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

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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

Career ERA 3.24 vs. league average 4.05 across their career seasons — 20.2% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1984	NYY	AL	2	8	24	5	0	0	2	62.3	74	33	33	47	4.76	3.81 (-25%)	-
1985	OAK	AL	6	4	12	9	0	0	0	63.7	57	25	28	65	3.53	3.89 (+9%)	1063.3
1986	OAK	AL	9	11	39	26	4	0	1	193.7	172	100	108	176	4.65	3.97 (-17%)	-1645.9
1987	OAK	AL	2	7	21	14	1	0	0	82.3	106	54	41	67	5.90	4.29 (-37%)	-200.4
1988	CIN	NL	13	8	49	19	0	0	0	162.0	120	43	63	160	2.39	3.73 (+36%)	4837.9
1989	CIN	NL	7	6	19	19	1	1	0	111.0	101	35	48	86	2.84	3.71 (+24%)	1257.3
1990	CIN	NL	14	8	29	29	7	1	0	197.0	151	59	78	152	2.70	3.86 (+30%)	3679.3
1991	CIN	NL	15	6	30	30	3	1	0	204.3	165	57	55	172	2.51	3.91 (+36%)	7337.9
1992	CIN	NL	15	10	33	33	2	0	0	211.0	185	60	44	171	2.56	3.75 (+32%)	5453.1
1993	CIN	NL	14	9	36	36	2	1	0	257.3	218	71	62	227	2.48	4.19 (+41%)	8538.9
1994	CIN	NL	9	6	26	26	2	0	0	172.3	177	59	52	171	3.08	4.51 (+32%)	5279.0
1995	CIN	NL	5	4	14	14	0	0	0	69.0	76	32	22	62	4.17	4.45 (+6%)	1850.9
2001	CIN	NL	0	0	13	0	0	0	0	17.0	19	4	9	12	2.12	4.42 (+52%)	-143.9
2002	CIN	NL	5	4	31	9	0	0	0	77.0	89	44	20	38	5.14	4.28 (-20%)	-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

Career AVG .191 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — 26.6% below league average.

Career OBP .205 vs. league average .327 across their career seasons — 37.3% below league average.

Career SLG .234 vs. league average .398 across their career seasons — 41.3% below league average.

Career OPS 0.439 vs. league average 0.726 across their career seasons — 39.5% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1984	NYY	AL	24	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	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1986	OAK	AL	39	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	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1988	CIN	NL	49	37	2	2	0	1	1	0	0	14	0.054	—	—	—	—	0.0
1989	CIN	NL	19	38	0	8	1	0	1	1	1	11	0.211	—	—	—	—	0.0
1990	CIN	NL	29	62	3	10	1	0	2	1	2	10	0.161	.257 (-37%)	.324 (-42%)	.385 (-54%)	.710 (-49%)	-496.0
1991	CIN	NL	31	67	7	14	0	0	5	0	2	13	0.209	.255 (-18%)	.323 (-28%)	.384 (-46%)	.708 (-38%)	-410.1
1992	CIN	NL	33	72	3	14	2	0	6	0	0	18	0.194	.255 (-24%)	.322 (-40%)	.377 (-41%)	.699 (-40%)	-483.8
1993	CIN	NL	36	82	5	22	4	1	8	0	3	18	0.268	.265 (+1%)	.332 (-11%)	.403 (-12%)	.735 (-12%)	-175.6
1994	CIN	NL	26	49	4	10	4	0	3	0	0	7	0.204	—	—	—	—	0.0
1995	CIN	NL	14	22	1	3	1	0	3	0	0	3	0.136	—	—	—	—	0.0
2001	CIN	NL	13	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2002	CIN	NL	31	16	0	2	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