I have written a poem in honour of Alvaro Espinoza, as requested. It is in the style, rhyming scheme, and pretty close to the same beat as Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven. I will confess up front that the beat and syllable counts are a little off, cuz well, Poe is the man, and that kind of genius is hard to duplicate. Anyways, enjoy!

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Some time ago in Venezuela, Señor and Señora Espinoza

Over a bottle of Artessa Reserve Venezuelan Tempranillo

Got to loving, then to taking, in conjugal bliss got making

A little kid, not a weakling, and they called him Alvaro

A future baseball player, coach and star, and his name is Alvaro

He had many years left to grow.

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In his first years from rookie to year three, he played with the Twins of Minnesotee,

Collecting a very impressive batting average of point two five oh

He had ten runs batted in, not a bad way for a career to begin

And lucky him, strike outs only nineteen, this shortstop named Alvaro

From Minnesota he was traded and was accepted as a Houston Astro

But soon they let him go.

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In nineteen eighty eight, the New York Yankees put away their cotton hankies

As they picked up this reliable shortstop called Alvaro

He played well with concentration, with much knowledge of his position

But he had small scintillation, though the double play was his best throw

His style was not flashy as other shortstops seemed to do

He outshone them with derring-do.

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After playing a decade and a half, he put his glove up on the shelf

He stayed on the bench but lost the uniform and became a coach.

He led the infield in Montreal then led Vero Beach to a season abysmal

In Pittsburgh his position of ole, he was the guy to whom to go

Now back in the Major League he had the whole infield in his hold

This infield coach named Alvaro.