The strange tale of former Yankee Ruben Rivera

The Yankees have traded so many prospects. Some have become superstars, but most of them have never amounted to anything. Ruben Rivera fell somewhere in between.

Rivera, a centerfielder who is Mariano Rivera's cousin, was signed as a 17 year old in 1990, the same year the much more famous Rivera was signed. He didn't play his first game in the Yankee system until 1992, but once he arrived, he did pretty well, hitting .273 with 21 stolen bases and a .417 OBP at Rookie ball. He posted just a .951 Fld% in CF, but with 10 outfield assists. The next season, he began to show five-tool potential at Short Season-A Oneonta, hitting .276 with 7 doubles, 13 homers, 47 RBI, 6 triples, 12 stolen bases, a .385 OBP, a .976 Fld% in CF, and 9 outfield assists. Before the 1994 season, despite being so far down in the minors, Rivera was named the 76th best prospect in the minors by Baseball America. In 1994, Rivera had a tremendous season. Between Low-A Greensboro and High-A Tampa, Rivera hit .281 with 28 doubles, 33 homers, 101 RBI, 6 triples, 101 runs, 48 stolen bases, a .357 OBP, a .978 Fld% in CF, and 7 outfield assists in 139 games. He showed all the skills necessary to be a superstar. Accordingly, despite still being at A ball, Rivera was ranked the 2nd best prospect in the minors entering the 1995 season. In 1995 between Double-A Norwich and Triple-A Columbus, Rivera couldn't quite repeat his 30-30 performance , but he had another outstanding season, as he hit .284 with 24 doubles, 24 homers, 74 RBI, 10 SB, 86 runs, 24 SB, a .390 OBP, a .981 Fld%, and 6 assists in 119 games. He was so good that he got his first "cup of coffee" in the majors, appearing in 5 games and striking out in his only AB. Rivera appeared to be well on his way to being a superstar for the Yankees (or whatever team he was traded to).

In 1996, everything changed. Rivera was ranked the 3rd best prospect in the minors entering the season, but he certainly disappointed, hitting just .235 with 20 doubles, 10 homers, 46 RBI, 4 triples, 15 SB, a .324 OBP, a .972 Fld% in CF, and 6 outfield assists in 101 games. It wasn't a terrible season, but it certainly was a step backwards. But, that lack of performance in the minors may have been because he spent his first extended time in the big leagues for the Yankees. He hit .284 with 6 doubles, 2 homers, 16 RBI, 16 SB, a .381 OBP, a perfect 1.000 Fld% at all three outfield position, and 2 assists. Rivera even earned a spot on the Yankees' ALDS roster (but not the ALCS or World Series rosters). Maybe Rivera wasn't going to be a superstar, but he certainly had a chance to be a productive big league player for the Yankees. But, the Yankees coaches were upset with Rivea's attitude, and to complicate matters, he hurt his shoulder throwing out a runner late in the season. In February 1997, Rivera underwent surgery on his injured shoulder. His future with the Yankees was in question.

Rivera never played another game in the Yankee system before being traded to the San Diego Padres while still injured. That trade sent Hideki Irabu to the Yankees. Due to his injury, Rivera played just 35 games between the majors and minors, hitting .225 with 2 homers and 2 SB in 18 minor league games, and .250 with two SB in 17 games for the Padres. He did not make any errors in the outfield or post any assists. He seemed to be declining more and more offensively. In 1998, Rivera hit just .144 in 30 minor league games! But, he did much better in the majors. He hit just .209, but with 7 doubles, 6 homers, 29 RBI, 2 triples, 5 SB, a .325 OBP, a .973 Fld% in the outfield, and 3 assists in 95 games. It certainly wasn't a great season, but he did prove he could at least be a productive bench player.

In 1999, Rivera had one of the most bizarre seasons EVER. He played the entire season in the majors, hitting just .195 in 147 games. That's certainly not good. But, he hit 16 doubles, 23 homers, 48 RBI, 1 triple, 18 SB, 65 runs, and a .295 OBP. He nearly went 20-20 while hitting .195! He is the only player in the history of Major League Baseball to hit under .200 with over 20 homers and over 15 stolen bases. Unbelievable. About his 48 RBI's, it takes some skill to have your RBI's be barely double the amount of homers you hit in a season. He hit 18 solo shots and just 5 homers with runners on base. He hit just .160 with runners in scoring position. Defensively, he posted a .976 Fld%, but with 8 assists. What a season!

In 2000, Rivera had his best season, although it wasn't anywhere near as unique as '99. He hit above the Mendoza line at .208 with 18 doubles, 17 homers, 57 RBI, 6 triples, 8 SB, 62 runs, a .296 OBP, a .984 Fld%, and 10 assists. A whopping five other players have hit under .210 with 15 or more homers and 8 or more stolen bases (obviously, Rivera's 1999 season qualifies as well). Following the season, the Padres didn't care how unique Rivera was and they released him. He just wasn't a good player because of his low batting averages.

