Francisco Alvarez: Mets Catcher (2022 - 2024)

Francisco Javier Alvarez was born November 19th, 2001, in Guatire, Venezuela. His parents Jose & Yolanda had four children. Sadly, Francisco lost an older sister as a teenager. As a boy he worked for his father's construction company. His nickname is "the Troll".

Alvarez was a fan of fellow countryman Henry Blanco, who inspired him to be a catcher. Blanco spent part of 2009 with the Mets as well.

Mets: Alvarez was part of the Mets Latin American Baseball Acadamy, getting signed by the team in 2018. At age 16 e came to the US to play baseball & was accompanied by his parents to help the transition. At the time he also spoke no English. Francisco studied the English language, through his first few seasons, he got help from coaches, as well as teammates Jose Butto, Bret Baty & SNY's Steve Gelbs & was able to conduct interviews.

Minor League Career: In 2021 he was invited to his first Mets Spring Training camp. Alvarez
was named the Mets Minor League Position Player of the Year, playing at A Ball St. Lucie & Brooklyn. With the Cyclones he set a franchise record with 22 HRs in 84 games. 

Overall that year he hit 24 HRs with 70 RBIs leading all Met minor leaguers. 

In 2021 Alvarez hit a pinch-hit HR in the Futures Game at Coors Field. In 2022 he & teammate Mark Vientos played in the Futures Game at Dodger Stadium.

2022: In 2022 he hit 18 HRs at AA Binghamton, batting .277 after 67 games getting promoted to AAA Syracuse. In 45 games there he hit 9 HRs with 31 RBIs batting .234. 

The run production was being noticed at the big-league level with Mets catchers James McCann & Tomas Nido not doing to much hitting. 

The Mets were in first place most of the season but struggled in September, before collapsing in a big series in Atlanta toward the end of the season. 

MLB Debut: On September 30th he made his much-anticipated debut as the DH in 5-2 devastating loss in Atlanta. Alvarez went 0-4 & went 0-8 in the three-game series loss to Braves, ruining the Mets good season.

First Hit & HR: On October 4th at Citi Field, Alvarez collected his first career hit, a solo HR off the Nationals Carl Edwards Jr. to lead off the 6th inning of an 8-0 Mets win. He would collect two hits in the game. Alvarez became the 16th Met in franchise history to have his first career hit be a HR. He was also the second youngest catcher behind Ivan Rodriguez to HR at 20 years old.

2022 NLWC series w/ former Met Bobby Ojeda

2022 Post Season: The Mets held on to earn a wild card berth but lost the NLWC series to the San Diego Padres. Alvarez made the post season roster, getting one at bat in Game #1, striking out against Luis Garcia to end the game.

In the off season he had surgery on his right ankle.

2023: Alvarez was called up to the Mets on April 7th after an injury to Omar Navrez. He would take over the catching duties for the rest of the season.

Multi HR Game: On May 9th, Alvarez had his first career multi-HR game of the season, hitting a pair off the Reds Luke Walker in a loss at Cincinnati. He became the sixth Met in franchise history to have a multi--HR game at age 21 or younger.

From May 17th to May 28th, Alvarez hit five HRs & drove in 14 runs while collecting 12 hits to bat .400 in the eight-game span. On May 17th, with the Mets down to the Rays at Citi Field 5-2 in the top of the9th, Alvarez hit a three run HR off Jason Adam to tie up the game at five. Pete Alonso won the game with a three-run walk off HR in the 9th. 

In his next game, he hit a solo HR off Cleveland's Cal Quantrill in the 5th inning. The game went tied to extra innings where the Mets fell behind 9-7. In the bottom of the 10th, Mark Vientos got them to within a run, then Alvarez tied the game with an RBI single off Emmanuel Clase. He scored the winning run, on Francisco Lindor's walk off single.

On May 27 & 28th, in back-to-back games at Colorado, Alvarez collected three run HRs in each game of the Mets losses. 

Multi-HR Game: On June 8th, he had his second multi-HR game, in a 13-10 loss in Atlanta. In the 4th inning he hit two runs hot off Spencer Strider, then hit a solo shot off Michael Tonkin in the 6th inning for his 12th HR of the season.

NL Rookie of the Month: In July he hit .275 with 8 HRs & 16 RBIs earning him the Rookie of the Month Award. From July 1st to July 8th, he collected 11 hits hit five HRs with nine RBIs over a seven-game span.

