Salvy Alvarez: A big bat, but an even bigger heart

By: Landon Weaver

Salvy Alvarez is a special talent on the diamond. He has played at the highest level possible for collegiate athletes and continues to compete at the Division I level, but his array of talent stretches far beyond the confines of a baseball field.

His teammates at Stetson University call him “Coach 305”. That three-digit area code represents Miami, Alvarez’s hometown, but also somewhere where he’s done a lot for the community’s youth. In December of 2025, Alvarez and a squad of his baseball friends kicked off the very first edition of the 305 Christmas Bash.

“In the baseball community, everybody is connected somehow,” Alvarez said. “Either ‘know him or I know someone that knows him…’ so I reached out and in total it was 33 or 34 current baseball players.”

These players ranged from the ranks of high school ball all the way to the major leagues. No matter the level, these players saw a friend that wanted to do good, and they hopped on without question.

According to Alvarez, the baseball clinic was a success. Over 70 kids showed up to hangout with guys that they’ve watched on television. He said his biggest point of emphasis was to make the kids feel like anything is possible. Treating them as equals rather than students. The kids that came to this clinic got a special surprise at the end as well.

“Every kid got a T-shirt that said ‘DREAMING IS FREE’, and that’s my biggest message,” Alvarez said. “Aim high, aim big, so that’s something I’m really proud of.”

Those that came to participate in the clinic will certainly remember that day forever. They got four or five hours of fun with some local legends in the baseball community.

“It gave me a lot to be thankful for,” Alvarez said. “The time that I’ve invested in those relationships, they’re paying off.”

Those relationships were what helped Alvarez begin penciling in the idea of this 305 Christmas Bash in August 2025.

Alvarez began brainstorming ideas for the event when he arrived at Stetson before the fall semester. Prior to joining the Hatters, Alvarez was at the University of Florida in 2023, but did not see the field. He then went to Florida Southwestern to attempt to raise his stock.

As a member of Florida Southwestern, Alvarez batted .312 and got himself an opportunity to join Stetson University in 2025.

He wanted to make the Christmas Bash stand out from a traditional baseball camp – “Anybody can hit you a ground ball, anybody can throw you [batting practice], anybody can take you out to the field and practice for two hours,” Alvarez said. “But for four hours, five hours we’re giving you an experience with college and pro guys and it’s something that I wanted to be a family event.”

Parents became involved as well. Dads were trading stories with the players, moms were taking pictures, and the kids got to see Santa Claus at the end, as well as receiving some early Christmas gifts in the form of trading cards.

“I came up with the idea, but I had a lot of people to help me,” Alvarez said. “It takes a village.”

The array of help came in the form of coaches, sponsors, family, friends and current, as well as former, baseball colleagues. The first person that Alvarez reached out to about the event was Gio Cueto. Cueto played at Stetson the year before Alvarez joined the Hatters, but now is in the Dodgers organization. “I’m so close with him that it wasn’t me asking him, it was more like me telling him he was gonna go,” Alvarez said.

From there, the ball was rolling and the support for the event grew into all corners of the nation because of Alvarez’s connections through the sport. It got to the point where people began reaching out to Alvarez to be involved, rather than being asked.

This all goes back to the connections that Alvarez values so highly in the baseball world. These connections can date back to his short time during the summer of 2023 with the Charlottesville Tom Sox. Alvarez had nothing but great things to say about his time there. “I was taken care of with rides to the field, meals before and after the game,” Alvarez said. “I think the Tom Sox do a very good job.”

Alvarez was part of the runner-up squad from that year. The Tom Sox made it all the way to the championship series before falling short against the Harrisonburg Turks. In his time in Charlottesville, Alvarez was a reliable bat with 12 hits in just 38 appearances at the plate. His biggest attribute; however, was how he was regarded by his peers.

During that summer, Henry Ford was one of Alvarez’ many teammates. Now with the University of Tennessee, Ford still remembers how great of a teammate, and a friend, Alvarez was during their short time together nearly three years ago. “He’s just a great dude,” Ford said. “Always happy and energetic and joking around, he’s a lot of fun to be around.”

This magnetic personality that Alvarez possesses is one of the reasons why so much traction was gained when it came to this first ever 305 Christmas Bash. Many more are planned in the future, with three events scheduled for December 2026 in various Florida cities including Orlando, Fort Myers and of course, Miami.

A lot of Alvarez’s traits when it comes to baseball can easily be applied to life; he’s got a heart that’s as big as his bat.

When it comes to the Hatters and their locker room, Alvarez strives to be the best teammate he can be: “Caring about the person next to you, and also making an effort to socialize and communicate and not making it conditional,” he said. “I just like being myself.”

By being himself, Alvarez has created a sense of togetherness in his community, but also helped it stretch to other communities with hopes that others can feel the impact of his compassion. Stetson feels that impact, Florida feels that impact, and so does Charlottesville.

It doesn’t matter if he’s playing baseball, helping the community, or chatting with a friend… Alvarez is always going to strive to be the best person he can be, and to him that’s better than a home run any day of the week.