baseball statistics
''Baseball Reference''. Álvarez collected a .474

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

in the 2002 spring training and impressed the Pittsburgh organization as much with his enthusiasm and magnetic personality. "He's a high-energy guy", Pirates farm director Brian Graham said. "He plays the game hard and has the kind of attitude you want to see in a young player." His breakout season came this year, when he slashed a line of .318/.361/.483 with 15

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s, 59 RBI and 29 stolen bases in 125 games for Double-A

Altoona Curve The Altoona Curve are a Minor League Baseball team based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, named after nearby Horseshoe Curve (but also alluding to the curveball, a type of pitch). The team plays in the Eastern League and is the Double-A affiliate of th ...

, emerging as a

leadoff hitter In baseball, a leadoff hitter is a batter who bats first in the lineup. It can also refer to any batter who bats first in any inning. Strategy Traditionally, the leadoff hitter has been utilized as a contact-oriented position. The leadoff hit ...

and playing for the World team in the Futures Game. Álvarez succeeded despite suffering personal adversity, missing the last month of the 2002 season at Altoona to return home to Venezuela to be with his father, who was battling leukemia. Once his father showed signs of recovery, Álvarez got the call to join the big club in late October. He played at the three outfield positions in eight games with the Pirates, including seven starts, and was used in pinch-hit roles seven times. He hit an average of .308 (8-for-26) with one home run and a .500 slugging percentage, driving in two runs and scoring six times, while stealing one base. In 2003, Álvarez batted .298/.361/.470 with nine homers and 53 RBI, while stealing 22 bases in 106 games for Triple-A Nashville Sounds, significant numbers as he spent two stints on the disabled list. He opened 2004 at Nashville, batting .290/.365/.457 with 14 homers, 59 runs, 48 RBI, 19 steals in 99 games. Álvarez was recalled by Pittsburgh during the 2004 midseason, but was used sparingly in 24 games. He hit a paltry .211 average with one homer and eight RBI but did not steal one base. He was released at the end of the season. Overall, he hit .250 and slugged 406 in 38 games for the Pirates, including 11 runs, 10 RBI and one stolen base. He then was signed by the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

before the 2005 season, but failed to make the big club. After that, he played in the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

minor league system in 2006, as well as for the

Brother Elephants A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...

of the

Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...

in 2007. Over his nine-season Minor League career, Álvarez posted a .295 average and slugged .452 in 746 games appearances, batting 13 home runs with 387 RBI, while scoring 420 runs and stealing 217 stolen bases. In between, Álvarez played winter ball with the

Leones del Caracas The Caracas Base Ball Club C.A. or better known by its commercial name as the ''Leones del Caracas'', is a professional baseball team of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. In its creation, its headquarters are the University Stadium of C ...

Navegantes del Magallanes The Navegantes del Magallanes ( Magellan Navigators), commonly known as Magallanes, are a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. Based in Valencia, Magallanes has won 13 LVBP championships and two (2) Caribbean Series. It w ...

Tiburones de La Guaira The Tiburones de La Guaira ( en, La Guaira Sharks) are a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. Based in the city of La Guaira, they play their home games in Estadio Fórum La Guaira and have won seven national champions ...

Caribes de Anzoátegui The Caribes de Anzoátegui ( en, Anzoátegui Caribs) is a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League based in Puerto la Cruz, Anzoátegui. Franchise history In January 1987, a local businessmen group based in Puerto la Cruz, ...

Águilas del Zulia The Águilas del Zulia ( en, Zulia Eagles) is a Venezuelan professional baseball team based in Maracaibo which plays in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. History The team was founded in 1969 and debuted in the 1969–70 season. The fra ...

and

Tigres de Aragua The Tigres de Aragua ( en, Aragua Tigers) is a baseball team that plays in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League and represents the state of Aragua. Founded in 1965, the Tigres plays its home games at the Estadio José Pérez Colmenares i ...

clubs of the

Venezuelan Professional Baseball League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Early years Baseball exp ...

in a 15-season career spanning 1996–2014. He compiled a slash line of .282/.318/.463 with 46 home runs and 192 RBI in 466 games, scoring 228 runs scored and 46 stolen bases. Additionally, he served as a playoff reinforcement for the

Pastora de Los Llanos The Pastora de los Llanos were a baseball club which played in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League between the 1997–98 and 2006-07 seasons. They were based in the cities of Acarigua and Araure in Portuguesa, and played its home games a ...

and

Cardenales de Lara The Cardenales de Lara ( en, Lara Cardinals) is a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. Founded in 1942 and based in Barquisimeto, the ''Cardenales'' have won six domestic titles, including back-to-back in 1998 and 1999, a ...

