Switch-hitting Mickey Rivers, Jr., improved his improved his work at the plate by July 1990, he just knew he could get better with patience and time, he told The Newport News Daily Press.
But, as the son of longtime major leaguer Mickey Rivers, Sr., he knew he had the freedom from the expectations that came with that, he told The Daily Press.
"My dad hasn't put any pressure on me to be like him, and I try not to pressure myself, either," Rivers Jr. told The Daily Press as a member of the high-A Lynchburg Red Sox. "He'll help me out from time to time and I'll listen, but he knows I'm my own player."
Then in his third season, Rivers, Jr. ended up playing just one more campaign. He topped out there at high-A.
Rivers Jr.'s career began in 1988, taken by the Red Sox in the third round of the draft out of Bacone College in Oklahoma.
Rivers' started with the Red Sox at short-season Elmira. He hit .201 over 63 games. That June, he spoke to The Elmira Star-Gazette about continuing as a switch-hitter, which he'd started in college.
"It's not as hard as people might think," Rivers told The Star-Gazette.
Rivers moved to single-A Winter Haven for 1989. He hit .224 there in 104 games. He then made high-A Lynchburg for 1990. He hit .216 in 113 games there.
For 1991, he played at high-A Winter Haven. He saw 71 games there and hit .208. That season marked his last as a pro.
- Elmira Star-Gazette, June 13, 1988: Rivers hops switch helps chances
- Newport News Daily Press, July 9, 1990: Pilots top Lynchburg; Sox' Rivers hopes to find father's flow
Made the Majors:1,367-33.1%
Never Made Majors:2,768-66.9%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors:556
10+ Seasons in the Minors:337
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