Topic: Ruben Rivera

Rubén Rivera Moreno (born November 14, 1973 in La Chorrera, Panama, is a professional baseball player, who is currently an outfielder for the Venados de Mazatlán of the Mexican Pacific League. He played Major League Baseball for five different teams, from 1995 to 2003. His cousin, Mariano Rivera, is the long-time closer of the New York Yankees.

Rivera was signed by the New York Yankees in 1990. On April 22, 1997, he was traded with pitcher Rafael Medina and US $3 million to the San Diego Padres for infielder Homer Bush and minor leaguer Gordon Amerson and two players to be named later -- who turned out to be the highly anticipated Japanese pitcher Hideki Irabu (who had refused to sign with the Padres, who had acquired MLB rights to him from his Japanese team, the Lotte Orions) and minor leaguer Vernon Maxwell. It was supposed to be a deal to help both teams, but Irabu was a major disappointment for the Yankees, and Rivera turned out to be at least a minor disappointment for the Padres, as he was never able to get on base on a regular basis during his four seasons in the Padres organization, mostly with the parent team (including as a starter in 2000 and 2001), and his considerable power did not sufficiently compensate for that major failing. He was released shortly before the 2001 season.

The Cincinnati Reds signed him for the 2001 season, but he did not perform any better for the Reds in a reserve role than he did the Padres. They would waive him after the season, and the San Francisco Giants would temporarily pick him up, but would release him a month later without his having played a game for them. Early in 2002, his old team, the Yankees, signed him as a free agent, but would release him during spring training after an infamous incident (see below), and the Texas Rangers signed him for the season. He performed poorly for them in a reserve role and was released immediately following the season. Early in 2003, the Giants, who had previously briefly owned his rights, signed him as a free agent. However, following the second infamous incident involving Rivera in his career (see below), the Giants released him on June 3, 2003. The Chicago White Sox signed Rivera to play for the Triple-A Charlotte Knights for 2006, where despite hitting 16 home runs, he batted only .239.