Jesus Manuel "Bombo" Rivera Torres (born August 2, 1952 in Ponce, Puerto Rico

Ponce, Puerto Rico

Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...

) is a former Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 outfielder

Outfielder

Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...

. At the age of seven, his youth baseball manager started calling him “Bombo”, which meant “fly ball,” and the nickname stuck. Aside from baseball, Rivera also excelled in track and field. He ran the 100 meters and threw shot put during his days at Ponce High School. He followed in the footsteps of his grandfather, who was known for his "bomba and plena" musical skills, and played percussion for Ponce’s local bomba plena bands.

Minor leagues

Rivera signed with the Montreal Expos

Montreal Expos

The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...

 in 1970. During that first season in the Expos’ farm system, while playing for Bradenton

Gulf Coast Nationals

The Gulf Coast League Nationals are the Rookie Level minor league affiliate of the Washington Nationals. The team plays in Viera, Florida, at the Washington Nationals Training Center next to Space Coast Stadium...

, Rivera and his teammates took a trip to see the major league club play. The game was against the Pittsburgh Pirates

Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...

, and Rivera finally got to see his idol Roberto Clemente

Roberto Clemente

Roberto Clemente Walker was a Puerto Rican Major League Baseball right fielder. He was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico, the youngest of seven children. Clemente played his entire 18-year baseball career with the Pittsburgh Pirates . He was awarded the National League's Most Valuable Player Award in...

 play in right field.

Puerto Rican winter ball

From 1977-1986, Rivera played his Puerto Rican winter ball

Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League

The Puerto Rico Baseball League formerly known as Liga de Béisbol Profesional de Puerto Rico or LBPPR, is the main professional baseball league in Puerto Rico. In 2007, the LBPPR recessed for the first time since its creation...

 with the Mayaguez Indians

Indios de Mayagüez

The Indios de Mayagüez are a baseball team in the Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League . Normally based in Mayagüez, the Indios have won 16 national championships and two Caribbean World Series...

. During the 1977-1978 season, Mayaguez won the Puerto Rican league championship and Caribbean Series in Mazatlán

Mazatlán

Mazatlán is a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa; the surrounding municipio for which the city serves as the municipal seat is Mazatlán Municipality. It is located at on the Pacific coast, across from the southernmost tip of the Baja California peninsula.Mazatlán is a Nahuatl word meaning...

, Mexico, with a record of 5-1. Rivera was an important part of the team that he calls the best he ever played with in Puerto Rico. Other players on that championship team included major leaguers Jim Dwyer

Jim Dwyer (baseball)

James Edward Dwyer is a former outfielder who enjoyed an eighteen year major league career for seven different teams between and . Listed at 5' 10", 165 lb., he batted and threw left-handed.-MLB career:...

, Ron LeFlore

Ron LeFlore

Ronald LeFlore is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He played six seasons with the Detroit Tigers before being traded to the Montreal Expos, retiring as a Chicago White Sox in . He stole 455 bases in his career, and was an American League All-Star selection in 1976...

, José Morales, Iván DeJesús

Ivan DeJesus

Iván Alvarez DeJesús is a former Major League Baseball player from 1974 to 1988 for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants, and Detroit Tigers. DeJesús was regarded as a good fielding but light hitting shortstop...

, Ed Romero

Ed Romero

Edgardo Ralph Romero Rivera is a former infielder for the Milwaukee Brewers , Boston Red Sox , Atlanta Braves and Detroit Tigers...

, Rick Sweet

Rick Sweet

Ricky Joe Sweet is a former professional baseball catcher. He played three seasons in Major League Baseball between 1978 and 1983, and has since had a long career as minor and major league coach and minor league manager...

, Willie Hernández

Willie Hernández

Guillermo "Willie" Hernández Villanueva is a former relief pitcher for the Chicago Cubs , Philadelphia Phillies , and the Detroit Tigers . He threw and batted left-handed.-Career:...

, Danny Darwin

Danny Darwin

Daniel Wayne "Danny" Darwin , known as the "Bonham Bullet" and "Dr. Death," is a former pitcher of Major League Baseball. He amassed 171 wins and 182 losses over his career for 8 different Major League teams with a 3.84 earned run average...

, and Kurt Bevacqua

Kurt Bevacqua

Kurt Bevacqua is a former Major League Baseball player. He was chosen in the 12th round of the 1967 draft by the Cincinnati Reds and debuted in the big leagues in 1971 with the Cleveland Indians, ultimately playing for six different teams during his career. His final appearance was in with the...

. Rivera was named to the series All Star team.

Expos career

After several seasons in the minors, Rivera made his major league debut in with the Expos. After playing just five games in the majors for Montreal that season, he spent the entire season in the majors in , splitting time in left field with several other players, including Pepe Mangual

Pepe Mangual

José Manuel "Pepe" Mangual Guilbe is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He played for the Montreal Expos and New York Mets.-External links:...

, Del Unser

Del Unser

Delbert Bernard Unser is a retired Major League Baseball center fielder and utility player who had a 15-year career from 1968 to 1982. Unser played for the Washington Senators from 1968 to 1971 and the Cleveland Indians in 1972...

