Name | Yordan Ruben Alvarez |
Born | June 27, 1997 |
Nationality | Cuban |
Height | 1.96m |
Role | Designated Hitter |
Born In: Las Tunas, Cuba
Bats: Left; Throws & Fields Left
Shirt Number: NO.44
Team: Houston Astros
Yordan Ruben Alvarez is a Cuban professional baseball player who plays for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). Yordan was born in Las Tunas, Cuba. Nicknamed "Air Yordan", Álvarez stands 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) and weighs 225 pounds (102 kg). He bats left-hand and throws right-handed. Álvarez's parents are Agustín Eduardo Álvarez Salazar and Marilyn Cadogan Reyes. He also has a brother, Yonder Álvarez Cadogan.
His role is that of a designated hitter and left fielder. Yordan made his MLB debut in 2019 for the Houston Astros. Prior to moving to America, Yodan played in the Cuban National Series for Las Tunas. He then signed as a free agent for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Two months after signing Alvarez, the Dodgers traded him to the Astros for relief pitcher Josh Fields. He was announced American League (AL) Rookie of the year after racking up the highest slugging percentage (.655) by a qualified rookie in history.
Álvarez was also named the 2021 American League Championship Series MVP, having posted an ALCS-record .522 batting average, and becoming the first player in MLB history to out-hit their entire opposing team over the final two games of a playoff series
Álvarez made his professional debut in 2016 with the Dominican Summer League Astros, where he spent the rest of the year, batting .341 with a .974 OPS in 16 games.
On June 9, 2019, the Astros selected Álvarez's contract and promoted him to make his major league debut that afternoon versus the Baltimore Orioles. He went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in his debut. In the following game, Álvarez again homered, this time versus Matt Albers of the Milwaukee Brewers. He became the first Astro to homer in both of his first two games.
Álvarez became the fourth player in Major League Baseball (MLB) history to hit four home runs in his first five career games when he homered off of Clayton Richard of the Toronto Blue Jays, joining Trevor Story, Yasiel Puig, and Mike Jacobs. He won the American League (AL) Rookie of the Month Award for both June and July – the first Astro to do so – after garnering 48 hits, batting .336, 13 doubles, 13 homers and 39 RBI, .699 slugging, and 1.120 OPS.
On May 7, 2021, Álvarez drove in his 100th run, doing so in his 114th career game as part of a 10–4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. He was the seventh-fastest player to reach 100 RBIs in league history and the fastest to do so since the expansion era started in 1961. MLB announced Álvarez's selection on July 10 to the MLB All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium as a reserve DH, his first career selection. He was leading the major leagues in OPS (1.058) and third in home runs (26) at the time.
2× All-Star Futures Game selection (2017, 2018)
2× American League (AL) Player of the Week (June 6, 2022; September 18, 2022)
3× AL Rookie of the Month (June–August 2019)
Houston Astros Rookie of the Year (2019)
1x ALCS MVP
American League (AL) Player of the Month (June 2022)
Batting Average - .295
Runs Batter In - 281
Home Runs - 98