YOKOHAMA, Japan — Eddy Alvarez finished his swing. He didn’t need to. The game was over. Japan had won gold over the U.S. in a 2–0 tilt that never felt that close. But he was standing in the on-deck circle as Japan closed it out, and he is a baseball player, and he saw his Olympics through to their very last moment. Then he sank to his knees and bowed his head and watched as Japan celebrated.
In some sports—speed skating, for example—you can win silver. But in baseball, you can only lose gold.
Alvarez knows that as well as anyone.