HRs in Three Straight Games: In a three-game sweep in Arizona, over the eventual NL Champs, Alvarez homered in all three games collecting five hits & six RBIs. 

On July 4th, he broke a 4-4 tie in the 7th inning with a two run HR off former Met, Miguel Castro. It was his 14th HR of the season, setting a record for Mets rookie catchers. They went on to an 8-5 win. 

The next day, the Mets entered the 9th inning down 1-0 to the Diamondbacks, Alvarez tied the game with a HR off Andrew Chafin. Bret Baty singled & then Mark Canha tripled leading to the 2-1 win. 

On July 6th, he hit a two run HR in the Mets five run 3rd inning, then added an RBI single later
on in the 9-0 Carlos Carrasco (8 innings) Trevor Gott (1) combined 9-0 shut out. On July 7th, he continued his hot hitting with his first & only four hit game of the season, in a 7-5 win at San Diego.

Multi- HR Game: On July 18th, he had his third multi-HR game of the year, hitting a pair of two run HRs in an exciting 11-10 Mets win over the White Sox at Citi Field.

20th HR: On July 29th, in a loss to the Nat's at Citi Field, Alvarez homered Andres Machado in the top of the 9th inning. It was his 20th HR of the season. Alvarez joined Pete Alonso & Darryl Strawberry as the only rookies in franchise history to hit 20 or more HRs. He was also just the ninth rookie catcher in MLB history to accomplish the feat.

In his next game he homered as well, then would not hit another for an entire month, until connecting for three-run shot off the Nat's Patrick Corbin on September 5th in a 11-5 win at D.C.

Multi-HR- Grand Slam-Six RBI Game: On September 30th at Citi Field, Alvarez had his biggest game to date of his career in an 11-4 win over the Phillies. He hit two HRs & drove in a career high six runs, with a pair of HRs of the Phillies Michael Plassmeyer. The first HR was a two-run shot in the 2nd inning. Then in the bottom of the 3rd, Francisco hit his first career grand slam HR, giving him his fourth multi-HR game.

In a disappointing Mets season, Alvarez hit 25 HRs with 63 RBIs in 123 games. He batted just .209 with 110 strike outs posting a .284 on base % & .721 OPS. Behind the plate he had a rough time in his rookie season, as he led the NL in errors (13) passed balls (8) & was second allowing 99 stolen bases.

2024 Mets Wild Card Season: As the 2024 season began, Alvarez hit a HR in the second game of the season, having a three-hit game in the loss to the Brewers. He would have three multi-RBI games thru his first 16 games

On April 19th, in a win at Los Angeles, he tore a ligament in his thumb as he stumbled rounded first base. He needed surgery &was out of the line up until June 11th. The Mets missed him in the lineup & behind the plate, by the time he got back they were nine games under .500 at 28-37.

The next day, they went on a seven-game win streak, winning 13 of 16 games, starting what was to be an incredible run to earn a playoff berth.

Nine Game Hit Streak: From June 17th to June 28th, he went on a persona, nine game hit streak, where hit collected 16 hits, batting .552 with 3 HRs & 10 RBIs. On June19th & June 19th, Alvares had two straight games where he collected three hits & drove in two runs in both Mets wins. 

In first 24 games played he had six multi- RBI games. In a five-game span he homered in three games, including a two-run shot off Luis Gil in the June subway-series sweep at Citi Field. From June 21 to June 28th, Alvarez also collected walks in six straight games, totaling eight passes in that time.

On July 1st, he drove in three runs in a wild 9-7 win over the Nationals in D.C. & reached a season best .306 batting average. But He struggled thru the rest of the month, hitting just .299 as his average fell to .260. 

On July 20th, he drove in the only run of a Luis Severino (six innings) Jose Butto (1) Daniel Nunez (1) & Edwin Diaz (1) combined four-hit shutout in Miami.

In August he began the month hitting safely in five straight games, but then his struggles at the plate continued as his average dropped to .233 by September 1st.

Walk Off HR: On August 19th at Citi Field, he hit his first career walk off HR. In the bottom of the 9th inning in a 3-3 tie with the Baltimore Orioles, Alvarez homered off Seranthony Dominguez for the exciting Mets victory.

September Playoff Chase: In September as the Mets were in a four-team battle for the wild card spots, Alvarez had another hot streak in mid-month. From September 11th to September 21st, he hit five HRs over a nine-game span, driving in 13 runs in that time.

