33. Wilson Alvarez

 

 

(4 of 27 lists - 67 points - highest ranking #6 Markbilliards)

bio by Markbilliards -

 

On April 18, 2007, our jaws dropped as Mark Buehrle made history by throwing a no-hitter for the Chicago White Sox. To many fans, it had felt like an eternity since the last time a Sox player had accomplished such a feat. The last hurler to do so for the South Siders was a young southpaw from Venezuala named Wilson Alvarez. Mark Buehrle's no-hitter, although a fantastic gem of a game, was thrown by pitcher who had been known for years as very good player, at times even declared the team's ace. Alverez's feat was not something that could have been predicted by any fan. His debut in '89 for the Texas Rangers was not just a bad start, it was horrible. He managed to give up three earned runs on two walks and three hits before getting yanked by his manager from the game, while failing to record a single out. Alvarez had started his career in the Texas organization and was later traded to the White Sox along with strikeout master, Sammy Sosa, for Harold Baines. The few fans who remembered or were aware of him from his dreadful first start 2 seasons earlier, before coming to the White Sox were probably cringing as they saw Wilson take the mound again for the Sox on August 11, 1991. Wilson proved all the doubters wrong as seemingly out of no where he tossed the fifteenth no-hitter in White Sox history in only his second career major league start. His White Sox debut was a good one.

 

Despite his no-no, Alvarez struggled with his control a lot over the next few years and throughout his career. He finally became a regular full time starter at the major league level in 1993 when he acquired 15 wins and over 200 innings while keeping his ERA under 3. Despite his stellar numbers in '93, Alvarez had a tendency to walk massive amounts of batters, getting close to 100 BB in several seasons and surpassing it in that '93 season with an ugly 122 walks.

 

Even with his control problems, Alvarez was a pitcher with nasty stuff and fantastic potential. The kind that would make you uncontrollably nervous and excited at the same time. He was elected onto the '94 all-star team and racked up over 100 wins throughout his career (including 2 separate 15 win seasons with the Sox). He was loved by some, hated by others. Was he fat? Oh yes. Did he walk practically every other batter? Yes. But did he help the Sox? Absolutely. Alvarez was among Fernandez and McDowell in those early 90s pitchers that were fun to watch. I was young when Wilson was pitching for the Sox. Too young to understand why my Dad would yell at the TV every time he walked a guy. But I was old enough to understand that he was a good pitcher despite criticism of his weight, bad control and injury. He was and always will be the guy who threw a no-hitter in his first game on the White Sox.

 

Please feel free to comment with any more info and favorite stories about this player or any other in this list.

I really thought he was going to be great.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was wrong. Injuries and being out of shape really derailed his career. He has a career arc that is pretty common among White Sox players in the last 3 or 4 decades. A few really good years, and then injuries ruin their careers. Then they kick around MLB for a little while and disappear.

Hawk always says he's one of the nicest guys to ever play for the Sox.

I forgot about him. How many big league wins did he attain? He was pretty strong when he was on.

He was on my first list before I needed to cut. I'm glad to see he made the list.

I was always a fan of him. It was nice to see he had a bit of a comeback a few years ago with the Dodgers.

When he and Roberto Hernandez were traded, it was the end of an era. Those early-mid '90s teams obviously didn't achieve their goal, but they were very fun to watch at times and I have lots of fond memories of them.

 

I remember that no-hitter game vividly. Glad he made the list.

Hope McDowell's on it, too.

Hope McDowell's on it, too.

 

There is no doubt in my mind.

I remember his no-hitter and that win versus Toronto in the play offs. He could be dominating when on