Rubén Rivera Moreno (born November 14, 1973) is a Panamanian former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player. He played

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

for five teams, from to . With the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

, Rivera won the

1996 World Series The 1996 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1996 Major League Baseball season, 1996 season. The 92nd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (bas ...

over the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

. His cousin,

Mariano Rivera Mariano Rivera (born November 29, 1969) is a Panamanian Americans, Panamanian-American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, from 1995 to 2013. Nicknamed "Mo" and " ...

, was the longtime closer for the Yankees.

Professional career

New York Yankees (1990–1997)

Rivera was signed by the New York Yankees in . He made his professional debut with the

Gulf Coast Yankees The Florida Complex League Yankees are a Rookie-level affiliate of the New York Yankees, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team is composed mainly of players who are in their first year of professional baseball ...

in 1992 and his major league debut with the Yankees on September 3, 1995. Rivera was highly touted as a prospect, being ranked as high as second overall amongst prospects by ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' (BA) is a sports publication company that covers baseball at every level, including Major League Baseball (MLB), with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) college, high school, and inte ...

'' in 1995, third in 1996, and ninth in 1997. He played in 46 games for the 1996 New York Yankees. He was added to the postseason roster, and appeared in the

1996 American League Division Series The 1996 American League Division Series (ALDS), the opening round of the American League side in Major League Baseball’s (MLB) 1996 postseason, began on Tuesday, October 1, and ended on Saturday, October 5, with the champions of the three AL ...

San Diego Padres (1997–2000)

On April 22, , the Yankees traded Rivera with

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

Rafael Medina and US $3 million to the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

for

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

Homer Bush Homer Giles Bush (born November 12, 1972) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played for the New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays and Florida Marlins of Major League Baseball from 1997 to 2002 and in 2004. He was a pa ...

and minor leaguer Gordon Amerson and two players to be named later, who turned out to be the highly anticipated Japanese pitcher

Hideki Irabu was a Japanese professional baseball player of American and Japanese mixed ancestry. He played professionally in both Japan and the United States. Irabu played for the Lotte Orions / Chiba Lotte Marines and Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professiona ...

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 and ), and his considerable power did not sufficiently compensate for that major failing. He was released shortly before the 2001 season.

Cincinnati Reds, Texas Rangers & San Francisco Giants (2001–2006)

The

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

signed Rivera for the 2001 season, but he did not perform any better for the Reds in a reserve role than he did the Padres. They waived him after the season, and the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

picked him up, but released him a month later without his having played a game for them. Early in , the Yankees signed him as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

, but released him during

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

after Rivera stole teammate

Derek Jeter Derek Sanderson Jeter ( ; born June 26, 1974), nicknamed "the Captain", is an American former professional baseball shortstop, businessman, and baseball executive. As a player, Jeter spent his entire 20-year Major League Baseball (MLB) caree ...

's glove and bat, and then sold them to a sports memorabilia dealer, reportedly for $2,500. After this became known, his teammates allegedly voted him off the team, and the Yankees released him. When the incident became public, Rivera apologized but criticized the team after being removed. He signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers on March 31, 2002, and was assigned to the

Tulsa Drillers The Tulsa Drillers are a minor league baseball team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers major-league club. Stadium The Drillers play at ONEOK Field (pronounc ...

. He performed poorly for them in a reserve role and was released immediately following the season. In 2003, Rivera re-joined the Giants as a free agent. He was involved in an infamous

baserunning In baseball, base running is the act of running from base to base, performed by members of the team at bat. Base running is a tactical part of the game with the goal of eventually reaching home base ( home plate) to score a run. Batters strive ...

gaffe in a 13-inning 4–3 win over the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

Pacific Bell Park Oracle Park is a ballpark in the SoMa district of San Francisco, California. Since 2000, it has been the home of the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). The stadium stands along San Francisco Bay; the section of the bay beyond ...

on May 27. Representing the potential winning run as a

pinch runner In baseball or softball, a pinch runner is a player substituted into a game for the purpose of base running. Description A pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been s ...

for

Andrés Galarraga Andrés José Padovani Galarraga (; born June 18, 1961) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball first baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos (– and ), St. Louis Cardinals (), Colorado Rockies (–), ...

at first base with a 2–2 score and one out in the ninth, Rivera advanced to second base but reversed course two steps beyond it thinking that the ball hit by

Marquis Grissom Marquis Deon Grissom (born April 17, 1967) is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos, Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Dodgers, and ...

to deep right-center field was caught by

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

David Dellucci David Michael Dellucci (born October 31, 1973) is an American former professional baseball outfielder, who played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for seven teams. High school Dellucci graduated from Catholic High School in Baton Rouge ...