In 2001, Rivera was signed by the Cincinnati Reds. He had a bad season, but he set his career high for a full season with a .255 BA, 13 doubles, 10 homers, 34 RBI, 1 triple, 6 SB, a .321 OBP, a .983 Fld% in the outfield, and 4 outfield assists in 117 games. After the season, Rivera was re-signed by the Yankees, but during spring training, he made the stupid mistake of selling Derek Jeter's glove for $2500 and he got released. He was then signed by the Rangers, and with them, hit .209 with 4 homers and 4 stolen bases in 69 games. In '03, Rivera hit .180 with 2 homers for the Giants. At age 29, he had played his last 31 games in the majors.

After sitting out the '04 season, Rivera signed a minor league contract with the Yankees. After hitting .118 in 6 games, he left and signed with Campeche of the Mexican League where he hit .342 with 21 homers, 71 RBI, 14 SB, and a .432 OBP in 80 games. Rivera was so good in the Mexican League that he was signed to a minor league contract by the White Sox in '06. He hit .239 with 16 homers in 107 games for Triple-A Charlotte, but didn't earn a call-up to the majors. Since then, he has played exclusively in the Mexican League, hitting .349 with 103 homers, and 60 SB the past four seasons. Rivera has now hit 256 homers in the minors and stolen 222 bases.

Rivera was supposed to be a great player, but he never really panned out for the Yankees or any other team. He had all the skills, but he just couldn't hit for average at all. Obviously, not all players can be 5-tool players, but if you're a 4-tool player, the missing tool better not be hitting for average (unless you're Mark Reynolds who has ridiculous power). Whenever you see minor league stats, you can't conclude that I player is going to be a superstar. You have to be able to put it all together at the major league level. Rivera obviously was unable to do that. (Not that he was a Quad-A player- keep in mind that he posted minor league BA's of .235, .225, and .144 from '96 to '98.) No prospect is ever a sure thing. Rivera was ranked the 3rd-best, 2nd-best, and 9th-best prospect in the minors entering the 1995, 1996, and 1997 seasons respectively. Were the Yankees right to trade all these prospects? In most cases, no. But, sometimes it's better to get a sure thing rather than a prospect who may or may not pan out.

Comparing the 1996 and 2009 Yankee championship teams

When I first thought of the idea for this post, I thought that the 2009 Yankees would be so different be so different from the 1996 Yankees. Really, when you look at the big picture, that's not the case. Let's compare them position by position to illustrate that point.

C: Joe Girardi vs. Jorge Posada
Before you say anything, let's compare the salaries: 2.325 million dollars vs. 13.1 million dollars. Sure, Girardi was signed as a free agent, but to be a role player. Also, the players themselves couldn't be more different. Girardi hit .294 with 22 doubles, 2 homers, 45 RBI, 13 SB, and a .346 OBP in 124 games. He also played well defensively, posting a .996 Fld% at catcher, and a 25% CS%. Posada in contrast, hit .285 with 25 doubles, 22 homers, 81 RBI, 1 SB (had to point that out), and a .363 OBP in 111 games. He posted just a .990 Fld%, although he did post a 28% CS%. Girardi was a scrappy player who got on base and played well defensively. Posada was a power hitter who had trouble just stopping errant pitches (Girardi had 10 passed balls compared to Posada's 31). Going by WAR, Posada had a much better season. But, was he worth almost 11 million dollars more? Either way, both players played important roles for their teams.

1B: Tino Martinez vs. Mark Teixeira
Let's look at the salaries again. 2.3 million dollars for Tino compared to 20.625 million dollars for Teix. Tino and Teix was much more similar than you would think based on their salaries. Tino hit .292 with 28 doubles, 25 homers, 117 RBI, 82 runs, and a .364 OBP in 155 games. Teix hit that same .292 with 43 doubles, 39 homers, 122 RBI, 103 runs, and a .383 OBP in 156 games. Tino posted a .996 Fld% at 1B compared to Teixeira's .997. First base might be the one position where both teams were very similar. Teixeira was a better player, but not by that much. Obviously, Teix isn't worth over 18 million dollars more than Tino. Both teams filled a very similar role for their respective teams- a power-hitting first baseman in the middle of the lineup who also plays well defensively.

