Jose Rijo
Born: 5/13/1965 in San Cristobal, San Cristóbal, D.R.
MLB Debut: 1984-04-05 | Final Game: 2002-09-28
Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'1" | Weight: 200 lbs
Full name: Jose Antonio Rijo
Biography
José Rijo, born in 1965, was a prominent pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1984 until his retirement in 2002. Over the course of his career, Rijo compiled a record of 116-91 with a commendable earned run average (ERA) of 3.24, demonstrating his effectiveness on the mound. He struck out 1,606 batters and recorded three saves, showcasing his versatility and ability to perform in high-pressure situations. Rijo was known for his powerful fastball and sharp breaking pitches, which made him a formidable opponent during his peak years.
Rijo achieved significant recognition in the postseason, notably earning the World Series MVP award for his outstanding performance, which solidified his legacy in baseball history. He was selected as an All-Star once, further highlighting his status among the elite pitchers of his era. Throughout his career, Rijo played a pivotal role in the transition of pitching styles in the late 20th century, contributing to the game's evolution during a time marked by both the rise of power hitting and the increased emphasis on pitching strategy. His contributions to the Cincinnati Reds and other teams remain a testament to his skill and dedication to the sport.
Career Pitching Statistics
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 116 | 91 | 376 | 269 | 22 | 4 | 3 | 1880.0 | 1710 | 676 | 147 | 663 | 1606 | 3.24 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Pitching
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | NYY | AL | 2 | 8 | 24 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 62.3 | 74 | 33 | 33 | 47 | 4.76 | - |
| 1985 | OAK | AL | 6 | 4 | 12 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 63.7 | 57 | 25 | 28 | 65 | 3.53 | 1063.3 |
| 1986 | OAK | AL | 9 | 11 | 39 | 26 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 193.7 | 172 | 100 | 108 | 176 | 4.65 | -1645.9 |
| 1987 | OAK | AL | 2 | 7 | 21 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 82.3 | 106 | 54 | 41 | 67 | 5.90 | -200.4 |
| 1988 | CIN | NL | 13 | 8 | 49 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 162.0 | 120 | 43 | 63 | 160 | 2.39 | 4837.9 |
| 1989 | CIN | NL | 7 | 6 | 19 | 19 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 111.0 | 101 | 35 | 48 | 86 | 2.84 | 1257.3 |
| 1990 | CIN | NL | 14 | 8 | 29 | 29 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 197.0 | 151 | 59 | 78 | 152 | 2.70 | 3679.3 |
| 1991 | CIN | NL | 15 | 6 | 30 | 30 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 204.3 | 165 | 57 | 55 | 172 | 2.51 | 7337.9 |
| 1992 | CIN | NL | 15 | 10 | 33 | 33 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 211.0 | 185 | 60 | 44 | 171 | 2.56 | 5453.1 |
| 1993 | CIN | NL | 14 | 9 | 36 | 36 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 257.3 | 218 | 71 | 62 | 227 | 2.48 | 8538.9 |
| 1994 | CIN | NL | 9 | 6 | 26 | 26 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 172.3 | 177 | 59 | 52 | 171 | 3.08 | 5279.0 |
| 1995 | CIN | NL | 5 | 4 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 69.0 | 76 | 32 | 22 | 62 | 4.17 | 1850.9 |
| 2001 | CIN | NL | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17.0 | 19 | 4 | 9 | 12 | 2.12 | -143.9 |
| 2002 | CIN | NL | 5 | 4 | 31 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 77.0 | 89 | 44 | 20 | 38 | 5.14 | -1388.3 |
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 377 | 445 | 25 | 85 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 29 | 2 | 8 | 101 | 0.191 | 0.205 | 0.234 | 0.439 | -1565.5 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | NYY | AL | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1985 | OAK | AL | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1986 | OAK | AL | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1987 | OAK | AL | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1988 | CIN | NL | 49 | 37 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0.054 | 0.0 |
| 1989 | CIN | NL | 19 | 38 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 0.211 | 0.0 |
| 1990 | CIN | NL | 29 | 62 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 0.161 | -496.0 |
| 1991 | CIN | NL | 31 | 67 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 0.209 | -410.1 |
| 1992 | CIN | NL | 33 | 72 | 3 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0.194 | -483.8 |
| 1993 | CIN | NL | 36 | 82 | 5 | 22 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 18 | 0.268 | -175.6 |
| 1994 | CIN | NL | 26 | 49 | 4 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0.204 | 0.0 |
| 1995 | CIN | NL | 14 | 22 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.136 | 0.0 |
| 2001 | CIN | NL | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 2002 | CIN | NL | 31 | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0.125 | 0.0 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.125 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | NLCS | CIN | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| 1990 | WS | CIN | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.333 |
Playoff Career Pitching
| W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 27.7 | 19 | 7 | 12 | 29 | 2.28 |
Playoff Pitching by Year
| Year | Round | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | NLCS | CIN | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 12.3 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 15 | 4.38 |
| 1990 | WS | CIN | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 15.3 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 14 | 0.59 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 376 | 269 | 144 | 248 | 14 | 12 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | NYA | P | 24 | 5 | 2 | 12 | 1 | 0 |
| 1985 | OAK | P | 12 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 1986 | OAK | P | 39 | 26 | 13 | 18 | 3 | 0 |
| 1987 | OAK | P | 21 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 0 |
| 1988 | CIN | P | 49 | 19 | 7 | 23 | 1 | 1 |
| 1989 | CIN | P | 19 | 19 | 6 | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| 1990 | CIN | P | 29 | 29 | 19 | 27 | 2 | 0 |
| 1991 | CIN | P | 30 | 30 | 17 | 22 | 3 | 2 |
| 1992 | CIN | P | 33 | 33 | 19 | 31 | 2 | 1 |
| 1993 | CIN | P | 36 | 36 | 27 | 35 | 0 | 8 |
| 1994 | CIN | P | 26 | 26 | 14 | 27 | 0 | 0 |
| 1995 | CIN | P | 14 | 14 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | CIN | P | 13 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2002 | CIN | P | 31 | 9 | 4 | 14 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 376 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Pitcher of the Month | September |
| 1991 | TSN All-Star | RHP |
| 1990 | Player of the Week | Week of 1990-09-22 |
| 1990 | World Series MVP | |
| 1989 | Player of the Week | Week of 1989-05-13 |
Salary History
| Year | Team | League | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | CIN | NL | $500,000 |
| 1997 | CIN | NL | $6,150,000 |
| 1996 | CIN | NL | $6,150,000 |
| 1995 | CIN | NL | $5,750,000 |
| 1994 | CIN | NL | $3,975,000 |
| 1993 | CIN | NL | $4,083,333 |
| 1992 | CIN | NL | $3,520,833 |
| 1991 | CIN | NL | $2,333,333 |
| 1990 | CIN | NL | $630,000 |
| 1989 | CIN | NL | $457,500 |
| 1988 | CIN | NL | $127,500 |
| 1986 | OAK | AL | $85,000 |
| Total Career Earnings | $33,762,499 | ||
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Cy Young Award | NL | 5th | 8.0 | 140 | 0 |
| 1993 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 21th | 2.0 | 392 | 0 |
| 1991 | Cy Young Award | NL | 4th | 13.0 | 120 | 1 |
| 1990 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 19th | 6.0 | 336 | 0 |