Alexis Israel Ríos (born February 18, 1981) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

. He played in

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(MLB) for the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

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, Texas Rangers, and

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

. A

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champion with the Royals in

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, Rios is a two-time MLB All-Star. In 2007, he was a

Fielding Bible Award A Fielding Bible Award recognizes the best defensive player for each baseball positions, fielding position in Major League Baseball (MLB) based on "statistical analysis, the eye test, and any other factors that anelistswish to utilize." John D ...

winner for right fielders. In 2013, he

hit for the cycle Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust or HIT, a fictional organization ...

and achieved six hits in one game. Rios is a three-time

World Baseball Classic The World Baseball Classic (WBC), also referred to as the Classic, is an international baseball tournament sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the sport's global governing body, and organized in World Baseball Clas ...

participant with the Puerto Rico national baseball team.

Professional career

Ríos was drafted in the first round (19th overall) by the

in the 1999 MLB draft. A top prospect in the Blue Jays organization for several years, Ríos had considerable success in the organization's minor league system. In , he hit .352 with 11

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s and 82 RBI en route to winning the Double-A Eastern League Most Valuable Player award. Ríos was promoted to Triple-A Syracuse for the start of the season and made the jump to the big leagues shortly thereafter.

Toronto Blue Jays

2004 season

He finished his rookie season with Toronto hitting .286 with one home run, 55 runs and 28 RBI in 111 games.

2006 season

After his participation with the Puerto Rican team in the

, Ríos began to show why the Blue Jays valued him so highly in his break-out 2006 season. By June 6, 2006, Ríos was first in the league in batting average (among qualified batters) with a .359 average, along with 11 home runs — a new personal best only 60 games into the 2006 season, and 43 RBI. He then had his first multi-home run game on June 12, 2006, facing the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

at the

Rogers Centre Rogers Centre (originally SkyDome) is a retractable roof stadium in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at the base of the CN Tower near the northern shore of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989 on the former Railway Lands, it is home to t ...

. He was often given as an example of what is known in

as a " five-tool player". On June 27 against the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

, Ríos fouled a ball off his foot, which resulted in a staph infection and a hospitalization. At the time, he was batting .330 with 15 home runs and 53 RBI for the Blue Jays. In recognition of his outstanding third season in the majors, the young outfielder was rewarded with a spot as a reserve on the American League All-Star Team. While Ríos did not play in the game due to the staph infection, he was invited to attend the

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that showcases the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or division, bu ...

festivities during the July 10 weekend at PNC Park in

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2007 season

On February 2, 2007, the Blue Jays and Ríos agreed to a one-year, $2.535 million contract to avoid salary

arbitration Arbitration is a formal method of dispute resolution involving a third party neutral who makes a binding decision. The third party neutral (the 'arbitrator', 'arbiter' or 'arbitral tribunal') renders the decision in the form of an 'arbitrati ...

. Ríos' performance earned him a spot as a reserve on the American League

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

team and he also agreed to participate in the 2007 State Farm Home Run Derby. He led all competitors by hitting 19 home runs throughout the contest, but the final round was won by

Vladimir Guerrero Vladimir Guerrero Alvino (born February 9, 1975), nicknamed "Vlad the Impaler", is a People of the Dominican Republic, Dominican former professional baseball player who spent 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a right fielder and des ...

of the

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

. Ríos fielded the last out in the All-Star Game. He led the team in all offensive categories during the first half of the season but slumped after the All-Star Break, with his hitting average settling to slightly below .300, and was overtaken by teammate Frank Thomas as HR and RBI leader . In 2007, he had the lowest range factor of all major league right fielders, 1.82. Ríos was honored with a

as the best fielding right fielder in MLB. He was voted the Blue Jays Player of the Year.

2008 season

Rios signed a seven-year contract with the Blue Jays in April 2008 for a guaranteed amount of $69,835,000: $5.9 million in 2009, $9.7 million in 2010, $12 million each in 2011 and 2012 and $12.5 million each in 2013 and 2014. He finished the 2008 season with a slight statistical decline: .291 average, 15 home runs, 32

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out ...

s, and 79 runs batted in. The home run total tied him with Lyle Overbay for the Blue Jays' second most home runs that season (only Vernon Wells had more with 20). Ríos also set a career high in home runs after the All-Star Break that year.