2B: Mariano Duncan vs. Robinson Cano
The salary gap here isn't that far: 845,000 dollars for Duncan compared to 6 million dollars for Cano. They certainly had very different seasons. Duncan hit .340 with 34 doubles, 8 homers, 56 RBI, and just a .352 OBP (9 walks all year) in 109 games.Cano hit .320 with 48 doubles, 25 homers, 85 RBI, 103 runs, and a .352 OBP (30 walks) in 161 games. Defensively, Cano was far superior, posting a .984 Fld% at Duncan's .973. Duncan was an incredible hitter for average that had few other skills, while Cano was an amazing hitter who hit for average and power in addition to being a Gold Glover defensively. Cano was significantly better, but Duncan filled a nice niche for the 1996 team.

3B: Wade Boggs vs. Alex Rodriguez
2.05 million dollars versus 33 million. Oh my gosh. Boggs and A-rod are as different as night and day. Boggs hit .311 with 29 doubles, 2 homers, 41 RBI, 80 runs, 1 SB, and a .389 OBP in 132 games. A-rod hit .286 with 17 doubles, 30 homers, 100 RBI, 78 runs, 14 SB, and a .402 OBP in 124 games. Boggs posted a .974 Fld% at third base compared to .967 by A-rod. Boggs is a Hall of Famer because he was an amazing pure hitter. A-rod was once a good pure hitter (215 hits in 1996 and 213 in 1998), but is now known strictly as a power hitter. Boggs was a very good role player at that point in his career, while A-rod was still a superstar when he came back from injury. They contributed very different aspects to their teams; Boggs was a top-of-the-lineup kind of player who was a table-setter for the big hitters. A-rod, obviously, is a big hitter.

SS: Derek Jeter vs. Derek Jeter
The salary comparison isn't fair- Jeter was a rookie in '96 so of course he didn't a lot of money! He made just 160 thousand dollars compared to 21.6 million in 2009. Let's compare Jeter's seasons. He certainly had two Jeterian seasons. He hit .314 with 25 doubles, 10 homers, 78 RBI, 104 runs, 183 hits, 14 SB, and a .370 OBP in 157 games on his way to the AL Rookie of the Year. Like most rookie shortstops, he did struggle defensively, posting a .969 Fld% (although his range was must better than it is now). In '09, he also had a great season, hitting .334 with 27 doubles, 18 homers, 66 RBI, 107 runs, 212 hits, 30 SB, and a .406 OBP in 153 games. He posted a .986 Fld%. Jeter was a great player both back then and in '09 (maybe not really anymore).

LF: Gerald Williams/Tim Raines vs. Johnny Damon
Looking at the salaries, Damon easily made more than Williams and Raines combined. Raines made 2.1 million dollars and Williams made '200 thousand while Damon made 13 million. Williams had a below-average season, hitting .270 with 15 doubles, 5 homers, 37 RBI, 7 SB, and just a .319 OBP while posting just a .978 Fld% in LF, which was just slightly below league average, but you would expect more from a player who played most of his career in centerfield. To make things worse, he only had 1 assist. He was traded to the Brewers in August (through waivers). Raines meanwhile, was sidelined most of the year by a hamstring tear, but came back after Williams was traded. He did well, hitting .284 with 10 doubles, 9 homers, 33 RBI, 45 runs, and a .383 OBP in 59 games. He also posted an above average .988 Fld% in LF, with 3 assists. In 2009, Damon had a great season offensively, hitting .282 with 36 doubles, 24 homers, 82 RBI, 107 runs, 12 SB, and a .365 OBP in 143 games. But, he posted an astronomically below average .978 Fld% in LF (league average was .987). This guy was playing centerfield the year before! Anyway, Damon was certainly better than Gim Waines (Williams + Raines). But again, was he worth 10 million dollars more?

CF: Bernie Williams vs. Melky Cabrera
In terms of salaries, Bernie made 3 million dollars to Melky's 1.4 million. Bernie was certainly double as good as Melky. He hit .305 with 26 doubles, 29 homers, 102 RBI, 108 runs, 17 SB, and a .391 OBP in 143 games. He did post just a .986 Fld% in centerfield, which was below average, but he had 10 outfield assists, third in the league. He had an outstanding season. Not that Melky was bad at all. He hit .274 with 28 doubles, 13 homers, 68 RBI, 10 SB, and a .336 OBP in 154 games. He posted an above-average .990 Fld% in the outfield, including a perfect 1.000 Fld% in CF, but he posted just 3 assists. In a battle of arbitration-eligible players (Bernie won in a hearing), Bernie was certainly a far superior player, although Melky filled an important role for the 2009 Yankees.

RF: Paul O'Neill vs. Nick Swisher
O'Neill and Swisher happened to make nearly the same amount of money, with O'Neill earning 5.3 million dollars and Swish earning 5.4. Both players had good seasons. O'Neill hit .302 with 35 doubles, 19 homers, 91 RBI, 89 runs, and a .411 OBP in 150 games. Swish hit .249 with 35 doubles, 29 homers, 82 RBI, 84 runs, and a .371 OBP in 150 games. O'Neill was superb defensively, posting a perfect 1.000 Fld% at RF with 7 assists, while Swish was still OK at .983 with 7 assists as well. They gave similar contributions to their teams (O'Neill was better), so they certainly deserved similar salaries.

