José Rijo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Jose Rijo | |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | |
| Batted: Right | Threw: Right |
| MLB debut | |
| April 5, 1984 for the New York Yankees | |
| Final game | |
| September 28, 2002 for the Cincinnati Reds | |
| Career statistics | |
| Record | 116-91 |
| ERA | 3.24 |
| Strikeouts | 1606 |
| Teams | |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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José Antonio Rijo Abreu (born May 13, 1965 in San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic) is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball best known for his years with the Cincinnati Reds (1988-1995 and 2001-2002). While with the Oakland Athletics he struck out 16 Seattle Mariners on April 16, 1986. Plagued by injuries during his career, he left the major leagues at age 30 before returning six years later for one and a half seasons. He is perhaps best known for his performance in the 1990 World Series, when he recorded two victories including a two-hitter in the final Game 4, earning him the World Series MVP Award as the Reds won their first championship in fifteen years.
When Rijo broke into the majors with the New York Yankees in 1984, he was the youngest player in either league. He did not have a good rookie season, and some observers commented that Yankee owner George Steinbrenner had orchestrated the call-up, hoping to create a phenom along the lines of the crosstown Mets' 1984 rookie sensation Dwight Gooden. When this did not happen, Rijo was sent to the Oakland A's as part of a trade package for Rickey Henderson.
After three largely nondescript seasons with Oakland, Rijo was still considered enough of a prospect for the Reds to acquire him in exchange for aging slugger Dave Parker, who'd had 338 runs batted in over the previous three seasons.
Rijo's age eventually caught up to his talent. He was a member of the National League All-Star Team in 1994. Rijo also led the league in 1993 and 1994 in games started. He led the NL in 1993 in strikeouts and strikeouts per nine innings, and in 1991 he led the NL in winning percentage.
Rijo was the MVP of the 1990 World Series, in which the Reds swept the defending champion Athletics in four games. That would be Rijo's only postseason experience, but after winning Game 1 by a 7-0 score, he shut down the A's on two hits in Game 4 (both in the first inning), ending the Series with a 0.59 earned run average and 15 strikeouts in 15-1/3 innings.
The year after his All-Star season (1995), he was sidelined with a serious elbow injury. Despite several comeback attempts, his elbow troubles kept him out of baseball for five full years. Rijo made a stunning comeback to the game in 2001. In doing so, Rijo became the first major league player to appear in a game after having received a Baseball Hall of Fame vote since Minnie Miñoso (who received six Hall of Fame votes in 1969) appeared for the Chicago White Sox in 1980.
In 2002, his final season, Rijo received the Tony Conigliaro Award. Rijo currently works as a special assistant to general manager Jim Bowden of the Washington Nationals baseball team.
[edit] External links
- Baseball-Reference.com - career statistics and analysis
- Washington Nationals official site
- 1969 BBWAA Hall of Fame Balloting
| Preceded by Dave Stewart |
World Series MVP 1990 |
Succeeded by Jack Morris |