, making him one of few players to wear all uniforms in the eight-team league.

Musical career

Starting 2009, Álvarez engaged on a musical career as a

reggaeton Reggaeton (, ), also known as reggaetón and reguetón (), is a music style that originated in Panama during the late 1980s. It was later popularized in Puerto Rico. It has evolved from dancehall and has been influenced by American hip hop, ...

artist. Usually using the stage name ''El Potro Alvarez'', he collaborated with various artists in a bunch of

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

s taking elements from their styles in order to develop an original style. These music videos were usually directed by Venezuelan Daniel Durán and Dominican Marlon Peña (aka Marlon P).

List of music videos (Credited as El Potro Álvarez)

Political career

Starting his political career in 2013, Álvarez ran as a

United Socialist Party of Venezuela The United Socialist Party of Venezuela ( es, Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela, PSUV) is a left-wing to far-left socialist political party which has been the ruling party of Venezuela since 2010. It was formed from a merger of some of the p ...

(PSUV in Spanish) candidate for

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of the Sucre Municipality, but was defeated by

Carlos Ocariz Carlos Eduardo Ocariz Guerra (born 1971, Caracas) is a Venezuelan politician and engineer. He was the mayor and former deputy of Sucre Municipality in east Caracas. Ocariz is a member of Justice First. On 22 February 2012, he announced he plann ...

. Then, in September 2014 Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced a reshuffle of his Cabinet and appointed Álvarez as the new Minister of Youth and Sports. The minister, during his statements, explained that sport in Venezuela had been deepened as a state policy during the last 15 years of revolution. In April 2015, President Maduro announced that Álvarez had been relieved of his ministerial duties. Álvarez was released from office due to his bid for the PSUV primary elections ahead of parliamentary elections.

Personal life

From 2002 to May 2005, Álvarez was married to Miss World Venezuela 1984 and Miss World 1984

Astrid Carolina Herrera Astrid Carolina Herrera Irazábal (born June 23, 1963) is a Venezuelan actress and beauty queen. She won the 1984 Miss World pageant, held in London, United Kingdom, becoming the third woman from her country to win the title. Biography Astr ...

. After they divorced, he married in December 2005 to

Miss Venezuela 2002 Miss Venezuela 2002 was the 49th Miss Venezuela Beauty contest, pageant, was held in Caracas, Venezuela, on September 20, 2002, after weeks of events. The winner of the pageant was Mariangel Ruiz, Aragua (state), Miss Aragua. The pageant was broa ...

winner and actress

Mariángel Ruiz Mariángel Ruiz Torrealba (born 7 January 1980) is a Venezuelan actress, TV Host, fashion model and beauty pageant titleholder. Winning Miss Venezuela 2002 as Miss Aragua, she then placed 1st runner-up at Miss Universe 2003. Ruiz has been the ...

, with whom he had a daughter named Mariángel Victoria. Álvarez and Ruiz divorced in 2008. Then in 2013 he married

Dayana Colmenares Dayana Carolina Colmenares Bocchieri (born December 28, 1984, in Maracay) is a Venezuelan beauty pageant titleholder, who won Miss Venezuela International 2007, and television personality. She competed in Miss International 2008 on November 8 in ...

, a model and winner of Miss Venezuela International 2007,La boda del "Potro" Álvarez con Dayana Colmenares
(Spanish) and this couple have a daughter, Mia Dayana, who was born in 2014.Segunda hija de "El Potro" Álvarez nació este lunes en Caracas
. (Spanish)

Sources

External links

Tony Alvarez
at Baseball Gauge {{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarez, El Potro 1979 births Living people Águilas del Zulia players Altoona Curve players Bowie Baysox players Brother Elephants players Caribes de Anzoátegui players Charlotte Knights players Government ministers of Venezuela Gulf Coast Pirates players Hickory Crawdads players Leones del Caracas players Lynchburg Hillcats players Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Nashville Sounds players Navegantes del Magallanes players Ottawa Lynx players Pittsburgh Pirates players Reggaeton musicians Baseball players from Caracas Tiburones de La Guaira players Tigres de Aragua players United Socialist Party of Venezuela politicians Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Canada Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Taiwan Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Williamsport Crosscutters players World Baseball Classic players of Venezuela 2006 World Baseball Classic players