2009 season

On June 4 against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Ríos struck out in all five of his plate appearances, also known as the platinum sombrero, in a 6–5 loss to the Angels at Rogers Centre. Later that day, Ríos was videotaped cursing a heckling fan after he walked past a child seeking an autograph while leaving a fundraising gala for the Jays Care Foundation. Ríos has since publicly apologized for the incident. The

placed Ríos on waivers on August 7, 2009. On August 10, 2009, Ríos was officially claimed off waivers by the

Chicago White Sox

After being claimed off of waivers by the

on August 10, Ríos batted .199, with three home runs, 9 RBI and a .296 on-base percentage in 146 at bats over 41 games. Rios batted .284, with 21 home runs, 88 RBI and a .334 on-base percentage for the White Sox in 2010. After a disappointing 2011 season in which he batted a career-low .227, Ríos rebounded to have one of his finest years in 2012, setting career highs with a .304 average, 25 home runs and 91 RBIs. On July 9, 2013, Rios collected six hits in a game (tied AL record) in an 11–4 win over the Tigers. Ríos was the starting right fielder for 2013 until his trade. After the trade, Jordan Danks and Avisail García took over. In 599 games over five years for Chicago, he hit .269/.310/.430 with 74 home runs, 287 RBI, and 99 stolen bases.

Texas Rangers

On August 8, 2013, Ríos was claimed off waivers by the Texas Rangers, and was traded to them on August 9 for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Leury Garcia was announced as the player to be named later on August 11. He became the team's starting right fielder, replacing the suspended Nelson Cruz. Rios hit for the cycle against the Houston Astros on September 23, 2013. In all of 2013, Ríos hit .278/.324/.432 with 18 home runs, 81 RBI and 42 stolen bases. For the 2014 season, he batted .280 with four home runs, 54 RBI and 17 stolen bases in 131 games. The Rangers declined Ríos' option for the 2015 season on October 15, 2014, making him a free agent.

Kansas City Royals

Ríos signed a one-year contract with the

on December 19, 2014, worth $9.5 million. The contract included an option for the 2016 season. In his Royals debut on April 6, 2015, Ríos hit a three-run home run in a 10–1 win to cap off a three-hit game. For the 2015 season, Ríos hit .255 with four home runs and 32 RBI while appearing in 105 games. While he had a down year with Kansas City, Ríos had many notable moments in the 2015 MLB playoffs. In Game 4 of the 2015 American League Division Series, Ríos hit a leadoff single in the top of the eighth inning, sparking a five-run inning that erased a four-run deficit and forced a Game 5 of the series. In Game 5, he hit a two-RBI double in the bottom of the fifth inning, driving in what proved to be the winning runs of the game. Ríos was just as pivotal in the 2015 American League Championship Series, batting .368 with a home run and three runs batted in. At the end of the season, the Royals won the

, giving Ríos his first championship ring. On November 4, 2015, Ríos' option was declined by the Royals, and he received a $1.5 million buyout.

2013 World Baseball Classic

Rios participated in the 2013 World Baseball Classic playing for

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. Although Rios slumped for most of the tournament, he hit a clutch two-run home run against

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

in the semifinals and handed Puerto Rico its first WBC Finals appearance. They would go on to be defeated by

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

3–0 in the finals.

References

External links

* – minor league statistics {{DEFAULTSORT:Rios, Alex 1981 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada American League All-Stars American sportspeople of Puerto Rican descent Baseball players from Alabama Charleston AlleyCats players Chicago White Sox players Criollos de Caguas players Dunedin Blue Jays players Hagerstown Suns players Kansas City Royals players Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente outfielders Major League Baseball right fielders Medicine Hat Blue Jays players New Haven Ravens players People from Coffee County, Alabama Queens Kings players Syracuse SkyChiefs players Texas Rangers players Toronto Blue Jays players 2006 World Baseball Classic players 2009 World Baseball Classic players 2013 World Baseball Classic players