Mickey Rivers

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Mickey Rivers
Runs batted in
499
Teams
Career highlights and awards

John Milton "Mickey" Rivers (born October 30, 1948) is an American former

California Angels, New York Yankees and Texas Rangers. As a Yankee, he was part of two World Series championship teams, both defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers, in 1977 and 1978. "Mick The Quick" was generally known as a speedy leadoff hitter who made contact and was an excellent center fielder
, with a below-average throwing arm.

Amateur Career

Rivers graduated from

Miami Dade Community College. A fast and athletic outfielder
, Rivers emerged as one of the team stars, but once disappeared just moments before the start of a game. His teammates and coaches later discovered Rivers asleep under a nearby tree.

Professional Career

California Angels

Originally signed by the Atlanta Braves, Rivers began his big league career in 1970 with the Angels, playing center field. He stayed with them through the 1975 season. Rivers played part-time in his first few years, until becoming the starter in 1974. He led the American League in triples both years and stole a career-high 70 bases in 1975, tops in the league.[1]

New York Yankees

Rivers was acquired along with

Most Valuable Player voting behind teammate Thurman Munson and George Brett[4] and was named an outfielder on The Sporting News
AL All-Star team.

Rivers posted good numbers in his two other full Yankee seasons, including a .326 batting average in 1977, but was traded in the middle of the 1979 season to Texas.

Texas Rangers

Now with the Rangers, Rivers set the single-season record for

stolen bases and 1,660 hits. Rivers posted a .308 average in his 29 postseason games.[5]

Legacy

While Rivers played for them, the Yankees won the World Series in 1977 and 1978, both times against the

the Green Monster in Fenway Park to give the Yankees a 3-2 lead.[7]

In 1983, Rivers got into a fistfight with teammate Mike Richardt on a plane trip home, over what Richardt called a “misunderstanding”.[8]

On September 30, 1984, in Rivers' final major league game, he and the Rangers were the victims of the Angels' Mike Witt's perfect game, Witt winning 1-0.[9]

Bill James ranked Mickey Rivers as the 59th greatest center fielder of all time. His stooped shuffle as he ambled to the plate masked quick speed out of the box on bunts and sustained speed around the bases. He would often twirl his bat after each pitch.

Personality

Rivers was honored with many of his teammates from the 1977 World Series champion New York Yankees in the Yankee Old Timers Game in 2007.

In The Bronx Is Burning, the ESPN miniseries based on the 1977 Yankees, he was portrayed by Leonard Robinson and depicted as experiencing financial problems.

When

IQ of 160, Rivers responded, "Out of what, a thousand?". Rivers' tenure in the Bronx produced other classic quotes, such as when he tried to explain the bizarre dynamics of the Yankees, who featured controversial owner George Steinbrenner and contentious manager Billy Martin. "Me and George and Billy," Rivers said, "we’re two of a kind." According to Goose Gossage, when the newly acquired reliever went through a rough stretch of blown saves, Rivers once jumped on top of the bullpen car to prevent Gossage from entering the game.[10]

He was portrayed as the representation of

Saturday Night Live.[11]

Retirement

After baseball, Rivers began training

minor league baseball in the Rangers organization, and his daughter Rhonda is a teacher in the Houston
area.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Mickey Rivers stats". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  2. ^ "Angels most active traders," United Press International (UPI), Friday, December 12, 1975. Retrieved May 2, 2020
  3. ^ "Mickey Rivers Stats, Fantasy & News". mlb.com. MLB Advanced Media, LP. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  4. ^ "1976 Awards Voting". baseball-reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  5. ^ "Mickey Rivers Stats, Fantasy & News". mlb.com. MLB Advanced Media, LP. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  6. ^ "Former Yankees Bucky Dent, Mickey Rivers throw out first pitch". newsday.com. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  7. ^ Charlotte Carroll. "Was Bucky Dent's Bat Corked For 1978 Playoff Home Run? Former Red Sox, Yankees Players Weigh In". si.com. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  8. ^ Ron Rosen. "Kuhn Issues Good Word for A Lame Duck". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  9. ^ "Mike Witt Perfect Game Box Score". baseball-almanac.com. Baseball Almanac, Inc. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  10. ^ "Bronx Zoo Was Fun So Many Moons Ago". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  11. ^ "Bad Red Chinese Ballet" (Aired November 18, 1978) – SNL Archives. Retrieved September 30, 2020

External links

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