Well, here's to dreamers!
The 24-year-old not only made the Olympic team (he won a silver medal in the 5,000 meter relay at the 2014 Games in Sochi), but as of Tuesday, he's on the cusp of becoming a minor leaguer.
Alvarez, a standout high school shortstop who turned down a full athletic college scholarship to follow his "other passion" of speed skating, is signing up with the Chicago White Sox.
Alvarez posted an Instagram video of himself signing his papers, with the simple caption, "#official @whitesox."
A spokesperson for the White Sox confirms to PEOPLE that Alvarez has agreed to the terms of the deal, which has yet to be made official.
"Playing pro baseball has definitely been a goal of mine," Alvarez, the first Cuban American male skater to make the Olympic team, said during an interview in February. "There were times when I thought of dropping skating completely and just focusing on baseball."
For much of his life, Alvarez has jumped between the two pursuits, trying to "feed his hunger." Back in 2010, the Miami native narrowly missed making the Olympic team. Shortly afterward, he walked on3to the Salt Lake Community College baseball team and quickly became the starting shortstop, batting .303 during the 2011 season.
"It was the first time I'd picked up a bat and ball in three years, and it turned out to be a breakout season for me," he recalled. "I was named to the All-Conference team and nominated for All-American."
As to whether he will hang up his skates for good or go for the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, we may have to wait and see.
"Right now it looks like skating is done for me,” he says. “I'm ready to move on. But if baseball doesn't work out and I still have that itch for skating, I may be back."
No comments:
Post a Comment