The Two Greatest Pedro Alvarez YouTube Clips

First, we'll start with the Greg Brown/Steve Blass call from Pedro's walk-off on Saturday night. This one is destined to be ranked right up there with Brown's unforgettable "Freak Show" call in 1997 and "What a way to celebrate the birth of a child!" after Rob Mackowiak's walk-off in 2004.

An for an encore, here's a classic from Alvarez's Vanderbilt days, when he responds to some dork yelling "over-rated" with a 430-foot home run. As an added bonus, the announcer sounds a little like Bob Uecker in Major League. Yes, I've posted this before, but this is a clip I could watch over and over and over again.

STEVE BLASS HAD A PRETTY GOOD ROUND

When the highlight of the Pirates' season is the broadcaster getting two holes-in-one during a single round of golf, that usually means that it's been a long season. But Steve Blass did just that Thursday at a Pirates Alumni golf outing at Greensburg CC, where he aced the 7th and 15th holes. According to Golf Digest magazine, the odds of such a feat are one in 67 million, proving Lloyd Christmas right - you're saying there's a chance.

For his accomplishments, Blass took home a computer and a $500 credit card gift card, although he said he's "never even used a computer" and that the shots "cost him $400 in the bar". Blass had a previous ace in 1996 at a now-defunct course in Florida.

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In other local golf news, the term "shotgun start" was given a whole new meaning at the beautiful Linden Hall in historic Dawson, Fayette County, where a foursome was robbed by a man who appeared out of the woods bearing a rifle. It goes without saying that no one in their foursome recorded two holes-in-one during the round.

Former Pirates ace Blass blasts two holes-in-one [PG]
Golfers robbed on local fairway [KDKA]

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VOTE FOR PEDRO

PEDRO ALVAREZ

3B - VANDERBILT

6'2", 225 LBS

BATS LEFT - THROWS RIGHT

Well, no one can complain like we did last year, because this time the Pirates did take the best available player, Vanderbilt 3B Pedro Alvarez, in the MLB draft. Alvarez is what the Pirates have previously shied away from in the first round: a left-handed bat with huge power potential for PNC Park.

For the second year in a row, we had the privilege of watching the draft live on ESPN, and you could feel the excitement teeming from the partisan Tampa crowd, long known for their rabid fan base. From the moment Bud Selig locked his eyes on the teleprompter without looking into the camera, it was intriguing television. Luckily, I only had to sit through one pick this year before the Pirates were up on the clock.

The Buccos were represented at the draft by former pitcher/current broadcaster Steve Blass and former skipper Chuck Tanner, who were more than happy to take some R&R time in Florida on a Thursday afternoon.

But the Alvarez pick has some intrigue. It's finally a sign that the Pirates are taking some steps in what appears to be the right direction, drafting a Scott Boras client instead of a 3rd starter or a reliever with their coveted, high-1st-round draft choice.

Boras now gets to negotiate with the team who employs the very same man (Frank Coonelly) who instituted the draft-slotting system that Boras loathes so. Early reports indicate that Boras will be looking for a signing bonus of at least $7 million and perhaps a Major League contract. MLB.com puts those numbers in perspective by reminding us that last year's #2, Kansas City's Mike Moustakas, got a $4 million bonus. Ahh, the fun of a Scott Boras negotation. We're on the way to the big leagues, Pirate fans.

But back to Alvarez, who by all means the real deal...although he missed 23 of his team's first 24 games this season with a broken bone in his right hand suffered in the opener, he ended up playing in Vanderbilt's final 40 games, hitting .317 with 15 doubles, nine homers and 30 RBI. In his freshman and sophomore seasons, he hit a combined .357 with 40 home runs and 132 RBI. Those are some numbers I could live with.

Alvarez was a 2005 14th-round pick of Boston, who offered him $1 million to skip school. So in addition to being a good player, he turned his back on the Red Sox. I like this guy better and better.

For as many shots as we all take at the Pirates, it's time to pat them on the back when they do the right thing. And from most perspectives, this looks like the right thing. Although much of this season has played out like the previous 15, right down to the last-place standing that we see today, hats off to the Pirates on a good pick. Now sign the guy!

Required Reading:

Bucs make third baseman top pick [MLB.com]

Official Vanderbilt profile

Pedro Alvarez Wikipedia Page

PIRATE SI COVERS THAT NEVER WERE

Through the wonders of Photoshop, emailer Dave B., and his friend Wayne, continue your trip down memory lane today with a few SI Covers That Never Were. It's probably the only way you'll see anything related to the Pirates on the cover of SI for a long, long time.