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YOKOHAMA, Japan – Eddy Alvarez must have been consoled, if not scolded, after his first silver medal.
“My coach had to pull us together and get us out of there,” Alvarez said. “He yelled at us.… He basically said, ‘You know, you’re silver medalists.’ And that’s when it touched me. “
The speed skater-turned-second baseman didn’t need such a pep talk for the No.2 money.
Alvarez and the U.S. baseball team accepted their Olympic silver medals after losing the championship game 2-0 to Japan on Saturday night, crowning a remarkable run for the 31-year-old Miami Marlins minor league player .
A 2014 silver medalist in Sochi as part of the US four-man short track speed skating team, Alvarez turned to baseball later that year – a path that ultimately brought him back to the Games and to another silver medal.
“Looks like déjà vu,” Alvarez said. “It’s just as heavy as the other. Same color, little different design, but it’s still an incredible journey, an incredible experience.”
The first American hitter secured his second medal when the Americans beat South Korea in the semifinals on Thursday, becoming the third American and the sixth Olympian to win both Winter and Summer Games medals.
Alvarez joined Eddie Eagen (boxing in 1920, bobsleigh in 1932) and Lauryn Williams (athletics in 2004 and 2012, bobsleigh in 2014) as the only Americans to have won medals at the Summer and Winter Games.
The others are the Norwegian Jacob Tullin Thams (ski jumping in 1924 and sailing in 1936), the East German / Christa Luding-Rothenburger (speed skating in 1984, 1988 and 1992 and speed cycling in 1988) and Canadian Clara Hughes (cycling in 1996 and speed skating in 2002, ’06 and ’10).
“It’s hard to describe, because it’s a bit bittersweet, but at the same time, it’s an amazing feeling,” Alvarez said.
“I had no idea this was where I was going to end up. Once I retired from skating, never in my wildest dreams did I think I would have the chance to come back to the Olympics. . “
Alvarez spent seven seasons in the minor leagues before finally taking a look at the majors. He made his debut on August 5, 2020, after a COVID-19 outbreak ravaged the Marlins’ roster and reached .189 in 12 games.
The otherwise anonymous Triple-A infielder has been a brand name at these Olympics. He carried the American flag with basketball player Sue Bird at the opening ceremony, and he says other athletes approached him in the village, calling him “the flag bearer”.
He sustained the hype once the games started. He entered the gold medal game at .350 with three RBIs, then landed one of the Americans’ six hits in the final, one night they couldn’t solve a pro quintet of the Nippon Professional Baseball from Japan.
Alvarez was the first American player to receive his medal – his teammate Eric Filia draped it around his neck. He lingered on the pitch after the Japanese team soaked up his moment.
“A little bit of nostalgia,” Alvarez said. “I know that feeling a little bit. I know watching someone celebrate a victory of this magnitude is never a good feeling, because you know you have to listen to someone else’s anthem.
“It’s a tough pill to swallow when you’re so close to winning and failing. But at the same time, it’s one of those things that I know will hit me in the end, how much I am amazing and blessed to be a part of this. “
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