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Philadelphia Phillies closer Jose Alvarado has some of the most electric stuff in all of Major League Baseball. The 6-foot-2, 250-pound lefty regular tops 100 on the radar gun with a nasty cutter and a newly-learned curveball to complement the gas. Alvarado, 29, is also perhaps the league’s most intense pitcher when he gets on the mound. As it turns out, there’s a good reason for that.
In a recent story on the Phillies’ bullpen for The Athletic, beat reporter Matt Gelb discovered that Alvarado is an absolutely fiend for coffee. Like, to an obsessive level. So much so that he has a tattoo of a small mug on his left hand with the words “coffee is life” written on it.
In lieu of watching the Phillies tonight, here’s Jose Alvarado celebrating like a maniac for a minute straight. pic.twitter.com/EpTxzg3Rb5
— Ben Silver (@BenHSilver) June 7, 2024
Now, some of you may be wondering what the big deal is. Plenty of folks love coffee and use it on a daily basis to get through their day-to-day lives. But as it turns out, it takes a lot of coffee to fuel a man that large. According to Gelb, Alvarado starts his day, each day, with six espressos.
But his caffeine intake doesn’t stop there. Alvarado continues to drink coffee through the day and into the night during Phillies games. When he plans on closing, Alvarado told Gelb that he has his final coffee of the night in the seventh inning.
“It’s easier when you know, ‘OK, this is my inning. This is the game,’” Alvarado said. “You know?”
Alvarado, who is the nailed on Phillies starter after Jeff Hoffman left for Toronto is free agency, has had a great start to the 2025 season. Through six appearance he has two wins, two saves, and ERA of 1.42 and a jaw-dropping FIP of 0.14.
So it’s safe to say the coffee is working. But we wouldn’t recommend trying it at home.