Max Alvis

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Max Alvis bigraphy, stories - American baseball player

Max Alvis : biography

February 2, 1938 –

Roy Maxwell Alvis (born February 2, 1938) is a former American Major League Baseball (MLB) player who played on two major league teams for nine seasons. A third baseman, he had a career .247 batting average and .956 fielding average.

Early life

Alvis was born in Jasper, Texas, and graduated from Jasper High School (Jasper, Texas). He attended the University of Texas at Austin.

Professional career

Alvis was signed by the Cleveland Indians as an amateur free agent in 1958. He played his first professional game on September 11, 1962, with the Cleveland Indians.

Alvis became the everyday third baseman for the Indians in . He enjoyed single-season career-high numbers in batting average (.274), RBI (67), runs (81), hits (165), doubles (32) and triples (7). He added 22 home runs (also a personal high), and appeared to be on his way to stardom, but a bout with spinal meningitis disabled him for six weeks in (a season in which he hit 18 homers in only 381 at-bats).

Alvis made a remarkable comeback in , hitting 21 home runs, and was rewarded by being selected for the All-Star game, representing the American League. He turned in a solid 18 HR performance in and led the team with 21 in . His batting average fell to .223 as a full-time player in 1968, and he was relegated to spot duty with Cleveland in 1969, appearing in only 66 games.

He was traded along with outfielder Russ Snyder to the Brewers for infielder Frank Coggins, outfielder Roy Foster and cash during spring training. As a backup in Milwaukee, he hit .183 with three homers in 62 games, being released at the end of the season.