César Octavio "Tavo" Álvarez (born November 25, 1971) is a Mexican former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

who is currently the

pitching coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decision ...

for the

Leones de Yucatán The Leones de Yucatán (English: Yucatán Lions) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League. The team plays its home games at Parque Kukulcán Alamo in Mérida, Yucatán. The Leones have won the Mexican League title five times in 1957 ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

from 1995 to 1996.

Playing career

Álvarez attended high school at

Tucson High School Tucson High Magnet School, commonly referred to as THMS, THS, or Tucson High, is a public high school in Tucson, Arizona. It is part of the Tucson Unified School District with magnet programs in Technology, Visual Arts, and Performing Arts. Th ...

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

. His senior year, he was one of 25 high school baseball players in USA Today's "Super 25" for the 1990 season. He was also named the Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year for baseball in 1990. After his senior season, he was drafted by the

in the second round of the 1990 Major League Baseball draft, and he signed with the team on June 19. After signing the contract, he played the rest of the 1990 season with the rookie-level

Gulf Coast League Expos The Florida Complex League Nationals are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Washington Nationals, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to the 2021 season, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Nationals. The t ...

, winning five games and losing two. Alvarez played his full first professional season with the Single-A

Sumter Flyers Sumter may refer to: People Given name * Sumter S. Arnim (1904–1990), American dentist * Sumter de Leon Lowry Jr. (1893–1985), United States Army general Surname * Rowendy Sumter (born 1988), Curaçaoan footballer * Shavonda E. Sumt ...

in 1991, posting a 12–10 record and a 3.24

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA). He had a career year in 1992, playing for both the

West Palm Beach Expos The West Palm Beach Expos were a Florida State League minor league baseball team which existed from 1969 through the 1997 season in West Palm Beach, Florida. History The West Palm Beach Expos were a Class A affiliate of the Montreal Expos and pla ...

and

Harrisburg Senators The Harrisburg Senators are a Minor League Baseball team who play in the Eastern League, and are the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. The team is based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at FNB Field on Cit ...

, combining for 17 wins, five losses, and a 1.74 ERA. He spent the full 1993 season with the

Ottawa Lynx The Ottawa Lynx were a Minor League Baseball team that competed in the Triple-A International League (IL) from 1993 to 2007. The team's home field was Lynx Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario. Over 15 seasons, the team was an affiliate of the Montreal Exp ...

, and finished the season with a 7–10 record and a 4.21 ERA. After spending 1994 in the

, Alvarez did not re-sign with the Expos until April 1995 due to visa problems. Combined with arm surgery, in July 1995 he made his first minor league start since 1993. A month later on August 21, he made his major league debut against the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

. He started eight games for the Expos during the

1995 Montreal Expos season 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, winning one game, losing five,

striking out ''Striking Out'' is an Television in the Republic of Ireland, Irish television legal drama television series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017, based on ''The Good Wife'' by Robert King (writer), Robert and Michelle King. Prod ...

17 and posting an ERA of 6.75. He split the 1996 season between Montreal and Ottawa. He pitched in 20 games for Ottawa, winning four and losing nine. During the

1996 Montreal Expos season The 1996 Montreal Expos season was the 28th season in franchise history. An 88–74 finish was good enough to put them in second in the National League East, 8 games behind the National League Champion Atlanta Braves and 2 games behind the Los Ang ...

, he pitched in 11 games and posted a 2–1 record and a 3.00 ERA. Despite better success, his pitching appearance on September 29, 1996, was the last of his major league career. Álvarez tried to remain on the major league roster in 1997. During

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

, on one of the scoreboards, he was introduced as "Taco Alvarez." He spent the 1997 season in Ottawa, winning four games and losing eight. His last professional season was with 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

' Triple-A club, the

Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the ci ...

, in 1998. He pitched in 15 games for them and had an ERA of 4.83.

Coaching career

Since 2019, Álvarez has worked as

for the

of the

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarez, Tavo 1971 births Living people Harrisburg Senators players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Mexico 20th-century Mexican sportsmen Mexican expatriate baseball players in Canada Mexican expatriate baseball players in the United States Montreal Expos players Nashville Sounds players Ottawa Lynx players Baseball players from Ciudad Obregón Sumter Flyers players Tucson High School alumni West Palm Beach Expos players Gulf Coast Expos players Diablos Rojos del México players Mayos de Navojoa players Olmecas de Tabasco players Vaqueros Laguna players