Rubén Rivera
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rubén Rivera Moreno (b. November 14, 1973, in Chorrera, Panama) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder who played all or parts of 1995 to 2003 for five different major league teams. His cousin, Mariano Rivera, is a long-time closer for the New York Yankees.
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[edit] Career and travels
Rivera was signed by the New York Yankees in 1990. On April 22, 1997, he was traded with pitcher Rafael Medina and US $3 million to the San Diego Padres for infielder Homer Bush and minor leaguer Gordon Amerson and two players to be named later -- who turned out to be the highly anticipated Japanese pitcher Hideki Irabu (who had refused to sign with the Padres, who had acquired MLB rights to him from his Japanese team, the Lotte Orions) and minor leaguer Vernon Maxwell. It was supposed to be a deal to help both teams, but Irabu was a major disappointment for the Yankees, and Rivera turned out to be at least a minor disappointment for the Padres, as he was never able to get on base on a regular basis during his four seasons in the Padres organization, mostly with the parent team (including as a starter in 2000 and 2001), and his considerable power did not sufficiently compensate for that major failing. He was released shortly before the 2001 season.
The Cincinnati Reds signed him for the 2001 season, but he did not perform any better for the Reds in a reserve role than he did the Padres. They would waive him after the season, and the San Francisco Giants would temporarily pick him up but would release him a month later without his having played a game for them. Early in 2002, his old team, the Yankees, signed him as a free agent, but would release him during spring training after an infamous incident (see below), and the Texas Rangers signed him for the season. He performed poorly for them in a reserve role and was released immediately following the season. Early in 2003, the Giants, who had previously briefly owned his rights, signed him as a free agent. However, following the second infamous incident involving Rivera in his career (see below), the Giants released him on June 3, 2003. He has not since resurfaced in the majors.
For his career, Rivera finished with a .216 batting average, with a .307 on base average and a .393 slugging percentage in 662 games.
[edit] Two embarrassing incidents
Fairly or not, Rivera would become known for two incidents where he showed lack of judgment, one off the field and one on.
[edit] Derek Jeter glove incident
After a 2002 spring training game, Rivera took teammate Derek Jeter's glove and bat, and then sold them to a sports memorabilia dealer, allegedly for $2,500. After this became known, his teammates allegedly voted him off the team, and the Yankees front office abided by that vote and released him. When the incident became public, Rivera apologized.
[edit] Baserunning gaffe
The other incident for which Rivera is known happened on the field, also involving famed baseball broadcaster Jon Miller and involved multiple errors by both Rivera himself and the Arizona Diamondbacks defense on May 27, 2003. With one out in the bottom of the ninth in a 2-2 game, Rivera was a pinch runner on first base for Andres Galarraga, who had reached on a Tony Womack error. Marquis Grissom then hit a fly ball to left, which David Dellucci misjudged; by this time, Rivera, who had gone past second base, was on his way back to first base, believing that Dellucci would catch the ball -- but he failed to tag second base as he was going back. Realizing his mistake, he then went back to step on second base, and then oddly enough decided to try for third base. He would be out easily except that Junior Spivey's relay throw went wildly past Alex Cintrón, covering third base. Having reached third base, Rivera, for no conceivable reason, chose to go for home, but the ball bounced to Womack, and Womack threw him out easily at home, preventing the would-be winning run.
Miller, when he was calling the play, after Rivera was thrown out, made the following statement, often-played on highlight shows for some time after the play:
- That was the worst baserunning in the history of the game!
The gaffe probably was not the only reason why Rivera was released by the Giants a month later, but it certainly did not help.
[edit] The Aftermath
The Chicago White Sox signed Rivera to play for Triple A Charlotte Knights for 2006. Rivera again struggled to get on base.
[edit] External links
- Baseball-Reference.com - career statistics and analysis
