What can I say about Juan Rivera? He wasn’t much of a factor outside of two good seasons, only one of which I can remember. The other one I think he was awful for half the season and then miraculously rocked it for the second half of the season. He had braces and frosted tipped hair. He was the nerdy Venezuelan Bartender Brad of the team who could have been a major threat in the lineup if not for his superhuman ability to ground into a double play just when you needed him to launch one into the Angel Stadium bullpen. Every time he came up to the plate with a runner on first base all I could see in my head was GIDP… and usually that’s what happened. Unfortunately Auto GIDP is what I will remember when I think of Juan Rivera as an Angel.
Good luck in Toronto.
