Alvarez joins elite Olympic company

Before qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics, USA Baseball's Eddy Alvarez called the possibility of competing in Japan a redemption trip.

Alvarez, who won a silver medal in the 5000-meter relay as a member of the U.S. Olympic speed skating team in Sochi in 2014, joined elite company by earning another silver in Team USA's 2-0 loss to host Japan on Saturday.

The 31-year-old Alvarez became the sixth person -- and third American -- to medal in a Summer and Winter Olympic event. He already is the 11th American to participate in both the Winter and Summer Games.

The rest of the list is as follows:
Eddie Eagan (USA): Light heavyweight boxing gold (1920) and four-man bobsled gold ('32)
Jacob Tullin Thames (NOR): Ski jumping gold (1924) and 8-meter sailing silver ('36)
Christa Luding-Rothenburger (GDR): Four medals in speed skating (1984, '88, '92) and sprint cycling silver ('88)
Clara Hughes (CAN): Two medals in cycling (1996) and four speed skating medals (2002, '06, '10)
Lauryn Williams (USA): Two medals in athletics (2004, '12) and two-woman bobsleigh silver ('14)

"I'm looking forward to basically going into battle with my boys," Alvarez told MLB.com before the Olympics began. "I'm so excited. I feel like my head is in a really calm place and really focused on the end goal, which is to be on the top of the podium."

Alvarez called it both a dream to be a dual-sport Olympian and a full-circle moment. It's one of the reasons why he wore No. 2 on his jersey. He took advantage of the opportunity, starting all six of Team USA's games at second base and batting .250 (6-for-24) with four runs scored, two doubles and three RBIs. Alvarez also served as a flag bearer at the Opening Ceremony alongside five-time Olympian Sue Bird of the women's basketball team.

"You're just seeing a quick glimpse of what you're going to see from their long careers ahead of them," Alvarez said of his younger teammates. "It's a great mixture of guys. We have leadership from guys like Todd Frazier to talent from guys like Nick Allen and Triston Casas. And our pitching is no joke. That's what puts us really in the best position to put good at-bats together, because we're not a squad that's going to be hitting four or five home runs in a game. We have the potential to do that, but we're a scrappy group. The pitching keeps us in these games to put up runs for them. That's very helpful and very relieving."

A Miami native, Alvarez has been keeping a diary of his Olympics journey for MLB.com. He made his Major League debut on Aug. 5, 2020, with the hometown Marlins, appearing in 12 games. This season, he had played in 18 games for their Triple-A Jacksonville affiliate in Jacksonville before stepping away for the Olympics.

No stranger to history, Alvarez previously became the first male Cuban-American to earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic speed skating team. He also is the first Winter Olympics athlete and the first non-baseball Olympian since Jim Thorpe to play in Major League Baseball.