Big money was on the table, his future guaranteed, and Pedro Alvarez passed — at the time — on his lifelong dream of becoming a professional baseball player.
It was a decision that set the stage for the Dominican Republic-born and Washington Heights-raised Alvarez's rise to major league prominence, as the first New Yorker to play in the All-Star Game since Manhattan-born Raul Ibanez in 2009.
Displaying patience and maturity beyond his age, Alvarez went to Vanderbilt University and developed into one of college baseball's elite stars instead of signing with the Red Sox, his favorite team growing up, after they picked him in the 14th round of the 2005 MLB Draft.
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HEIGHTS OF FAME: Pirates All-Star Pedro Alvarez (above) has come a long way from his days in Washington Heights, where he played in the Inwood Little League as an 8-year-old and was guided toward a college education before the major leagues by his parents, Pedro Sr. and Luz.
Angel Chevrestt
Pedro Sr. and Luz
"It wasn't easy," Alvarez told The Post in a phone interview. "I remember the day, pacing back and forth, trying to make that decision. I had a gut feeling that college was what I needed to do, and it was by far the best decision I ever made. It's gotten me to where I'm at now."
His father, Pedro Sr., a taxi driver, and his mother, Luz, a teacher, had worked furiously their entire lives to support his dreams. They put the choice in his hands.
After three dominant seasons at Vanderbilt, the left-handed hitting third baseman went second overall to the Pirates in the 2008 draft, landed a $6 million signing bonus and was in the majors three years later. To those who know Alvarez, nicknamed "El Toro" — Spanish for "The Bull" because of his sculpted 6-foot-3, 235-pound physique — and his family, it didn't come as a surprise. His parents always valued academics over sports, wanted to see their son prepared for the pros mentally and physically when he got there. They felt Vanderbilt offered that opportunity. Money never entered into the equation.
"I always said any amount of money like that I would never miss because I never had it," Alvarez Sr. said through a translator, at the upscale home in Cresskill, N.J., Alvarez bought for his parents shortly after he was drafted.
Going to college has helped him deal with adversity in the bigs, enabled him to handle the pressure of being a top pick and of going through early-season slumps the last two years. Now, at the age of 26 and hitting his stride halfway into his fourth season with the Pirates, he's on the cusp.
Alvarez has emerged this spring as a linchpin for the surprising Pirates, a lethal middle-of-the-order power threat who went into yesterday with 24 home runs, second most in the National League, a steadily improving .253 average and
62 RBIs. Alvarez's two-run homer helped lead the Pirates to a 3-2 victory over the Mets on Friday night.
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