When you think of the Bronx, it’s not just the New York Yankees that come to mind. A New York Mets youngster who calls the borough home is ready to make his mark.
You think about the Bronx Zoo, the New York Botanical Garden, the real ‘Little Italy’ and all the blue-collared Bronx natives that built this borough up from the ground up.
When asked to describe his former player and current New York Mets call-up T.J. Rivera, Alabama Wallace Community College head coach and former New York Mets catcher Mackey Sasser had a similar description: “a ‘blue-collar player’ who could really hit.”
Even when the now 27-year-old Rivera went undrafted after the 2011 MLB amateur draft, it was Sasser’s unwavering faith in Rivera and a simple conversation with New York Mets head scout Tommy Jackson that earned Rivera an undrafted free agent contract five years later in 2016.
Ever since he put pen to paper, Rivera has done nothing but work his way all the way up to the bright lights of Citi Field.
After slashing .349/.391/.513 with a .905 OPS, 11 home runs and 80 RBI in 97 games with the Las Vegas 51s (AAA), the Lehman High School product has finally earned his first ever major league call up with the Metropolitans.
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Rivera told Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News back in March that he looked at his non-roster camp invite the only way he could — as a chance to “show what I’ve got and compete.”
That’s what he’s done his whole life.
Growing up in the Throgs Neck area of the Bronx and playing baseball in local little leagues to keep away from the streets, Rivera flourished through Lehman High School, eventually earning himself a scholarship to Troy University (Alabama) where he met Mackey Sasser.
Now, he gets the don the orange and blue and fulfill his childhood dream of playing in the major leagues.
Not only is Rivera a wonderful example and role model to all the impoverished kids growing up in the Bronx, but he is a beacon of light to the blue-collared Bronx community that has certainly seen its fair share of struggles over the years.
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While he may be making his major league debut in Queens right across the Whitestone Bridge, T.J. Rivera certainly has the whole Bronx behind him!