November 11 – Happy Birthday Danny Rios
There have only been four players in the history of Major League Baseball to have been born in Spain. One of them is today’s Pinstripe Birthday celebrant. Rios came into this world in Madrid on this date in 1972. He and his parents moved to the US two years later. He played baseball for the University of Miami and was signed by the Yankees in 1993. He was groomed from the beginning as a closer by the Yankee organization and had some really strong seasons in that role for New York’s Greensboro, Tampa and Norwich farm teams. By 1997 he was pitching in Columbus and got his call up to the parent club in May of that season.
Unfortunately for Rios, he got shelled by the Red Sox in his first Major League appearance, giving up three home runs and five earned runs during his one and two-thirds inning pitched. That debut performance got him sent back to Columbus and he didn’t throw another pitch in a big league game until September of that season. This time, in his first and only game in the original Yankee Stadium, Rios got shelled again, giving up five hits in two-thirds of an inning against the Orioles. Having seen enough, the Yankees released him after the 1997 season. He signed with the Royals the following year, appeared in five games for Kansas City in 1998 and then left the big leagues for good.
He landed on his feet in the Korean Baseball Organization, becoming the first non-Korean ever to win 20 games in that league in 2007. That performance earned him a huge contract to pitch in Japan the following year. According to his “Bullpen” profile section at Baseball-Reference.com, Rios tested positive for steroids while pitching in Japan and was suspended.
Another nondescript Yankee pitcher named Ownie Carroll was also born on this date.
| Year | Tm | W | L | G | GS | GF | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | NYY | 0 | 0 | 19.29 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.1 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4.714 | |
| 2 Yrs | 0 | 1 | .000 | 9.31 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.2 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 2.690 | |
| KCR (1 yr) | 0 | 1 | .000 | 6.14 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.1 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 2.045 | |
| NYY (1 yr) | 0 | 0 | 19.29 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.1 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4.714 | ||
Pinstripe Birthdays 