- Luis Rivera (MLB pitcher)
Infobox MLB retired
bgcolor1=darkblue
bgcolor2=maroon
textcolor1=white
textcolor2=white
name=Luis Rivera
position=Pitcher
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1978|6|21
debutdate=April 4
debutyear=by|2000
debutteam=Atlanta Braves
finaldate=September 20
finalyear=by|2000
finalteam=Baltimore Orioles
stat1label=ERA
stat1value=1.23
stat2label=Record
stat2value=1-0
stat3label=Strikeouts
stat3value=5
teams=
*Atlanta Braves (2000)
*Baltimore Orioles (2000)
highlights=
*noneLuis Rivera (Born:
June 21 ,1978 in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico) is a former right handedMajor League Baseball pitcher who played in2000 for theAtlanta Braves andBaltimore Orioles . He was 6'3" tall and he weighed 163 pounds.Prior to being signed as an undrafted free agent by the Braves in
1995 , he attended Sistema Prepatoria Abierta inTelucha, Mexico .He began his professional career in 1996 with the
GCL Braves , not playing in American baseball in 1995 because he was loaned by the Braves to theTigres del Mexico . With the GCL Braves in 1996, he went 1-1 with a 2.59 ERA.In
1997 , he pitched for theDanville Braves andMacon Braves , going a combined 5-1 with a 2.03 ERA in 13 games started. In 62 innings of work, he had 84 strikeouts and 24 walks.Ranked the 44th best prospect in baseball in
1998 byBaseball America , Rivera went 5-5 with a 3.98 ERA for Macon that season. He struck out 118 batters in 92 2/3 innings that season.Rivera was ranked the 71st best prospect in baseball by Baseball America in
1999 and the fourth best prospect in the Braves organization. That year he went 0-2 with a 3.11 ERA in 66 2/3 innings. He struck out 81 batters in 66 2/3 innings of work.In
2000 , he was ranked the 51st best prospect in baseball and the fifth best prospect in the Braves organization. He began the season on the Braves Opening Day roster, making his big league debut onApril 4 . He made five relief appearances for the Braves, going 1-0 with a 1.35 ERA in 6 2/3 innings of work. He spent time with the GCL Braves andRichmond Braves that year too, going a combined 0-3 with a 6.82 ERA.On
July 31 , 2000, he was traded withTrenidad Hubbard andFernando Lunar to the Orioles forGabe Molina andB.J. Surhoff . He appeared in only one game for the Orioles, allowing a walk and a hit in 2/3 of an inning. He also appeared in three games with theRochester Red Wings , going 0-1 with a 3.38 ERA. He played his final big league game onSeptember 20 , 2000.Although he was ranked the fifth best prospect in the Orioles organization in
2001 , he did not play at all that year or in2002 . OnApril 3 ,2003 , he was released by the Orioles.He has been playing in the Mexican League since then.
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