Rene Rivera

Born: 7/31/1983 in Bayamon, P.R.

MLB Debut: 2004-09-22 | Final Game: 2021-08-01

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 5'10" | Weight: 215 lbs

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Biography

Rene Rivera, born in 1983, was a professional baseball player whose career spanned from 2004 to 2021. Primarily recognized as a position player, Rivera played in a total of 542 games throughout his time in Major League Baseball (MLB). He garnered attention for his defensive skills behind the plate, contributing to teams with his experience and versatility. Rivera recorded 330 hits, including 43 home runs, and drove in 176 runs over his career, finishing with a batting average of .221. His lone stolen base underscored his role as a primarily power-hitting catcher rather than a speedster on the basepaths. Rivera's career coincided with an era of evolving offensive strategies in baseball, where catchers were increasingly expected to contribute not just defensively but also with the bat. His ability to manage pitching staffs and call games made him a valued teammate, despite the modest offensive numbers. Rivera played for several MLB clubs, and his presence in the league reflected the importance of skilled catchers during a time when the game was seeing significant changes in player development and analytics. He retired on August 1, 2021, leaving behind a legacy as a reliable backstop in a competitive era of baseball.

Career Batting Statistics

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
542	1492	120	330	65	2	43	176	1	93	446	0.221	0.273	0.354	0.627	-4155.8

Career AVG .221 vs. league average .255 across their career seasons — 13.4% below league average.

Career OBP .273 vs. league average .323 across their career seasons — 15.5% below league average.

Career SLG .354 vs. league average .414 across their career seasons — 14.5% below league average.

Career OPS 0.627 vs. league average 0.737 across their career seasons — 14.9% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
2004	SEA	AL	2	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2005	SEA	AL	16	48	3	19	3	0	1	6	0	1	11	0.396	—	—	—	—	0.0
2006	SEA	AL	35	99	8	15	4	0	2	4	1	3	29	0.152	.269 (-44%)	.336 (-45%)	.431 (-42%)	.768 (-43%)	-777.2
2011	MIN	AL	45	104	9	15	3	0	1	5	0	8	32	0.144	.255 (-43%)	.320 (-34%)	.399 (-49%)	.719 (-43%)	-767.1
2013	SDP	NL	23	67	4	17	3	1	0	7	0	2	16	0.254	.253 (avg)	.317 (-16%)	.396 (-17%)	.714 (-17%)	-213.0
2014	SDP	NL	103	294	27	74	18	1	11	44	0	27	76	0.252	.251 (avg)	.313 (+2%)	.386 (+12%)	.700 (+7%)	373.8
2015	TBR	AL	110	298	16	53	14	0	5	26	0	11	86	0.178	.254 (-30%)	.316 (-33%)	.404 (-32%)	.721 (-32%)	-1890.4
2016	NYN	NL	65	185	12	41	4	0	6	26	0	16	54	0.222	.255 (-13%)	.321 (-9%)	.417 (-18%)	.738 (-15%)	-471.7
2017	NYN	NL	54	174	15	40	4	0	8	23	0	9	54	0.230	.254 (-10%)	.324 (-14%)	.425 (-8%)	.750 (-11%)	-357.1
2017	CHC	NL	20	44	8	15	5	0	2	12	0	5	16	0.341	—	—	—	—	-357.1
2018	LAA	AL	30	82	8	20	4	0	4	11	0	4	32	0.244	.247 (-2%)	.318 (-10%)	.409 (+7%)	.727 (avg)	-17.2
2018	ATL	NL	3	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0.000	—	—	—	—	-17.2
2019	NYN	NL	9	17	2	4	0	0	1	3	0	3	4	0.235	—	—	—	—	0.0
2020	NYN	NL	2	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0.250	—	—	—	—	0.0
2021	CLE	AL	21	55	6	13	3	0	2	9	0	4	24	0.236	.243 (-3%)	.317 (-5%)	.410 (-3%)	.727 (-4%)	-35.8
2021	WAS	NL	4	14	2	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0.214	—	—	—	—	-35.8

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
1	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.333

Playoff Batting by Year

Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
2016	NLWC	NYN	1	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.333

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1B	14	2	32	3	1	0
C	505	433	3702	277	35	31

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
2004	SEA	C	2	0	4	0	0	0
2005	SEA	C	15	12	69	4	3	2
2006	SEA	C	35	30	220	14	3	3
2011	MIN	C	44	35	231	16	3	1
2013	SDN	C	21	21	185	13	0	1
2014	SDN	1B	3	0	11	0	1	0
2014	SDN	C	89	85	680	66	8	7
2015	TBA	1B	7	2	17	1	0	0
2015	TBA	C	107	87	752	60	11	5
2016	NYN	1B	1	0	1	1	0	0
2016	NYN	C	59	54	495	37	2	5
2017	NYN	1B	1	0	2	1	0	0
2017	NYN	C	52	48	441	29	1	3
2017	CHN	C	19	11	127	6	0	0
2018	LAA	1B	2	0	1	0	0	0
2018	LAA	C	26	22	216	15	1	3
2018	ATL	C	3	0	10	0	0	0
2019	NYN	C	8	6	65	1	0	0
2020	NYN	C	1	1	7	1	0	0
2021	CLE	C	20	17	168	10	0	1
2021	WAS	C	4	4	32	5	3	0