Oswaldo Álvarez González (October 19, 1933 – March 7, 2008) was a

Cuban Cuban may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban citizen, a perso ...

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. A

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

and second baseman born in Bolondron in

Matanzas Province Matanzas () is one of the provinces of Cuba. Major towns in the province include Cárdenas, Colón, Jovellanos and the capital of the same name, Matanzas. The resort town of Varadero is also located in this province. Among Cuban provinces, ...

, he appeared in 95

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), ...

(MLB)

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for the Washington Senators (all of ) and

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

( April 1959). He threw and batted right-handed, stood tall and weighed . Álvarez played in the minor leagues from 1952 to 1957 in the Senators'

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

. Primarily known for his speed, he twice led baseball's minor leagues in

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

s. He made his MLB debut as a late-inning defensive replacement on April 19, 1958, and spent the whole season on the Senators' roster. Playing behind regular shortstop

Rocky Bridges Everett Lamar "Rocky" Bridges (August 7, 1927 – January 27, 2015) was a middle infielder and third baseman with an 11-year career in Major League Baseball from 1951 to 1961. Bridges played for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Cincinnati Redlegs and St. L ...

, he started 55 games, with another six starts as Washington's second baseman. In 196 at-bats spanning 87 games, he

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization in ...

.209 with five

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

. Álvarez was traded twice during the 1958–59 offseason. On October 27, he was shipped to the

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for veteran utility man

Jay Porter J. W. "Jay" Porter (January 17, 1933 – October 11, 2020) was a Major League Baseball player who appeared with the St. Louis Browns (1952), Detroit Tigers (1955–1957), Cleveland Indians (1958), Washington Senators (1959), and St. Louis Cardin ...

; then, three weeks later, he was part of a major trade between the Indians and Tigers in which he and two top

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

s, Don Mossi and

Ray Narleski Raymond Edmond Narleski (November 25, 1928 – March 29, 2012) was a relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played with the Cleveland Indians (1954–58) and Detroit Tigers (1959). He batted and threw right-handed. His father, Bill Narleski, ...

, were sent to the Tigers for second baseman Billy Martin and pitcher

Al Cicotte Alva Warren Cicotte (; December 23, 1929 – November 29, 1982), nicknamed "Bozo", was a Major League Baseball (MLB) player. Cicotte pitched in 102 MLB games, 16 as a starter, and compiled a record of 10–13. In 260 innings pitched, Cicotte h ...

. In 1959 he appeared in eight early-season games for the Tigers, singling in two at-bats for his only other major league experience. His MLB career over, he spent the rest of 1959 as a member of three different Triple-A clubs. He led the Mexican League in stolen bases with 27 at age 32 in 1965. He retired from the field after two games with the Charros de Jalisco in 1966. In his 95 big-league games, Alvarez collected 42

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, with only three extra-base hits, all doubles. He had one stolen base and batted .212 overall. He scouted for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

after his playing career ended. Ossie Álvarez died in Guadalajara, Mexico, on March 8, 2008.

References

External links

*Obituary, ''Sports Collectors Digest'', Krause Publications, August 8, 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarez, Ossie 1933 births 2008 deaths Austin Senators players Charleston Senators players Charlotte Hornets (baseball) players Charros de Jalisco players Denver Bears players Detroit Tigers players Diablos Rojos del México players Hobbs Sports players Houston Buffs players Major League Baseball players from Cuba Cuban expatriate baseball players in the United States Major League Baseball shortstops Midland/Lamesa Indians players Pittsburgh Pirates scouts Richmond Virginians (minor league) players Rochester Red Wings players Roswell Rockets players Tacoma Giants players Washington Senators (1901–1960) players People from Matanzas Province