Mickey Rivers | |
---|---|
Center fielder | |
Born: Miami, Florida, U.S. | October 30, 1948|
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
MLB debut | |
August 4, 1970, for the California Angels | |
Last MLB appearance | |
September 30, 1984, for the Texas Rangers | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .295 |
Home runs | 61 |
Runs batted in | 499 |
Teams | |
Career highlights and awards | |
|
John Milton "Mickey" Rivers (born October 30,1948) is an American former baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball from 1970 to 1984 for the 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.
Rivers graduated from Miami Northwestern Senior High School in 1967. The legend of "Mick the Quick" began during his amateur days at 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.
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]
Rivers was acquired along with Ed Figueroa by the Yankees from the Angels for Bobby Bonds on December 11,1975, [2] a trade that immediately paid dividends for the Yankees. Figueroa won 19 games and Rivers enjoyed a career year. Rivers was named to the All-Star team,batted .312,stole 43 bases and posted then-career highs in home runs (8) and runs batted in (67). [3] Rivers placed third in the 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.
Now with the Rangers,Rivers set the single-season record for hits by a Ranger with 210 in 1980. He concluded his career in 1984 with a .295 lifetime average,267 stolen bases and 1,660 hits. Rivers posted a .308 average in his 29 postseason games. [5]
While Rivers played for them,the Yankees won the World Series in 1977 and 1978,both times against the Los Angeles Dodgers. [6] They won the 1976 pennant,but lost in the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds. In the 1978 one-game playoff against the Boston Red Sox,Rivers reportedly gave a bat "with a home run in it" to Bucky Dent,who proceeded to hit a home run over 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.
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 Reggie Jackson remarked to a reporter that he had an 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 Yankee imperialism by Garrett Morris in the "Bad Red Chinese Ballet" sketch in the November 18,1978 installment of Saturday Night Live . [11]
After baseball,Rivers began training racehorses in his native Florida. His son,Mickey Jr.,played minor league baseball in the Rangers organization,and his daughter Rhonda is a teacher in the Houston area.
Reginald Martinez Jackson is an American former professional baseball right fielder who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City / Oakland Athletics,Baltimore Orioles,New York Yankees,and California Angels. Jackson was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1993.
Bobby Lee Bonds Sr. was an American right fielder in Major League Baseball from 1968 to 1981. He played for the San Francisco Giants,New York Yankees,California Angels,Chicago White Sox,Texas Rangers,Cleveland Indians,St. Louis Cardinals,and Chicago Cubs.
Russell Earl "Bucky" Dent is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox,New York Yankees,Texas Rangers,and Kansas City Royals from 1973 to 1984. He managed the Yankees in 1989 and 1990.
Richard Michael "Goose" Gossage is an American former baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1972 and 1994. He pitched for nine different teams,spending his best years with the New York Yankees and San Diego Padres.
Albert Walter "Sparky" Lyle is an American professional baseball pitcher who spent sixteen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1967 through 1982. He was a relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox,New York Yankees,Texas Rangers,Philadelphia Phillies,and Chicago White Sox.
The 1978 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1978 season. The 75th edition of the World Series,it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion New York Yankees and the National League (NL) champion Los Angeles Dodgers. In a rematch of the previous year's World Series,the Yankees won,four games to two,to repeat as champions and to win their 22nd World Series. As of 2024,it remains the most recent World Series to feature a rematch of the previous season's matchup.
The 1977 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1977 season. The 74th edition of the World Series,it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion New York Yankees and the National League (NL) champion Los Angeles Dodgers. The Yankees defeated the Dodgers four games to two to win the franchise's 21st World Series championship,their first since 1962,and the first under the ownership of George Steinbrenner. Played from October 11 to 18,the Series was televised on ABC.
Lee Louis Mazzilli is an American former professional baseball player,coach,and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder for the New York Mets,Texas Rangers,New York Yankees,Pittsburgh Pirates,and Toronto Blue Jays from 1976 through 1989. He was an MLB All-Star in 1979. Mazzilli also managed the Baltimore Orioles from 2004 through 2005 and coached the Yankees from 2000 through 2003 and in 2006.
James Lloyd Spencer was an American Major League Baseball first baseman. Born in Hanover,Pennsylvania,the left-handed Spencer was recognized for his excellent fielding ability,but also served in later years as a designated hitter.
Eduardo Figueroa Padilla is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player. Listed at 6' 1" (1.86 m),190 lb. (86 k),Figueroa batted and threw right handed. He was born in Ciales,Puerto Rico.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1977 throughout the world.
Ronald Gene Davis is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher who played 11 years from 1978 to 1988. Davis played for the New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins of the American League and the Chicago Cubs,Los Angeles Dodgers,and San Francisco Giants of the National League. He was selected to the American League All-Star team in 1981.
Clifford "Heathcliff" Johnson,Jr. is an American former Major League Baseball player who played for the Houston Astros (1972–1977),New York Yankees (1977–1979),Cleveland Indians (1979–1980),Chicago Cubs (1980),Oakland Athletics (1981–82),Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers (1985). He batted and threw right-handed and split time between catcher,first baseman,and outfielder in the early part of his Major League career before becoming primarily a full-time designated hitter.
The Dodgers–Yankees rivalry is one of the biggest rivalries in Major League Baseball. The Los Angeles Dodgers are a member club of the National League (NL) West division,and the New York Yankees are a member club of the American League (AL) East division. The teams have met 12 times in the World Series,more than any other two teams,with the Yankees winning eight times. The rivalry began in New York City,when the Dodgers played in Brooklyn and the Yankees in the Bronx. After the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles in 1958,the rivalry continued as the teams represented cities on each coast of the United States,and two of the largest. Fan support has added to the notoriety of the series as both teams are supported by two of the largest fanbases in North America. The regular season series is currently tied 11–11.
The 1978 New York Yankees season was the 76th season for the Yankees. The team finished with a record of 100–63,finishing one game ahead of the Boston Red Sox to win their third American League East title. The two teams were tied after 162 games,leading to a one-game playoff,which the Yankees won. New York played home games at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx and was managed by Billy Martin,Dick Howser,and Bob Lemon.
The 1979 New York Yankees season was the 77th season for the franchise. The season was marked by the death of their starting catcher,Thurman Munson,on August 2. The team finished with a record of 89–71,finishing fourth in the American League East,13.5 games behind the Baltimore Orioles,ending the Yankees' three-year domination of the AL East. New York was managed by Billy Martin,and Bob Lemon. The Yankees played at Yankee Stadium.
The Texas Rangers 1983 season involved the Rangers finishing third in the American League West with a record of 77 wins and 85 losses. The Rangers did break a Major League Baseball record for the most runs ever scored by one team during a single extra inning.
The 1978 American League East tie-breaker game was a one-game extension to Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1978 regular season. The game was played at Fenway Park in Boston on the afternoon of Monday,October 2 between the rival New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox to determine the winner of the American League's (AL) East Division.
On September 30,1984,Mike Witt of the California Angels threw a perfect game against the Texas Rangers at Arlington Stadium. It was the 11th perfect game in Major League Baseball (MLB) history. Witt threw 94 pitches,struck out 10 of the 27 batters he faced,and had a game score of 97.
The Bronx Zoo:The Astonishing Inside Story of the 1978 World Champion New York Yankees is a nonfiction book written by former Major League Baseball pitcher Sparky Lyle and Peter Golenbock. A memoir of Lyle's tenure with the New York Yankees,the book documents the 1978 New York Yankees season,including the 1978 World Series and conflicts between players. The book was published by Crown Publishers in 1979.