, Mike Jorgensen

Mike Jorgensen

Michael Jorgensen is a former Major League Baseball player drafted by the New York Mets in the fourth round of the 1966 Major League Baseball Draft...

, and Jerry White

Jerry White (baseball)

Jerome Cardell "Jerry" White is a former Major League Baseball player and current first base coach of the Minnesota Twins. He played for 11 seasons in the MLB, including stints with the Montreal Expos, Chicago Cubs, and Saint Louis Cardinals...

. In 68 games that season, Bombo batted .276. He spent the entire season back in the minors, and in October his contract was sold to the Minnesota Twins

Minnesota Twins

The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...

.

Back to the majors: Twins and Royals

Rivera was back in the major leagues in , playing 101 games for the Twins and batting. 271. Bombo played in 112 games for the Twins in , the most in his major league career. He hit .281/.324/.392, and was the starting left fielder for the season. However, after batting .221 for the Twins in , he was released during spring training of .

Though Bombo Rivera was signed by the Kansas City Royals

Kansas City Royals

The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...

 shortly after his release by Minnesota, he didn’t log much more playing time in the majors, adding only five games to his career total, all in . He was released the following spring.

On to Japan

His best professional season, came in Japan with Kintetsu Buffaloes

Kintetsu Buffaloes

The was a Nippon Professional Baseball team based in Osaka, Japan, which were in the Pacific League. The team was owned by Kinki Nippon Railway Co. and later sold to the Orix Group, the owner of the Orix BlueWave baseball team, in 2004...

 in and where he hit 37 home runs over the course of the two seasons, 31 of those in '85. He was released by the team in 1986 due to a hamstring injury.

Later career and retirement

Rivera added another Puerto Rican League championship in the 1985-1986 season. Also on that team were Bobby Bonilla

Bobby Bonilla

Roberto Martin Antonio "Bobby" Bonilla is a former player in Major League Baseball who played from 1986 to 2001. Known in his playing days as "Bobby Bo," Bonilla is of Puerto Rican descent.-Playing career:...

, Wally Joyner

Wally Joyner

Wallace Keith "Wally" Joyner is a former first baseman and hitting coach in Major League Baseball. He played for four major league teams during a 16-year career, most notably for the California Angels, for whom he was an All-Star...

, Tim Belcher

Tim Belcher

Timothy Wayne Belcher is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher. He won the Sporting News Rookie Pitcher of the Year Award in for the National League...

, Paul O'Neill, Harold Reynolds

Harold Reynolds

Harold Craig Reynolds is a former Major League Baseball second baseman. He played from 1983–1994, primarily for the Seattle Mariners.-High school:...

, and Randy Ready

Randy Ready

Randall Max Ready , is a former professional baseball player and was the hitting coach for the San Diego Padres. Ready played in the major Leagues primarily as a utility player from to . He also played one season in Japan for the Chiba Lotte Marines in...

. It was Bombo’s last season in Mayagüez. He finished his Puerto Rican baseball career with the Arecibo Wolves

Lobos de Arecibo

Lobos de Arecibo are a professional baseball team in the Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League, based in Arecibo. The Lobos won the 1983 national baseball championship and the 1983 Caribbean World Series, the only time the franchise won both titles....

 in 1989.

Bombo Rivera played briefly for the St. Petersburg Pelicans

St. Petersburg Pelicans

The St. Petersburg Pelicans were one of the eight original franchises that began play in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989. The team went 42-30 in the regular season and won the Northern Division title. Steve Henderson hit .352 for the club, and Lenny Randle batted .349. Milt...

 of the Florida Senior Professional Baseball Association

Senior Professional Baseball Association

The Senior Professional Baseball Association was a winter baseball league based in Florida for players age 35 and over . The league began play in 1989 and had eight teams in two divisions and a 72 game schedule...

 in . Today he lives in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico

Mayagüez, Puerto Rico

Mayagüez is the eighth-largest municipality of Puerto Rico. Originally founded as "Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria" it is also known as "La Sultana del Oeste" , "Ciudad de las Aguas Puras" , or "Ciudad del Mangó"...

 and works for a non-profit organization that offers sports clinics to disadvantaged Kids free of charge. He also stays close to Puerto Rican youth baseball by umpiring local games.

Cultural references

Rivera was the subject of a song in the late 1970s by Garrison Keillor

Garrison Keillor

Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor is an American author, storyteller, humorist, and radio personality. He is known as host of the Minnesota Public Radio show A Prairie Home Companion Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (born August 7, 1942) is an American author, storyteller, humorist, and radio...

 named "The Ballad of Bombo Rivera." There is also a brief mention of Bombo Rivera in W. P. Kinsella

W. P. Kinsella

William Patrick Kinsella, OC, OBC is a Canadian novelist and short story writer who is well-known for his novel Shoeless Joe , which was adapted into the movie Field of Dreams in 1989...

's Shoeless Joe, the basis for the film Field of Dreams

Field of Dreams

Field of Dreams is a 1989 American fantasy-drama film directed by Phil Alden Robinson and is from the novel Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella...

.

External links