Luis Rivera
Shortstop · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1986-1998)
Luis Rivera was a shortstop who played in Major League Baseball from 1986 to 1998 for 5 teams, including the Montreal Expos, a span of 13 seasons. In 781 career games, he hit .233 with 516 hits, 28 home runs, and 209 RBI.
- AVG (Batting Average):
- Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
- HR (Home Runs):
- Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
- RBI (Runs Batted In):
- Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
- OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
- On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.
Data updated
- Position
- Shortstop
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'9" / 165 lb
- MLB Debut
- 1986-08-03
- Last Game
- 1998-08-27
Full name: Luis Antonio Rivera
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 781 | 2,215 | 249 | 516 | 114 | 12 | 28 | 209 | 20 | 171 | 443 | .233 | .291 | .333 | .624 | -4,206 |
Career AVG .233 vs. league average .261 across their career seasons — 10.6% below league average.
Career OBP .291 vs. league average .328 across their career seasons — 11.4% below league average.
Career SLG .333 vs. league average .398 across their career seasons — 16.3% below league average.
Career OPS .624 vs. league average .726 across their career seasons — 14.1% below league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | Lg AVG | Lg OBP | Lg SLG | Lg OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | MON | NL | 55 | 166 | 20 | 34 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 17 | 33 | .205 | .257 (-21%) | .325 (-13%) | .395 (-28%) | .720 (-21%) | -553.0 |
| 1987 | MON | NL | 18 | 32 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | .156 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1988 | MON | NL | 123 | 371 | 35 | 83 | 17 | 3 | 4 | 30 | 3 | 24 | 69 | .224 | .254 (-12%) | .317 (-15%) | .377 (-16%) | .695 (-15%) | -932.3 |
| 1989 | BOS | AL | 93 | 323 | 35 | 83 | 17 | 1 | 5 | 29 | 2 | 20 | 60 | .257 | .254 (+1%) | .319 (-6%) | .375 (-3%) | .694 (-4%) | -254.2 |
| 1990 | BOS | AL | 118 | 346 | 38 | 78 | 20 | 0 | 7 | 45 | 4 | 25 | 58 | .225 | .257 (-13%) | .324 (-14%) | .385 (-11%) | .710 (-12%) | -704.5 |
| 1991 | BOS | AL | 129 | 414 | 64 | 107 | 22 | 3 | 8 | 40 | 4 | 35 | 86 | .258 | .255 (+1%) | .323 (-2%) | .384 (avg) | .708 (-1%) | -88.8 |
| 1992 | BOS | AL | 102 | 288 | 17 | 62 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 4 | 26 | 56 | .215 | .255 (-16%) | .322 (-11%) | .377 (-31%) | .699 (-22%) | -913.0 |
| 1993 | BOS | AL | 62 | 130 | 13 | 27 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 11 | 36 | .208 | .265 (-22%) | .332 (-18%) | .403 (-24%) | .735 (-21%) | -460.1 |
| 1994 | NYN | NL | 32 | 43 | 11 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 14 | .279 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1997 | HOU | NL | 7 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | .231 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1998 | KCA | AL | 42 | 89 | 14 | 22 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 17 | .247 | .266 (-7%) | .335 (-10%) | .420 (-30%) | .755 (-21%) | -300.3 |
| Career · 11 seasons | 781 | 2,215 | 249 | 516 | 114 | 12 | 28 | 209 | 20 | 171 | 443 | .233 | — | — | — | — | -4,206 | ||
Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (781 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 393 | 1091 | 129 | 258 | 17 | 121 | .236 |
| Away | 388 | 1124 | 120 | 258 | 11 | 88 | .230 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998-08-27 | KCR | TOR | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1998-08-25 | KCR | TOR | L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1998-08-24 | KCR | TOR | W | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1998-08-23 | KCR | TBR | W | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998-08-21 | KCR | TBR | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998-08-19 | KCR | BOS | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998-08-18 | KCR | NYY | L | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1998-08-15 | KCR | TBR | L | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998-08-13 | KCR | TBR | W | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1998-08-12 | KCR | BOS | W | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2B | 44 | 22 | 55 | 71 | 4 | 15 |
| 3B | 10 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 2 |
| OF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SS | 684 | 606 | 929 | 1831 | 113 | 413 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | MON | SS | 55 | 46 | 64 | 119 | 9 | 24 |
| 1987 | MON | SS | 15 | 7 | 9 | 27 | 3 | 4 |
| 1988 | MON | SS | 116 | 101 | 160 | 301 | 18 | 69 |
| 1989 | BOS | 2B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1989 | BOS | SS | 90 | 85 | 126 | 240 | 16 | 59 |
| 1990 | BOS | 2B | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1990 | BOS | 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1990 | BOS | SS | 112 | 105 | 186 | 310 | 18 | 69 |
| 1991 | BOS | SS | 129 | 128 | 180 | 386 | 24 | 87 |
| 1992 | BOS | 2B | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1992 | BOS | 3B | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1992 | BOS | OF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1992 | BOS | SS | 93 | 85 | 117 | 286 | 14 | 56 |
| 1993 | BOS | 2B | 27 | 18 | 36 | 57 | 3 | 13 |
| 1993 | BOS | 3B | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 1993 | BOS | SS | 27 | 21 | 28 | 51 | 3 | 14 |
| 1994 | NYN | 2B | 5 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 2 |
| 1994 | NYN | SS | 11 | 4 | 11 | 22 | 1 | 7 |
| 1997 | HOU | 2B | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1997 | HOU | SS | 6 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 4 |
| 1998 | KCA | 2B | 6 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998 | KCA | 3B | 6 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998 | KCA | SS | 30 | 22 | 42 | 81 | 5 | 20 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Second Base | 45 |
| Third Base | 10 |
| Shortstop | 683 |
| Left Field | 1 |
| Designated Hitter | 10 |
Salary History
Luis Rivera's recorded salaries total $3,965,000 over 9 seasons, 1986 to 1998. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Rivera's career ran from 1986 to 1998. No salary is recorded for 1987 and 1997.
