Today in Sports History: March 11th

3/11/2002 - Robbed by Rivera

It was on this day in 2002 that the New York Yankees released Ruben Rivera from his contract. Ruben, the younger cousin of Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, was a major prospect who never quite panned out. After eight years in the big leagues, he finished his career with a lifetime batting average of just .216.

You may be wondering what's so interesting about a so-so baseball player getting the axe. As it turned out, Rivera was released because he had stolen the glove and bat of Yankees star Derek Jeter and sold them to a memorabilia store for $2,500. The Yankees confronted him when they found out, and Rivera was able to give Jeter back his equipment. It mattered not and the Yankees bought out his $1 million contract, leaving him with just a $200,000 settlement.

"Everyone makes mistakes. I haven't killed anybody," River said. "It was just a moment when I wasn't thinking right. I've repented. I gave it all back to him the next day. It wasn't correct what I was doing."