Yordan Álvarez
Yordan Ruben Álvarez (born June 27, 1997) is a Cuban professional baseball designated hitter and left fielder for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2019 for the Astros. Nicknamed "Air Yordan", Álvarez stands 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m), weighs 225 pounds (102 kg), bats left-handed and throws right-handed.
| Yordan Álvarez | |||||||||||||||
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Álvarez with the Houston Astros in 2019 | |||||||||||||||
| Houston Astros – No. 44 | |||||||||||||||
| Designated hitter / Left fielder | |||||||||||||||
| Born: June 27, 1997 Las Tunas, Cuba | |||||||||||||||
Bats: Left Throws: Right | |||||||||||||||
| MLB debut | |||||||||||||||
| June 9, 2019, for the Houston Astros | |||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics (through 2023 season) | |||||||||||||||
| Batting average | .295 | ||||||||||||||
| Home runs | 129 | ||||||||||||||
| Runs batted in | 380 | ||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Prior to his American career, Álvarez played two seasons in the Cuban National Series for Las Tunas. He defected from Cuba in 2016 to establish residency in Haiti, where he first signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers as an international free agent. Houston acquired him via trade from the Dodgers in 2016 before he made his professional debut. In 2019, he was unanimously named American League (AL) Rookie of the Year after posting the highest slugging percentage (.655) by a qualified rookie in history.
After missing all but two games of the abbreviated 2020 season due to injury, Álvarez became known for his slugging numbers and for being a clutch hitter. He won the 2021 ALCS MVP award, and in 2022, he hit the first walk-off home run in postseason history hit by a team down by multiple runs. He also hit a go-ahead home run in the 2022 World Series to secure his first championship.