Gabriel de Jesus Alvarez (born March 6, 1974) is a Mexican

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coach and former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

for the Detroit Tigers (1998–2000) and the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

(2000).

Playing career

A 6'1, 205 lb right-hander, Alvarez played college baseball at USC from 1993 to 1995 for head coach Mike Gillespie. In 1993 and 1994, he played collegiate summer baseball with the

Chatham A's The Chatham Anglers, more commonly referred to as the Chatham A's and formerly the Chatham Athletics, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Chatham, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in t ...

of the Cape Cod Baseball League. Alvarez was selected by the Padres in the second round of the

1995 MLB Draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1995 Major League Baseball draft. ''*'' Did not sign Background Outfielder Darin Erstad of the University of Nebraska was the first pick in the 1995 Rule 4 Draft. Erstad ...

. While playing in the minor leagues for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes in 1995, he turned an unassisted triple play as a second baseman. He caught a line drive over second base, stepped on the bag to get one runner and tagged the other one coming into second from first. He told the reporter covering the game that exactly the same thing had happened to him the previous year at USC, but he threw to first instead of tagging the runner to complete the triple play. He said a teammate had pointed out that he had missed a chance at an unassisted triple play, and he had promised himself if it ever happened again, he would do it differently. Alvarez was taken by the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

as the fifth pick in the 1997 MLB expansion draft, but was traded by the Diamondbacks with Matt Drews and

Joe Randa Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

to the Tigers for

Travis Fryman David Travis Fryman (born March 25, 1969) is an American former Major League Baseball third baseman shortstop, and a hitting instructor for the Cleveland Indians farm system. He also managed the Mahoning Valley Scrappers from 2008 to 2010 and in ...

. Alvarez made his major league debut for the Tigers on June 22, 1998, going 1–4. On July 17, 2000, he was traded by the Tigers to the Padres for

Dusty Allen Dustin R. Allen (born August 9, 1972) is a retired Major League Baseball (MLB) player who primarily played first base in 2000. He played for the Detroit Tigers and San Diego Padres. Early life Allen was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He atten ...

. He finished his major league career with 59 hits, a .222

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, 29 runs, and an .877 fielding percentage.

Coaching career

In 2010, Alvarez became the assistant baseball coach at the University of Southern California (USC).

References

External links

1974 births Baseball players from Sonora Birmingham Barons players Chatham Anglers players Chattanooga Lookouts players Detroit Tigers players Huntsville Stars players Las Vegas Stars (baseball) players Living people Major League Baseball players from Mexico Major League Baseball third basemen Memphis Chicks players Mexican expatriate baseball players in the United States Mobile BayBears players People from Navojoa Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players San Diego Padres players USC Trojans baseball coaches USC Trojans baseball players Toledo Mud Hens players {{Mexico-baseball-third-baseman-stub