1965
Born May 13, 1965
San Cristobal, San Cristóbal, D.R.
José Rijo Marquee
b. May 13, 1965 · New York Yankees 1984, Oakland Athletics 1985–1987, Cincinnati Reds 1988–1995, 2001–2002
José Rijo won two games in the 1990 World Series as Cincinnati swept Oakland, took the series Most Valuable Player award, and retired the last twenty Athletics he faced in the clincher. He was twenty-five and had already been traded twice.
Signed out of San Cristóbal, he debuted for the Yankees at eighteen in 1984, went to Oakland in the Rickey Henderson trade, and arrived in Cincinnati in 1988. The Reds years were his best: a 2.83 earned run average across eight seasons, and an All-Star selection in 1994.
Elbow trouble ended his season in 1995 and kept him out of the majors for five full years. He came back with Cincinnati in 2001 at thirty-six, pitched two more seasons, and finished 116-91 with 1,606 strikeouts.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 1 | 1994 |
| Player of the Week | 2 | 1989, 1990 |
| Pitcher of the Month | 1 | 1992 |
| The Sporting News All-Star | 1 | 1991 |
| World Series MVP | 1 | 1990 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | NYY | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1985 | OAK | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1986 | OAK | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1987 | OAK | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1988 | CIN | 49 | 37 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 0 | .054 |
| 1989 | CIN | 19 | 38 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 1 | .211 |
| 1990 | CIN | 29 | 62 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 1 | .161 |
| 1991 | CIN | 31 | 67 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 13 | 0 | .209 |
| 1992 | CIN | 33 | 72 | 3 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 0 | .194 |
| 1993 | CIN | 36 | 82 | 5 | 22 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 18 | 0 | .268 |
| 1994 | CIN | 26 | 49 | 4 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | .204 |
| 1995 | CIN | 14 | 22 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | .136 |
| 2001 | CIN | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2002 | CIN | 31 | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | .125 |
| Career | — | 377 | 445 | 25 | 85 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 29 | 8 | 101 | 2 | .191 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | NYY | 2 | 8 | 24 | 5 | 2 | 62.1 | 74 | 33 | 33 | 47 | 4.76 |
| 1985 | OAK | 6 | 4 | 12 | 9 | 0 | 63.2 | 57 | 25 | 28 | 65 | 3.53 |
| 1986 | OAK | 9 | 11 | 39 | 26 | 1 | 193.2 | 172 | 100 | 108 | 176 | 4.65 |
| 1987 | OAK | 2 | 7 | 21 | 14 | 0 | 82.1 | 106 | 54 | 41 | 67 | 5.90 |
| 1988 | CIN | 13 | 8 | 49 | 19 | 0 | 162.0 | 120 | 43 | 63 | 160 | 2.39 |
| 1989 | CIN | 7 | 6 | 19 | 19 | 0 | 111.0 | 101 | 35 | 48 | 86 | 2.84 |
| 1990 | CIN | 14 | 8 | 29 | 29 | 0 | 197.0 | 151 | 59 | 78 | 152 | 2.70 |
| 1991 | CIN | 15 | 6 | 30 | 30 | 0 | 204.1 | 165 | 57 | 55 | 172 | 2.51 |
| 1992 | CIN | 15 | 10 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 211.0 | 185 | 60 | 44 | 171 | 2.56 |
| 1993 | CIN | 14 | 9 | 36 | 36 | 0 | 257.1 | 218 | 71 | 62 | 227 | 2.48 |
| 1994 | CIN | 9 | 6 | 26 | 26 | 0 | 172.1 | 177 | 59 | 52 | 171 | 3.08 |
| 1995 | CIN | 5 | 4 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 69.0 | 76 | 32 | 22 | 62 | 4.17 |
| 2001 | CIN | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 17.0 | 19 | 4 | 9 | 12 | 2.12 |
| 2002 | CIN | 5 | 4 | 31 | 9 | 0 | 77.0 | 89 | 44 | 20 | 38 | 5.14 |
| Career | — | 116 | 91 | 376 | 269 | 3 | 1880.0 | 1710 | 676 | 663 | 1606 | 3.24 |
On this day & linked events
1984
Major-league debut: José Rijo
José Rijo made a major-league debut on April 5, 1984.
2002
Final major-league game: José Rijo
José Rijo played a final major-league game on September 28, 2002.
Image: RickDikeman, public domain