Olympic speed skater Eddy Alvarez signs with White Sox

Eddy Alvarez makes transition from speed skating to baseball

By Matt Monagan

June 11, 2014

We've seen our share of athletes transition from another sport to baseball. Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders were notables from football, while former NBA star Tracy McGrady is currently attempting a comeback in the independent leagues. And now, Eddy Alvarez is making the switch to the diamond from ... Olympic short track speed skating?

The 2014 silver medalist, who was also an all-conference shortstop at Salt Lake Community College, officially signed with the White Sox on Wednesday. Alvarez hinted at his passion for baseball to MiLB.com back in February:

"Baseball's just something that's always been a part of my family," he said. "My dad did it, my brother did it, I grew up doing it. It was before skating, too. I was 2 years old and already swinging bats and throwing balls. I knew that was something that I was going to do."

The 24-year-old will begin workouts in Arizona and probably be assigned to a Minor League team soon after. And as NBCOlympicTalk points out, Alvarez is not the first former Olympian to sign with the South Side:

Alvarez

Best of luck, Eddy.