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Wilson Alvarez has heard it all after sitting out two seasons. He tries to ignore it.
By MARC TOPKIN, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published February 16, 2002
ST. PETERSBURG -- There is no more optimistic day on the baseball calendar than the first day of spring training. And there is no Rays player who needs to be optimistic more than Wilson Alvarez.
Having missed the past two seasons because of shoulder problems, Alvarez this spring is seeking to reestablish himself as an effective major-league pitcher. In the process, he is hoping to extend a once-promising career and salvage a now-questioned reputation.
"I'm 100 percent, ready to go," Alvarez said after Friday's opening workout. "Now I've got to go out and make a spot for myself."
The discomfort Alvarez first felt in his left shoulder two years ago was considerable, resulting in May 2000 surgery and a frustrating odyssey of treatment, exercise programs and minor-league rehab assignments.
But some days it hurts more for him and his wife, Daihanna, to hear what the fans say about him -- the constant criticism of his five-year, $35-million contract that still is the richest in franchise history, about the 15-23 record he has in two seasons for the Rays, about repeated setbacks in his recovery, about the way he looks as if he's out of shape so he just must not care.
"It's so tough to hear that stuff when you know it's not true," Daihanna Alvarez said. "But that's what the fans are saying. They think he just wants to eat in the morning and do nothing. It's not true. They have to see what he does. Everyone asks why he's fat. He's tried to be in shape, that's just the way he is. He's working so hard."
Alvarez, who will be 32 next month, has come to understand that the pointed criticism is part of life in the big leagues. So too, he hopes, will be the satisfaction of silencing it.
"When the team doesn't win, people always have to blame somebody for something," Alvarez said. "That's the thing about this world; nothing's positive, everything's negative. Those comments, when people say that, I just put it behind me.
"Those people don't take care of my family, they don't feed my babies. I don't care what they say. They don't know what I've been through. They don't know what it's like. They can say it in the stands, that "He's not good,' or "He's not in shape.' They can say whatever they want.
"The way I feel right now I'm going to prove those people wrong, and then they're going to be right behind me looking for me to talk to them."
Manager Hal McRae says the Rays are "encouraged" by the way Alvarez is throwing. But McRae refuses to be too optimistic, saying only that Alvarez is a candidate for the No. 5 spot in the rotation and cautioning that it will take a lot of time, tests and progress for the team to count on his return. "At some point we'll try to make a determination if he can help us," McRae said.
Daihanna Alvarez has no doubt. She and Wilson have been together since they were kids in Venezuela, and she knows better than anyone how badly he wants to make it back.
"Ooooooh, you have no idea," she said. "He's ready. It's hard when you have to cry together, but you know inside what each other is feeling. He's trying so hard. It's been two years of working and trying hard."
Alvarez started nine official minor-league games and made nine extended spring-training appearances last season, but he hasn't pitched against a big-league lineup since Oct. 2, 1999.
Alvarez admits he'll be nervous when he walks up the hill for the first time, "like a rookie." And because of the prolonged absence, the Rays say he'll have to do more than just throw the ball well.
"He has to go through the endurance factor, the building up of endurance and arm strength to try to get a major-league hitter out," general manager Chuck LaMar said. "And I truly think he's got to get back in a competitive situation. No matter how good a major-league player you've been in the past, when you miss virtually two years of service, there's doubts that creep in.
"There's an edge that you have to have to compete at this level. It's a very fine edge. I think anybody that's been out two years for any reason starts to lose that edge. I think Wilson has something to prove physically to build up that endurance and I think he has something to prove competitive-wise to get back on the mound and compete at this type of level."
There will be plenty to prove, as Alvarez is talking about not only making it back, but being successful enough to sign another contract when this one expires at the end of the season, and to pitch for several more years.
"If I do it, I'll prove it to myself and I'll be happy about what I've done for the past two years," Alvarez said. "I'll let my numbers talk for me."
All parties seem to understand the steps that need to be taken. But Friday, just being healthy enough to step on the field with the other pitchers, participating in the same mundane drills and throwing -- uneventfully -- as scheduled, was such a significant development that Daihanna drove up from their Bradenton house with daughters Vanessa, Viviana and Valentina to watch.
"This day took forever to get here," she said. "After two years, we're pretty excited to be here."