| Year | Team | League | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | KCA | AL | $245,000 |
| 1994 | NYN | NL | $450,000 |
| 1993 | BOS | AL | $1,075,000 |
| 1992 | BOS | AL | $1,075,000 |
| 1991 | BOS | AL | $635,000 |
| 1990 | BOS | AL | $250,000 |
| 1989 | BOS | AL | $105,000 |
| 1988 | MON | NL | $70,000 |
| 1986 | MON | NL | $60,000 |
| Total recorded salary (partial) | $3,965,000 | ||
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Luis Rivera (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Luis Rivera: the record in brief
Luis Rivera played a first major league game on August 3, 1986 and a last one on August 27, 1998. The season rows list, in order, the Montreal Expos (1986 to 1988), the Boston Red Sox (1989 through 1993), the New York Mets (1994), the Houston Astros (1997), and the Kansas City Royals (1998). Born on January 3, 1964, in Cidra, P.R., Rivera is listed as a shortstop and threw and hit right-handed. Size on record: 165 pounds on a 5-foot-9 frame. The given name on file is Luis Antonio Rivera.
Rivera finished with 516 hits from 2,215 at bats in 781 games, which works out to .233, along with 28 homers, 209 runs batted in, and 20 stolen bases. Reaching base at a .291 clip and slugging .333, Rivera finished with a .624 OPS. Rivera's .233 average ran 10.6% below the .261 that the league posted over the same seasons. The OPS comparison is .624 to a league .726, 14.1% below average. The highest hit total in a season was 107, in 1991. 1990 brought the most runs batted in, 45.
Frequently Asked Questions about Luis Rivera
- What years did Luis Rivera play?
- Luis Rivera played in Major League Baseball from 1986 to 1998.
- Was Luis Rivera a pitcher?
- No. Luis Rivera was a position player (Shortstop).
- How many home runs did Luis Rivera hit?
- Luis Rivera hit 28 career home runs with 516 hits.
- What teams did Luis Rivera play for?
- Luis Rivera played for 5 teams: the Montreal Expos (1986–1988), the Boston Red Sox (1989–1993), the New York Mets (1994), the Houston Astros (1997), and the Kansas City Royals (1998).
- What were Luis Rivera's career stats?
- In 781 games, Luis Rivera had 516 hits, 28 home runs, 209 RBI, 249 runs, and 20 stolen bases, with a .233 batting average.
- How much did Luis Rivera earn in his career?
- Luis Rivera's recorded salaries total $3,965,000 over 9 seasons, 1986 to 1998. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Rivera's career ran from 1986 to 1998. No salary is recorded for 1987 and 1997.
- What was Luis Rivera's salary?
- Luis Rivera's last recorded salary was $245,000, in 1998. His highest recorded salary was $1,075,000, in 1992, and his lowest was $60,000, in 1986. The Salary History table lists each season from 1986 to 1998.
- What position did Luis Rivera play?
- Luis Rivera played primarily as a shortstop, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Luis Rivera and how much did he weigh?
- Luis Rivera was listed at 5 feet 9 inches and 165 pounds.
- How many home runs did Luis Rivera hit each season?
- Luis Rivera's home runs by season: 0 in 1986, 0 in 1987, 4 in 1988, 5 in 1989, 7 in 1990, 8 in 1991, 0 in 1992, 1 in 1993, 3 in 1994, 0 in 1997, and 0 in 1998. His most in one season was 8, in 1991.
- What was Luis Rivera's career batting average?
- Luis Rivera batted .233 over his career, with 516 hits in 2,215 at bats.
- How many RBI did Luis Rivera have?
- Luis Rivera drove in 209 runs in his career.
- Is Luis Rivera in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Luis Rivera has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.