| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | American | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | April 7, 1983 (age 40) Miami, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | Villanova Wildcats | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Veronica Alvarez (born April 7, 1983) is an American baseball catcher. She is a member of the United States women's national baseball team which won a gold medal at the 2015 Pan American Games. [1] [2]
Alvarez was born in Miami, Florida, on April 7, 1983. [3] She is the daughter of Julio and Ofelia Alvarez, two Cuban immigrants, and the younger of two children. [4] Her passion for baseball started at the age of 5, and by the age of 6, she began to play in Little League. [5]
After Little League (where she pitched for the All-Star Team once [6] ), she would switch to softball. Playing for former Cuban national team pitcher Hector Torres, she was a member of the Miami Wildcats (later renamed Stingrays) softball team. Alvarez would earn a scholarship to play at Villanova University, where she played four years and graduated with a Bachelors of Arts in Communication with a minor in Sociology. After graduation, she would spend one year playing softball in Valencia, Spain. [7]
Alvarez played for the USA Baseball Women's National Team four times in her career as a catcher. Her time with the red, white and blue started in 2008 and every team she participated on medaled in international competition. She ended her playing career in 2015 after the team won a gold medal at the Pan-American Games. 2015 marked the first and only year that Women's baseball was included in the international multi-sport event.
Since finishing her playing career in 2015, Alvarez has continued to help grow the next generation of female baseball players as a coach at the MLB Trailblazer Series from 2017-2019 and the MLB Girls Baseball Breakthrough Series Showcase & Development Camp in 2018 and 2019, joining the collaboration between Major League Baseball and USA Baseball to foster the next generation of female baseball players in the United States.
In 2018, Alvarez served as an assistant coach USA Baseball Women's National Team staff.
The following year Alvarez served as a coach with the Oakland Athletics at Major League Baseball Spring Training, a position she still holds. .
In 2019, she made her managerial debut with the Women’s National Team. For her work at the helm, Alvarez became the first woman to be named the organization’s Rod Dedeaux Coach of the Year. Under her direction, Team USA finished its tournament with a perfect 7-0 record and the program’s first gold medal since the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games. The U.S. outscored its opponents 124-20, held a cumulative .500 batting average and hit a record 11 home runs. The team was also named USA Baseball’s Team of the Year after its dominating in the summer of 2019.
Veronica Alvarez continues to serve as the Women’s National team manager.
Aside from coaching, Alvarez is a Firefighter-Paramedic for the City of Hollywood Fire Rescue and Beach Safety Department in Hollywood, Florida.
USA Baseball is the national governing body for organized baseball in the United States, and is a member of the United States Olympic Committee and the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The organization selects and trains the World Baseball Classic, Olympic, Premier12, and Pan American Games teams ; the USA Baseball collegiate national team; the USA Baseball 18U, 15U, and 12U national teams; and the USA Baseball women's national team, all of which participate in various international competitions each year. In addition, USA Baseball selects players for the 14U, 16U, and 17U national team-development programs. The organization is responsible for the continued proliferation and health of the sport, and leads a number of amateur initiatives through its Sport Development department, including Play Ball and Pitch Smart. USA Baseball also presents the Golden Spikes Award annually to the top amateur baseball player in the country and is responsible for creating the USABat standard.
Lisa Maria Fernandez is an American former softball player and current associate head coach at UCLA. She played college softball at UCLA as a pitcher and third baseman, and is a three-time medal winning Olympian with Team USA.
Jessica Ofelia Mendoza is an American sportscaster and former softball player. Currently, she serves as a color commentator and analyst for ESPN's coverage of Major League Baseball and Los Angeles Dodgers coverage on Spectrum SportsNet LA. As a softball outfielder, Mendoza was a collegiate four-time First Team All-American and two-time Olympic medalist. Mendoza played from 1999 to 2002 at Stanford and was a member of the United States women's national softball team from 2004 to 2010. She won a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens and a silver medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She played professionally in National Pro Fastpitch and was named 2011 Player of the Year and currently ranks in the top 10 for career batting average and slugging percentage.
The United States women's national baseball team is a national team that represents the United States of America in international women's baseball competitions. It is controlled by USA Baseball and is a member of the Pan American Baseball Confederation (COPABE).
The United States competed at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada, from July 10 to 26, 2015.
This article shows the rosters of all participating teams at the women's baseball tournament at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto. Rosters can have a maximum of 18 athletes.
Bradi Wall is a Canadian baseball player. She is a member of the Canada women's national baseball team which won a silver medal at the 2015 Pan American Games.
Tamara Holmes is a baseball player who competed with the Colorado Silver Bullets and the United States women's national baseball team which won a gold medal at the 2015 Pan American Games. Heading into 2015, she has hit more home runs that any other women's baseball player.
Malaika Underwood is a member of the United States women's national baseball team which won a gold medal at the 2015 Pan American Games.
Marti Sementelli is a member of the United States women's national baseball team which won a gold medal at the 2015 Pan American Games.
Sarah Hudek is a left-handed pitcher and former outfielder for the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns softball team and member of the United States women's national baseball team which won a gold medal at the 2015 Pan American Games. Her father, John Hudek was a former Major League Baseball Pitcher.
Tara Harbert is a member of the United States women's national baseball team. Her father, Roger Harbert played professional baseball in Australia during the 1960s.
Jenna Marston is a member of the United States women's national baseball team which won a gold medal at the 2015 Pan American Games.
Anna Kimbrell is a member of the United States women's national baseball team which won a gold medal at the 2015 Pan American Games.
Rebecca "Becky" Hartley is a Canadian baseball player. She is a member of the Canada women's national baseball team which won a silver medal at the 2015 Pan American Games.
Kelsey Lalor is a Canadian baseball player. She is a member of the Canada women's national baseball team which won a silver medal at the 2015 Pan American Games.
Stacy Piagno is a member of the United States women's national baseball team which won a gold medal at the 2015 Pan American Games.
Ryleigh Buck is an American softball and baseball player. She is a member of the United States women's national baseball team which won a gold medal at the 2015 Pan American Games.
Veronica Rose Gajownik is a former American softball and baseball player, and an American baseball manager. She was a member of the United States women's national baseball team which won a gold medal at the 2015 Pan American Games. In 2023 she was named the Hillsboro Hops’ manager for the 2023 season; this made her the first woman to manage a High-A team, and the first openly LGBTQ manager in minor or major league baseball history.
Claire Eccles is a Canadian baseball player. She is a left-handed pitcher who throws three pitches, including a knuckleball. She has been a member of the women's national baseball team of Canada, and has competed in the 2014 and 2016 Women's Baseball World Cups as well as the 2015 Pan American Games. In 2017, she joined the Victoria HarbourCats of the West Coast League and became the first woman to play in that league. She was also a member of the softball team at the University of British Columbia.
