Victor Rivas
{{short description|Cuban baseball player}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2015}}
{{family name hatnote|Rivas|Goire|lang=Spanish}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Victor Rivas
|image=Victor Rivas.jpg
|image_size=
|alt=Victor Rivas
|caption=Rivas at batting practice in the Dominican Republic
|position=First baseman
|team=
|number=
|bats=Right
|throws=Right
|birth_date={{birth date and age|1992|04|30}}
|birth_place=Isla de la Juventud, Cuba
|debutleague =
| debutdate =
| debutyear =
| debutteam =
| statyear =
|statleague =
| stat1label =
| stat1value =
| stat3label =
| stat3value =
| stat4label =
| stat4value =
| teams =
|medaltemplates=
{{MedalSport | Men's baseball}}
{{MedalCountry|{{CUB}}}}
{{MedalCompetition|18U Baseball World Cup}}
{{MedalBronze| 2010 Thunder Bay | Team}}
}}
Víctor Rivas Goire (born April 30, 1992), also known as Victor Rivas, is a Cuban professional baseball first baseman. Rivas played for the Cuban National Baseball Team in two international competitions. At age 17 he debuted on the Cuban National Team adult roster, where he played two seasons. At age 19 he attempted to defect from Cuba in 2011, seeking a career in MLB, was unsuccessful in that attempt and was banned by the Cuban government and from participating in baseball for two years. Rivas attempted a second time and was banned from playing baseball one more year. He then leaves the island legally a third time to Haiti where he established residency.
Cuban career and defection
Rivas played for the Cuban National Baseball Team in the 2010 World Junior Baseball Championship, during which he stole home on a wild pitch.{{cn|date=January 2023}} The International Baseball Federation acknowledged Rivas as the premier player for the Cuban National Team.{{cite web|author=Forrest Marketing + Communications and Aki Peltonen Creative Services|url=http://www.worldbaseball2010.com/media/pdf/program_french.pdf|title=PROGRAMME SOUVENIR OFFICIEL|publisher=ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONALE DE BASEBALL DE THUNDER BAY|date=July 22, 2010|accessdate=November 9, 2015}} Cuba won the bronze medal. Rivas also played briefly in the Cuban National Series for Isla de la Juventud in addition to the 2009 World Junior Championship in Barquisimeto, Venezuela.{{cite web|last=Suárez Valmaña|first=Jesús|url=http://www.beisbolcubano.cu/home/news.asp?idNews=22375|title=Panamericano y Pre Mundial juvenil – Listos los 20 peloteros juveniles|publisher=Federación Cubana de Béisbol Aficionado|date=September 13, 2009|accessdate=November 9, 2015}}
He played on the Cuban roster with Jorge Soler, Raisel Iglesias, Yandy Dias, Jesus Balager, Omar Luis and Yander La Oss; all of whom signed professional contracts with Major League Baseball Organizations and are currently playing in the Major Leagues, AA and AAA in the minor leagues.
Rivas defected from Cuba in 2013 to pursue his career in Major League Baseball (MLB). During his training in the Dominican Republic, many teams visited and watched Rivas practice.{{cite web|author=Tito Ortiz|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLu24-Q_sh4&list=PL9DClKN0F-jqMxpP41VKfkbC5g837GF0y|title=Victor Rivas, Cuban baseball player – playlist|publisher=YouTube|date=October 13, 2015|accessdate=November 9, 2015}} Numerous MLB teams had strong interest in signing him, but he did not have his free agent clearance with MLB, with the primary reason due to lack of guidance, improper management and negligence with the process of his paperwork. Rivas is living in the United States and under new agent representation. He is an eligible international free agent with clearance to sign immediately sign with an MLB organization and currently possesses a valid work permit which he recently received from the offices of the USCIS, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Scouting profile
Rivas is {{convert|6|ft|2|in}} and weighs {{convert|250|lbs|}}. He is described as a heavy-hitting infielder who would play first base. Steve Fiorindo, of The Prospect Pipeline, described Rivas in 2015 as a "strong kid. Pretty loud off the bat."{{cite web|last=Fiorindo |first=Steve |url=https://twitter.com/TheProsPipeline/status/651843970192965632 |title=The Prospect Pipeline – Twitter feed |publisher=The Prospect Pipeline |date=October 6, 2015 |accessdate=November 9, 2015}} According to the IBAF he is acknowledged as the premier player for the Cuban National Team, there were a lot of good players to watch, but beware of Victor Rivas. The IBAF went on describing Rivas as having proved himself very productive with the bat. Rivas is a power asset on any AA or AAA minor league roster, for any MLB team in need of an aggressive international player with exceptional offensive skills. Current bat velocity 108 miles per hour.
See also
{{Portal|Baseball}}
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
- Career statistics and player information from [https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.cgi?id=rivas-000vic Baseball-Reference]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rivas, Victor}}
Category:Defecting Cuban baseball players
Category:Isla de la Juventud players
Category:Mexican League baseball first basemen