Óscar Rivera (baseball)

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Rivera and the second or maternal family name is Ruiz.
Óscar Rivera
Pitcher
Born: (1981-04-13) 13 April 1981
Magdalena de Kino, Sonora, Mexico
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
LMB statistics
(through 2017 season)
Win–loss record91–83
Earned run average3.50
Strikeouts949
Teams
Career highlights and awards
  • LMB: Pitched a perfect game on 7 August 2005
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  Mexico
Pan American Games
2007 Rio de Janeiro Team

Óscar Javier Rivera Ruiz (born 13 April 1981) is a Mexican former professional baseball pitcher. He played seventeen seasons in the Mexican League (LMB) from 2001 to 2017, most of them with the Leones de Yucatán, and eleven seasons in the Mexican Pacific League (LMP) between 2002 and 2014.

Rivera represented Mexico, winning the bronze medal at the 2007 Pan American Games.

Early life

Rivera was born on 13 April 1981 in Magdalena de Kino, Sonora. His family lived in the nearby town of Terrenate in the Ímuris Municipality, where he spent his early years. He became the bat boy of Terrenate's baseball team, the Verduleros (Greengrocers). When Rivera was 14 years old, he was allowed to join the Verduleros, a team mainly composed of adult players.[1]

In 1998, Rivera attended a tryout held in Nogales, Sonora, by the Mexican League club Leones de Yucatán. In 1999, he signed with Yucatán and was assigned to a local team in Mérida. In 2000, he was assigned to Sahuayo of the Liga del Bajío (Bajío League).[1]

Professional career

Mexican League

Rivera made his professional debut in the Mexican League (LMB) in 2001 playing for the Leones de Yucatán, aged 19.[1] In his debut season, he appeared in 21 games, recording 2 wins and 1 loss, with a 1.61 ERA.[2] In 2004, he became a starter for the Leones.

On 7 August 2005, Rivera threw a perfect game, the tenth in league history and the first (and, as of 2025, only) in the postseason. The feat came against the Guerreros de Oaxaca in Game 5 of the playoffs first round, a 1–0 Leones victory at Parque Kukulcán in Mérida.[3][4][5] Yucatán would reach the Championship Series but lose to the Tigres de la Angelópolis, 2–4, who went on to win the Final Series and become league champions.[6][7]

In 2007, Rivera played three games for the Colorado Rockies organization. He made two appearances with the Colorado Springs Sky Sox of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League, recording 1 win and 1 loss. He also played one game for the Tulsa Drillers of the Double-A Texas League.[8]

In 2014, after thirteen seasons with the Leones de Yucatán, Rivera left the team to join the Sultanes de Monterrey. He later played for the Delfines del Carmen in 2015 and 2016 and for the Piratas de Campeche during the rest of the 2016 season and 2017, retiring after the 2017 season.[9][10]

Mexican Pacific League

Rivera also played winter baseball in the Mexican Pacific League (LMP). He made his debut in 2002, playing for the Cañeros de Los Mochis. From 2005 to 2008, he played for the Mayos de Navojoa. From 2008 to 2012, he played for the Águilas de Mexicali. He spent his last LMP season, 2013–14, playing for the Naranjeros de Hermosillo and Yaquis de Obregón.[11]

International career

Rivera was part of the Mexican team that won the bronze medal at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro.[12] He started in one game, against Cuba, which he lost. In that game, his only appearance in the tournament, he pitched five innings, allowed four hits and two earned runs and struck out three batters, finishing the tournament with a 3.60 ERA.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b c Barrios Fernández, Héctor. "Estrellas del Béisbol: Óscar Rivera Ruiz". Beisbol de los Barrios (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  2. ^ "Quién es quién 2018" (PDF) (in Spanish). Liga Mexicana de Beisbol. p. 384. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  3. ^ "A 15 años de la noche perfecta de Óscar Rivera". MiLB.com (in Spanish). 7 August 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  4. ^ "15 años de la Noche Perfecta de Oscar Rivera". leones.mx (in Spanish). Leones de Yucatán. 7 August 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  5. ^ Montero, Aarón (11 August 2020). "Historia de un juego perfecto: Óscar Rivera, a 15 años de su gema". Diario de Yucatán (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  6. ^ Grajales Rojas, Pablo (27 December 2006). "El campeonato LMB de 2005, un legado de Tigres que se convertirá en leyenda". La Jornada de Oriente (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  7. ^ Morales, Tomás (15 October 2015). "Tigres alza el título en Puebla". MiLB.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  8. ^ "Oscar Rivera Mexican, Winter & Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  9. ^ "Oscar Rivera se une a los Delfines". MiLB.com (in Spanish). 18 February 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  10. ^ "Se retira Oscar Rivera, el "Zurdo Perfecto"". Cambio del Sureste (in Spanish). 23 March 2018. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  11. ^ Gastélum Duarte, Guillermo. Enciclopedia Conmemorativa del 75 Aniversario de la Liga Mexicana del Pacífico (PDF) (in Spanish). Culiacán, Sinaloa: Moby Dick Editorial. p. 950. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  12. ^ "Baseball: Men's Team: MEX - Mexico". rio2007.org.br. Archived from the original on 25 August 2007. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  13. ^ "2007 Pan American Games Results Book" (PDF). p. 251. Archived from the original on 4 July 2012. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
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