On September 11th in Toronto, the Mets entered the 9th inning down 1-0 to the Blue Jays with pitcher Bowden Francis throwing a no hitter.  Francisco Lindor led off the top of the 9th inning with a HR, tying the game & having Francis removed from the game. 

Chad Green came on, gave up a base, three walks & two sac flies giving the Mets a 3-1 lead. Alvarez then hit a three run HR off Genesis Cabrera leading to the 6-2 win.

In his next game on Friday, September 13th the opener of a big series at Philadelphia, he homered in his second straight game, with a three-run shot off Aaron Nola in the 5th inning of the 11-3 Mets win.

On September 17th, Alvarez hit his ninth HR of the season, with a solo shot off the Nat's Mitchell Parker in a 10-1 Mets win at Citi Field. On Thursday September 17th, in a big series with at Citi Field where the Mets took three of four, Alvarez hit one of four Mets HRs on the night, along with Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo & Mark Vientos in the 10-6 win. Alvarez hit a three-run shot off Taijuan Walker for his tenth of the season.

On Saturday, in his next game, Alvares hit a solo HR off Ranger Suarez in the 2nd inning. After Brandon Nimmo broke a 2-2 tie in the 7th inning with an RBI single, Alvarez added a two run double giving the Mets a 52 lead in the eventual win. 

Fourth Multi-Three RBI Game of the Month:  On September 29th, Alvarez collected two hits, with an RBI single & sac fly in a David Peterson (7 innings) Phil Maton (1) & Edwin Diaz (1) combined shut out in Milwaukee. The win had the Mets needing to win one more game of a scheduled double header to end the season in Atlanta. It was Alvarez fourth multi-three RBI game of the month. He collected six season high, multi-three RBI games on the season. 

On Monday September 30th, the Mets played a double header in Atlanta, with each time needing
a win to earn a playoff berth. The games were originally to be played the week earlier but Hurricane Helene had them postponed. 

In the first game, the Mets were down 3-0 in the 8th inning, when Alvarez doubled off Joe Jimenez for the Mets first run. They would send ten men to the plate & score six runs in the inning. Edwin Diaz would blow the lead but Francisco Lindor's two run HR in the top of the 9th sealed the Mets win & a playoff berth.

On the 2024 season, in 100 games played, he batted .237 with 73 hits 11 HRs 14 doubles 39 runs scored & 47 RBIs. Alvarez struck out 86 times drew 30 walks posted a .307 on base % & .710 OPS. 

Defensively he posted a .993 fielding %, throwing out 18% of would-be base stealers. He led the league in passed balls (11) for the second straight season.

Post Season- NLWC: In the NLWC series win over the Brewers in Milwaukee, Alvarez went 1-11. In the Game #2 loss he collected a 2nd inning RBI single off Frankie Montas.

2024 NLDS: In the NLDS win over the Phillies, Alvarez hit safely in the first three games, collecting singles each time. 

In Game #4, he grounded into a fielder's choice in the bottom of the 6th inning & was on first base when Francisco Lindor hit a grand slam HR leading the Mets to their 4-1 series clinching victory.

Overall, in the first seven post season games, he struck out in each game for a total of nine times.

2024 NLCS: In the NLCS loss to the Dodgers, the free-swinging Alvarez struggled thru the first three games going a hitless 0-9. In the Game #4 loss, Alvarez collected his first hit of the series, a single to right field to lead off the 3rd inning.

Multi-Three Hit NLCS Game: In the Mets 12-6 Game #5 win at Citi Field, he collected three
hits & scored a run. 

In the bottom of the 2md, he led off with a double off Jack Flaherty but was left on base. In the Mets five run 3rd inning, Alvarez singled thru the hole at short & third scoring Starling Marte with the sixth Mets run.  

He scored chugging all the way from first on Francisco Lindor's triple. In the 4th he added another single to go 3-4.

In the final Game #6 he collected two hits & drove in a run with a 7th inning sac fly. Overall Alvarez batted .256 in the post season, with a double & two RBIs. 

Opponents also stole 11 bases on him in 12 attempts in the three-playoff series. The only player he threw out was Shohei Ohtani who stole 59 bases in the regular season.

Career Stats: In his three-year career he is batting .221 with 37 HRs 27 doubles & 111 RBIs. He has struck out 200 times with 66 walks, a .294on base % & .717 OPS in 228 career games. Behind the plate he has caught 206 games with a .989 fielding% making 19 errors & throwing out 15% of runners trying to steal.