Eddy Alvarez Quotes

And it wasn’t so much the medal, it was stepping out of the ramp during the Opening Ceremony. Man, I took a step back and realized I made it. That was huge.

I can remember stepping out of the car with my skates already tied, smelling the ocean breeze.

It felt like I blinked and the Olympics were over.

I am completely prepared to let the tiger out of its cage in Sochi and see what happens.

If I wanted to be a professional baseball player at some point, I knew I would have to do the jump ASAP because unfortunately age is a huge factor.

I am a prime example of what the American dream is.

I love the fact I am a Cuban American man who represented the United States in the Olympics. I was proud to wear the red-white-and-blue.

I didn’t know if pro ball was in the plans for me. I didn’t know it was going to happen right away.

I thought playing baseball would give me a break from being in a squat position all day, but it didn’t. I could not handle the pain anymore.

I kept going. The decisions I’ve had to make, the setbacks, the feeling of having my back against the wall, I was determined that I had the grit.

When someone meets me it’s ‘Oh, you’re the flag-bearer guy!’

I’m just so honored I got the chance to represent our country. I was always willing to put in the work, the sacrifice, to do so.

Just to be able to say that I’m from Miami, Florida, in the Winter Olympics was an honor, and I’m proud to be able to say that I’m playing on the U.S. national team for baseball from Miami as a Cuban-American.

In the Olympics, you only get one opportunity to bring it all together. If you don’t, better luck in four years.

Being a first-generation Cuban American, my story represents the American Dream.

I don’t think anyone should be put into a box, nor should you allow yourself to be put into that box.

At the Olympics, once I got there it was more about the full experience and skating to the best of my ability.

I feel like if I look back at my career, that’s all I’ve ever done is fail.

You name it, I’ve been everywhere in the U.S.

I was 2 years old and already swinging bats and throwing balls.

I’m one of those people that develop late, so what if these are my peak years in baseball? I would never know unless I put myself out there, and if I fail, I fail.

It’s a tough pill to swallow, when you come so close to winning and you fall short.

Baseball is my true passion. Skating was more of a short-term goal.

I have an analytical mind.

The silver medal is incredible, because we worked so hard for so many years. Sacrificing, absolutely demolishing our bodies for hours a day, 11 months a year, years on end.

What the public sees is my successes… Yes, I’ve won competitions and I’ve done unbelievable baseball, but a lot of those times, I failed more often than not.

It was the first time I’d picked up a bat and ball in three years, and it turned out to be a breakout season for me. I was named to the All-Conference team and nominated for All-American.

Long track is more of a symphony… You’re out there and you want to get in the zone.

I’ve never been in a situation where winning was the only goal, that no individual stat mattered.

The ultimate goal is to get back up here to the Miami Marlins.

I definitely see my progression moving at a rapid pace.

I was just cruising around the streets of South Beach and got scouted. Two ladies stopped my parents and said, ‘This kid needs to try the sport of inline speed skating,’ so I did and I remember falling in love with it and the thrill of racing.

To be honest, I feel like just an average human being.

Skating is much more of an individual sport, and then there is a team event once the team is picked.

If you saw what I looked like in high school you probably would’ve laughed. I looked like I should have been in middle school.

We’re pieces of the puzzle. If I fit in a certain algorithm, then it’ll be time for me to go. It’s tough as a baseball player, it really is, not knowing much, but you just have to play.

I always told myself that if baseball was not fun anymore, then I would move on from it.

I’m as optimistic as I possibly can be.

There were times when I thought of dropping skating completely and just focusing on baseball.

Baseball has been something that’s always been in my blood. It was just something I was bound to do no matter what. I was going to play baseball.

There’s a lot of sacrifices I’ve made in this life, in my athletic career.

In baseball, I had this lower body but nothing in the upper body. I had to counteract years of training and work the upper body.

When you’re so close to winning and you have to stand on the podium and listen to someone else’s anthem, it leaves just a little bit of that bittersweet feeling.

Just being able to experience that caliber of a level of a sport, the highest level of a sport, has helped me immensely to transition into my baseball career and to just take it day by day.

My college coach was like, ‘You ever thought of switch hitting,’ and I was like, ‘You know, I thought about it but I never really tried it.’

In skating, I knew that 2014 was going to be it for me. I had my heart set on trying baseball again after.

I didn’t really hit my stride until my Olympic year.

It may say 30 on paper, but I don’t look the part, I don’t act the part, and I do my best to play like that.

Since I was a kid, I’ve always been able to copy the mannerisms and body language of everyone around me.

I owe so much to my parents, to my family.

I learned how to be an athlete. I learned the true art of resiliency and grit.

Everything wrong with running, I did it.

It’s an honor to bring back a silver to the United States.

I had expectations to go back to college and get my name out there more.

Walking in the opening ceremony and just being part of the Olympics is so special and it’s something to cherish forever.