American baseball player
Baseball player
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.
Amateur Career
[
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]
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.
Professional Career
[
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]
California Angels
[
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]
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
[
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]
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.
Texas Rangers
[
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]
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]
Legacy
[
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]
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.
Personality
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]
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]
Retirement
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]
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.
See also
[
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]
References
[
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]
- ^
"Mickey Rivers stats"
.
baseball-reference.com
. Retrieved
27 July
2019
.
- ^
"Angels most active traders,"
United Press International
(UPI), Friday, December 12, 1975.
Retrieved May 2, 2020
- ^
"Mickey Rivers Stats, Fantasy & News"
.
mlb.com
. MLB Advanced Media, LP
. Retrieved
31 July
2019
.
- ^
"1976 Awards Voting"
.
baseball-reference.com
. Sports Reference, LLC
. Retrieved
27 July
2019
.
- ^
"Mickey Rivers Stats, Fantasy & News"
.
mlb.com
. MLB Advanced Media, LP
. Retrieved
31 July
2019
.
- ^
"Former Yankees Bucky Dent, Mickey Rivers throw out first pitch"
.
newsday.com
. Retrieved
27 July
2019
.
- ^
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
.
- ^
Ron Rosen.
"Kuhn Issues Good Word for A Lame Duck"
.
washingtonpost.com
. Retrieved
28 June
2022
.
- ^
"Mike Witt Perfect Game Box Score"
.
baseball-almanac.com
. Baseball Almanac, Inc
. Retrieved
27 July
2019
.
- ^
"Bronx Zoo Was Fun So Many Moons Ago"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Retrieved
27 July
2019
.
- ^
"Bad Red Chinese Ballet" (Aired November 18, 1978) – SNL Archives.
Retrieved September 30, 2020
External links
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]