In 1994, the Yankees had a prospect tearing up the minors in Ruben Rivera. At the age of 20, Ruben in 400 AB’s hit .287, 28 Hrs, 81 RBI, and had 36 SB’s. He came to the Yankees as one of those players known as “ a lot of athletic ability, but not necessarily baseball ability. ” The players that had all the raw talent in the world, but often never transformed it into baseball talent. In 1994, Ruben seemed to pull all the intangibles together and was looking like a bona-fide Top Prospect with “Unlimited Potential.” Yep, bet you have heard that one before. The label given to by scouts who can’t seem to finalize a players potential. Well this time it was a Yankee, so everyone knew about him. He could be Barry Bonds or even Eric Davis. A five tool talent with the ability to be a franchise type player.

The prospects of Rivera starring in Yankee Stadium sent his cards through the roof. His 1994 Bowman was his hottest card. In order to attain the card, many card collectors had to buy packs because the card shops just were not selling the card. Dealers had no reason as the card seemed to increase on a monthly basis.

Rivera received a taste of the big leagues in 1996. In 88 at bats, he hit .284 with two homeruns and 16 RBI. In 1996, he was also suspended for a week in the majors for insubordination and hit only .235 when he returned to Triple A. By 1997, he was traded to the San Diego Padres where he only had 20 major league at bats. In 1998, he had 172 at bats with the Padres and hit only .209 with moderate power of 6 HR's. In 1999, he showed solid power with 23 HR's but managed to hit only .195 with 143 SO's in 411 At bats. Not a promising ratio but decent power. In 2000, he did not improve in 423 At bats with a showing of .208, 17 HR's and 137 SO's. In 2001, he was in Cinncinatti who loves picking up has beens or could have beens (ie. Steve Avery, Mark Wholers, Greg Vaughn, Ron Gant) and turning something into them. In 263 at bats, he hit .255 with 10 HR's and 83 SO's.

In 2002, Rivera played the the Texas Rangers and in 158 AB's, he hit .209 with 4 HR's and 14 RBI's. After such a miseable season, he had a whopping 50 AB's in 2003 of which he hit .180 with 2 HR's and 4 RBI's.

The term "unlimited potential" should always to apply to two types of players: Alex Rodriguez who hit his max and Ruben Rivera who apparantly will never hit his. Putting away A-Rod and his $252 million contract aside, very few "unlimited potential" ballplayers ever have an All-Star like career. Heck, anyone without a serious disability limiting the ability to swing a bat has unlimited potential. Think about it.