Roy Maxwell Alvis (born February 2, 1938) is an American former professional
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...
player. He played in
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) ...
as a
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 u ...
from through , most notably for the
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive ...
where he became a two-time
All-Star. He played his final season with the
Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. The Brewers are named for the city's association wi ...
.
Early life
Alvis was born in
Jasper, Texas, and graduated from
Jasper High School (Jasper, Texas). He attended the
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
.
Professional career
Alvis was signed by the Cleveland Indians as an amateur free agent in 1958. He played his first major league game on September 11, 1962, with the Cleveland Indians.
Alvis became the everyday third baseman for the Indians in . He enjoyed single-season career-high numbers in
batting average
Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic.
Cricket
In cricket, a player's batting average i ...
(.274),
RBI
RBI most often refers to:
*Reserve Bank of India
*Run batted in
RBI may also refer to:
Organisations
*Radio Berlin International
*Raiffeisen Bank International
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*Ruđer Bošković In ...
(67),
runs (81),
hits (165),
doubles (32) and
triples
TripleS (stylized as tripleS; Help:IPA/English, /ˈtɹɪpəl:ɛs/; ) is a South Korean girl group formed by MODHAUS. They aim to be the world's first decentralized K-pop idol group. The members will rotate between the group, sub-unit, and solo ac ...
(7). He added 22
home run
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run is ...
s (also a personal high), and appeared to be on his way to stardom, but a bout with
spinal meningitis
Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion o ...
disabled him for six weeks in (a season in which he hit 18 homers in only 381
at-bat
In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...
s).
Alvis made a remarkable comeback in , hitting 21 home runs, and was rewarded by being selected for the
All-Star game, representing the
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
. He turned in a solid 18 HR performance in and led the team with 21 in . His batting average fell to .223 as a full-time player in 1968, and he was relegated to spot duty with Cleveland in 1969, appearing in only 66 games.
He was traded along with
Russ Snyder
Russell Henry Snyder (born June 22, 1934) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder for the Kansas City Athletics (1959–60), Baltimore Orioles (1961–67), Chicago White Sox (1968), ...
from the Indians to the Brewers for
Roy Foster,
Frank Coggins
Franklin Coggins (May 22, 1944 – October 30, 1994) was an American professional baseball player. A switch-hitting native of Griffin, Georgia, who primarily played second base and shortstop, Coggins stood tall, weighed , and threw right-handed. ...
and cash during
spring training
Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives estab ...
on April 4, 1970.
"Indians Send Alvis, Snyder to Brewers," ''The Associated Press'' (AP), Saturday, April 4, 1970.
Retrieved September 5, 2022. As a backup in Milwaukee, he hit .183 with three homers in 62 games, being released at the end of the season.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alvis, Max
1938 births
Living people
American League All-Stars
Baseball players from Texas
Cleveland Indians players
Major League Baseball third basemen
Milwaukee Brewers players
Minot Mallards players
People from Jasper, Texas
Salt Lake City Bees players
Selma Cloverleafs players
Texas Longhorns baseball players