DH: Ruben Sierra/Darryl Strawberry/Cecil Fielder vs. Hideki Matsui
The three headed monster at DH made a total of 6.5 million dollars, while Matsui made double that, 13 million dollars. Ruben Sierra was the DH for the '96 Yankees until July. But, he performed so poorly (.258 BA, .327 OBP, 11 homers in 96 games), that the Yankees traded him for Cecil Fielder at the deadline, and acquired Darryl Strawbery. (Fielder was actually in the middle of his last monster season, as he would go on to hit 39 homers and drive in 119 runs.) Decil Fieldberry hit 24 homers in a combined 116 games, hitting .261. (Darryl played a bit in the outfield and Fielder played some first base). All 3 players combined hit .260 with 35 homers and 125 RBI in 212 games. Matsui himself hit .274 with 28 homers and 90 RBI in 142 games. Advantage 2009. Might as well pay double for some stability rather than RubenDecil Sierra-Fieldberry. (Thank you BenJarvus Green-Ellis.)

Rotation:
The 1996 Yankees had a rotation of Andy Pettitte (21-8, 3.87 ERA), Kenny Rodgers (12-8, 4.68), Dwight Gooden (11-7, 5.01), Jimmy Key (12-11, 4.68), David Cone, who missed much of the year with an aneurysm (7-2, 2.88), and Ramiro Mendoza, who replaced him (4-5, 6.79). They earned a total of 11.467 million dollars. The 2009 Yankee rotation consisted of CC Sabathia (19-8, 3.37), AJ Burnett (13-9, 4.04), Andy Pettitte (14-8, 4.16), Joba Chamberlain (9-6, 4.75), and Chien-Ming Wang/Sergio Mitre/Chad Gaudin (combined 6-9, 6.63, although Gaudin went 2-0, 3.43). They made 42 million, 718 thousand, 289 dollars. That's almost 4 times as much as '96. But their ERA was better, 4.40 compared to 4.56, but not THAT much better!

Closer: John Wetteland vs. Mariano Rivera
There's no comparison. Rivera earned so much more (15 million dollars to 4 million), but he pitched much better. He posted a 1.76 ERA and 44 saves compared to Wetteland's still great 2.83 ERA and 43 saves. Rivera isn't 11 million dollars better, but he certainly was (and is at least arguably) the best closer in baseball.

I couldn't compare everybody, but these are the cores of those teams. Salaries are certainly different now from then, so the salary comparison is not really fair. Still, the 2009 Yankees had five times the payroll of '96. But, they were both built off of free agents with some amount homegrown talent mixed in. That's the Yankee formula now, and it won't change anytime soon. The Yankees, even with their great talent in the minors right now, do not have a homegrown dynasty coming. No matter how great the prospects are, only the very best will make it, and the rest of the roster will be made up of players, superstars, and some role players, acquired via free agency and trades. Many of the second-best prospects might have great careers with other teams, but it just won't work out for them with the Yankees. Even after A-rod's, Teixeira's, and CC's contracts expire, we all know there will be new big contracts handed out. If they do their moves right, we'll see another dynasty coming soon.

Castro putting up numbers similar to a young Jeter

Before I start this post, let me make this clear: Starlin Castro is not Derek Jeter. He certainly can't be compared to Jeter at this point in his career. But, 20 year old Castro's 2010 rookie season has some simularities to Derek Jeter's 22 year old rookie season in 1996. Castro is hitting .316 in '10 with 21 doubles, 3 homers, 37 RBI, 5 triples, 6 SB, and a .362 OBP in 89 games. Jeter hit .314 in '96 with 104 runs, 183 hits, 25 doubles, 10 homers, 78 RBI, 6 triples, 14 SB, and a .370 OBP in 157 games. Obviously Jeter has better non-rate stats (all stats I listed besides BA and OBP) because he played in 68 more games to this point in the season. If you projected Castro's stats over 157 games, he would have 65 runs, 182 hits, 37 doubles, 5 homers, 65 RBI, 9 triples, and 11 SB. Castro doesn't have as much power as Jeter, but he appears to be a better hitter for average than a young Jeter, and a better doubles and triples hitter. (Jeter having more runs scored is basically because the 1996 Yankees scored 5.38 runs per game and the 2010 Cubs have scored 4.27 runs per game.) So, Castro and Jeter and very different hitters, but Castro is posting some stats that are comparable to Jeter's rookie year and that's always a good thing. Will Castro also be a Hall of Famer that gets 3000 hits? Ask me in 2025.