Armando Ríos

Armando Ríos (born September 13, 1971) is a 5' 9", 185 lb. left-handed outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1998 through 2003.

Rios played center field for Louisiana State University in 1991 and 1993, when the Tigers won the College World Series, each time beating Wichita State in the championship game. In the 1991 finale, Rios hit a two-run homer in the second inning to give LSU a 4-1 lead en route to a 6-3 victory.

Armando Ríos first reached the majors in 1998 with the San Francisco Giants, spending part of four seasons with them before moving to the Pittsburgh Pirates (2001–02) and Chicago White Sox (2003). His most productive season came in 2001, when he hit .260 in 95 games and posted career-highs in home runs (14), RBI (50), runs (38), hits (83) and doubles (17).

Since his last major league season Rios has played in the Pacific, International, and Atlantic leagues.

In 2006, Ríos played with the Algodoneros de Guasave in the Mexican Pacific League. Ríos is expected to be back with the Algodoneros in 2007. In 2008, Ríos played for the Tigres del Licey in the Dominican Winter Baseball League.

Currently, Ríos is playing baseball in Carolina, Puerto Rico

Ríos is an admitted user of performance-enhancing drugs, testifying in the BALCO case after surgeries on his knee, elbow and shoulder. He is one of the players mentioned in the 2007 Mitchell Report.

Awards

• 1993: College World Series All-Tournament team
• 1995: California League All-Star
• 1998:
  • San Francisco Giants Minor League Player of the Year
  • Pacific Coast League All-Star
• 2007 Caribbean Baseball World Series champion bat

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs
• Baseball Library

• http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/1999/06/08/SP11314.DTL