Ricardo Rincón

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**Ricardo Rincón**
Major League Baseball debut
St. Louis Cardinals — No. 73
Relief pitcher
Bats: Left	Throws: Left
April 3, 1997 for the Pittsburgh Pirates
Selected MLB statistics (through 2006)
Wins-Losses	21-24
ERA	3.58
Strikeouts	397

Ricardo Rincón (born April 13, 1970) is a relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who plays for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Rincón, born in Cuitláhuac, Veracruz, Mexico, is a left-handed specialist who has spent nearly his entire career as a middle reliever and setup pitcher. In his 10-year career, Rincón has never started a game and has only accumulated 21 saves. Rincón played for several teams in Mexico before being signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1997, breaking into the major leagues at the relatively advanced age of 27. He later pitched for the Cleveland Indians and Oakland Athletics.

Rincón played for his native Mexico in the 2006 World Baseball Classic, appearing in four games.^[1] Shortly after the Classic and five games into his Cardinal career, Rincón experienced shoulder pain and later underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum and rotator cuff. He also had Tommy John surgery on his left elbow, and was forced to miss the entire 2006 season.^[2] Rincón is still under contract with the Cardinals and is expected to return in 2007 if he is able to recover from the surgeries.

Rincón was part of a combined no-hitter on July 12, 1997. After Francisco Cordova threw nine innings of no-hit ball, Rincón relieved him and pitched a scoreless 10th. Teammate Mark Smith then hit a three-run walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th to give Rincón the win.^[3]