. Realizing that Dellucci had muffed the ball for an error, he ran past second base, returned to retouch it, headed to third and attempted to score when

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

Junior Spivey Ernest Lee "Junior" Spivey Jr. (born January 28, 1975) is an American former second baseman in Major League Baseball. In his five-year major league career, Spivey batted .270 with 48 home runs and 201 runs batted in in 457 games. He made the Na ...

's relay throw bounced off

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the Baseball scorekeep ...

Alex Cintrón Alexander Cintrón (born December 17, 1978) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball infielder and current hitting coach for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago White Sox ...

's glove and towards

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

Tony Womack Anthony Darrell Womack (born September 25, 1969) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in 13 seasons of Major League Baseball (MLB), with most of his career spent with the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Arizona Diamondbacks, t ...

, who threw out the sliding Rivera at home plate. Rivera's actions were proclaimed by Giants broadcaster

Jon Miller Jon Miller (born October 11, 1951) is an American sportscaster, known primarily for his broadcasts of Major League Baseball. Since 1997, he has been employed as a play-by-play announcer for the San Francisco Giants. He was also a baseball ann ...

as "the worst baserunning in the history of the game." He was released by the Giants on June 3 after batting .180 with two

homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

s and four

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

(RBI) in 31 games. Rivera signed a minor league contract with the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

one month later on July 3, 2003, and played with the

Bowie Baysox The Chesapeake Baysox are a Minor League Baseball team located in Bowie, Maryland. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, and play in the Eastern League. Their home ballpark is Prince George's Stadium. From 1993 to 2024, th ...

. The

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

signed Rivera to play for the Triple-A

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field ...

for , where despite hitting 16

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s, he batted only .239.

Mexican League (2007–2019)

He played for the

Piratas de Campeche The Piratas de Campeche (English: Campeche Pirates) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League (LMB) based in Campeche, Campeche, Mexico. History In 1980, the Alacranes de Durango moved to Campeche, and played their home games at Ven ...

from 2007 to 2012, switched to Delfines de Ciudad del Carmen in 2013. In 2014, he played center field for the

Rieleros de Aguascalientes The Rieleros de Aguascalientes (English: Aguascalientes Railroaders) are a professional baseball team based in Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes that competes in the Mexican League. Established in 1975, the Rieleros have won the Mexican League cha ...

. In 2015, Rivera played for both the

Diablos Rojos del México The Diablos Rojos del Mexico (English: Mexico Red Devils) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Mexico City, Mexico. The team was founded in 1940 by Salvador Lutteroth and Ernesto Carmona. The Diablos Rojos play their ho ...

and the

Olmecas de Tabasco The Olmecas de Tabasco (English: Tabasco Olmecs) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico. Their home ballpark is the Estadio Centenario 27 de Febrero. The Olmecas won their only Mexican Lea ...

. In 2016, he started the season with the

before he was traded to the

Pericos de Puebla The Pericos de Puebla (English: Puebla Parrots) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Puebla. Their home ballpark is the Estadio de Béisbol Hermanos Serdán. Established in 1938, the Pericos have won five Mexican League ...

, who ended up winning the League Championship. In 2017, he was traded to the

Acereros de Monclova The Acereros de Monclova (English: Monclova Steelers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports l ...

. Rivera announced his retirement following the 2019 season with Monclova, winning a championship in his last season as an active player.

World Baseball Classic (2006, 2009)

Rivera played in both the 2006 and 2009

World Baseball Classic The World Baseball Classic (WBC), also referred to as the Classic, is an international baseball tournament sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the sport's global governing body, and organized in World Baseball Clas ...

for

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

's national team. He went a combined 3 for 16 with 1 home run and 5 strikeouts across both tournaments.

Coaching career

Rivera served as hitting coach for the

of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

for the 2021 season.

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rivera, Ruben 1973 births Living people Acereros de Monclova players Águilas de Mexicali players Bowie Baysox players Charlotte Knights players Cincinnati Reds players Columbus Clippers players Diablos Rojos del México players Delfines de Ciudad del Carmen players Greensboro Bats players Gulf Coast Yankees players Las Vegas Stars (baseball) players Leones del Caracas players Panamanian expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from Panama Mexican League baseball outfielders Naranjeros de Hermosillo players New York Yankees players Norwich Navigators players Oklahoma RedHawks players Olmecas de Tabasco players Oneonta Yankees players Ottawa Lynx players Panamanian expatriate baseball players in Canada Panamanian expatriate baseball players in Mexico Panamanian expatriate baseball players in the United States Pericos de Puebla players People from La Chorrera District Sportspeople from Panamá Oeste Province Piratas de Campeche players Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players Rieleros de Aguascalientes players San Diego Padres players San Francisco Giants players Tampa Yankees players Texas Rangers players Tomateros de Culiacán players Tulsa Drillers players Venados de Mazatlán players 2003 Baseball World Cup players 2006 World Baseball Classic players 2009 World Baseball Classic players