1977 Topps Baseball #178 - Bombo Rivera

• Bombo Rivera was signed by the Montreal Expos in 1970 and started playing professional baseball when he was still 17 years old.
• Rivera spent several years in the minors and finally made the Montreal ballclub in 1975. Bombo played in five April games and batted .111 (1 for 9) before being sent back to the minors for the rest of the season.
• Bombo made the Expos as a backup outfielder in 1976 and this time he stayed with the team for the entire season. Rivera batted .276 in 68 games.
• Rivera played in AAA for the entire 1977 season. By this time the Expos had a surplus of young oufielders so after the season Rivera was purchased by the Minnesota Twins.
• Bombo stayed with the Twins as a backup outfielder for the next three seasons. In 1978 he batted .271 in 101 games and also had a .362 on base percentage. Rivera batted .281 in 112 games in 1979 and .221 in 44 games in 1980. In April 1980 Bombo suffered a fractured kneecap that ruined his season.
• Rivera didn't make the Twins  ballclub in 1981 and he was released during spring training. Bombo signed with the Kansas City Royals and spent the entire 1981 season in AAA Omaha.
• Bombo was in Omaha again for the 1982 season. He was called up to Kansas City in September and batted .100 (1 for 10) in five games. This was the last  major league action Rivera would have.
• Rivera was cut loose by the Royals at the end of spring training in 1983. He played in the minors for the Royals organization and the St. Louis Cardinals organization.
• From 1984-1988 Bombo played in the Mexican League.
• Bombo Rivera's SABR biography
• 1977 Stats: .302, 14 triples, 18 HR, 95 RBI in 124 games for AAA Denver
• 1977 Highlights:
• Other card blogs: 1979, 1980