Ernest Riles (born October 2, 1960) is an American former professional baseball
shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...
and
third baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...
. From 1985 through 1993, Riles played for the
Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...
(1985–1988),
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...
(1988–1990),
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...
(1991),
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...
(1992) and
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
(1993) of the
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
(MLB). He batted left-handed and threw right-handed.
Career
Riles grew up in Georgia where he was the youngest child in a family of ten boys and one girl. He played
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
his entire life and idolized
Bert Campaneris
Dagoberto Campaneris Blanco (born March 9, 1942), nicknamed "Bert" or "Campy", is a Cuban American former professional baseball shortstop, who played Major League Baseball (MLB) for four American League (AL) teams, primarily the Kansas City / ...
as a child. He attended
Bainbridge High School in
Bainbridge, Georgia
Bainbridge is a city in Decatur County, Georgia, Decatur County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. The city is the county seat of Decatur County. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 14,468.
Hi ...
where he was coached by
John Palermo.
He was signed by the Milwaukee Brewers in the
1981 Major League Baseball Draft
First round selections
The following are the first round picks in the 1981 Major League Baseball draft.
Compensation Picks
Other notable players
*Darrin Jackson, 2nd round, 28th overall by the Chicago Cubs
*Mike Gallego, 2nd round, 33r ...
. In 1983, he led the
Texas League
The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...
in
batting average
Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic.
Cricket
In cricket, a player's batting average is ...
(.349),
on-base percentage
In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...
(.450) and
OPS
In ancient Roman religion, Ops or ''Opis'' (Latin: "Plenty") was a fertility deity and earth goddess of Sabine origin. Her equivalent in Greek mythology was Rhea.
Iconography
In Ops' statues and coins, she is figured sitting down, as Chthon ...
(.958), being promoted to Triple-A
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...
the next year.
Riles debuted with the Brewers in the 1985 mid-season. In his first major league stint, he hit .286 and finished third in the
American League Rookie of the Year
In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is given annually to two outstanding rookie players, one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL), as voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The aw ...
vote behind
Ozzie Guillén
Oswaldo José Guillén Barrios (; born January 20, 1964) is a former professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop for 16 seasons, primarily with the Chicago White Sox, from 1985 to 2000. During tha ...
and
Teddy Higuera
Teodoro Higuera Valenzuela (born November 9, 1957) is a Mexican former professional baseball pitcher. He played for nine years (– and –) for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Early career
Higuera was named the rookie of th ...
.
After frequent trips to the
disabled list
In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL).
General guidelines
...
, Riles was traded from the Brewers to the San Francisco Giants for
Jeffrey Leonard
Jeffrey Leonard (born September 22, 1955) is an American former professional baseball left fielder. He played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1977 to 1990 for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros, San Francisco Giants, Milwaukee ...
on June 8, 1988. The Giants were in need of infield roster depth at the time. He belted the 10,000th
home run
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
in Giants history during a 21–2 rout of the
Cardinals
Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to:
Animals
* Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae
**''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...
.
Riles played in the 1989 World Series as a member of the Giants. Riles started the first two games of the World Series as the Designated Hitter for the Giants.
Riles also played with Oakland and Houston, and ended his major league career with the Boston Red Sox in the 1993 season.
In a nine-season major league career, Riles was a .254 hitter with 48 home runs and 284
run batted in
A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...
in 919
games played
Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested.
Basebal ...
.
References
External links
Ernest Riles Baseball BiographyThe Baseball Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riles, Ernest
1960 births
Living people
African-American baseball players
American expatriate baseball players in Canada
Baseball players from Georgia (U.S. state)
Boston Red Sox players
Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players
El Paso Diablos players
Houston Astros players
Major League Baseball shortstops
Major League Baseball third basemen
Middle Georgia Warriors baseball players
Milwaukee Brewers players
Oakland Athletics players
Pawtucket Red Sox players
San Francisco Giants players
Stockton Ports players
Tennessee Tomahawks players
Tucson Toros players
Vancouver Canadians players
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American sportspeople