Mike Rivet
In high school, Mike was a right fielder. He was a force on defense, winning two Mauro Nieto Glove awards, thanks largely to his powerful and highly accurate outfield arm. But he couldn’t hit. However, Boise saw enough potential in that arm to draft him as a pitcher in the sixth round of the 2044 amateur draft.
He spent a couple seasons in the low minors inventing himself. Without any real pitching experience before signing, Mike had to learn the craft in live games, against real hitters. His numbers weren’t great, but that was usually the result of him trying new things. Every day, he would come to practice with a new pitch he wanted to try, or a new technique he had heard about.
“He was a tinkerer,” said one of his A-ball coaches. “He would just show up and tell us, ‘Hey guys, I’m a sidearmer now’. And just like that, he would have a new delivery. We didn’t stop him either, because he was usually pretty good at whatever it was. He just had this insane natural ability to pick things up.”
One day, he learned to throw a forkball from a video he saw on the internet, and when he unveiled it in a bullpen session, it had this unique horizontal spin that made it very difficult to hit. Mike would just shrug, like he wasn’t sure if that was good or not. But his coaches knew at that point that it could be a real weapon.
Once Mike found the forkball, he became one of the more effective groundball pitchers in the minor leagues. He wouldn’t strike many guys out, but he’d get them to beat the ball into the ground to no end, all while maintaining an excellent walk rate, thanks to his pinpoint control.
He ascended quickly through the minors, finally getting a call to Major League Spring Training this year, an opportunity he didn’t waste. In eight spring appearances, he posted a 0.77 ERA, which was enough to win him a job in Boise’s bullpen for Opening Day.
Boise opened the season in Mexico City, which is a bit of an excursion for anyone in the U.S. (Mike’s family lives in Nevada now), so players making their debut there don’t typically expect anyone from home to come cheer them on. He called his parents when he received the news that he had made the team, but he told them not to worry about coming down — as a relief pitcher, there wouldn’t even be a guarantee he would play in any of the games. Besides, he said, it’ll be easier for you to come when the Spuds are in Las Vegas next month.
But Mike’s parents insisted, and when he emerged from the bullpen on Friday to make his debut, there they were, right above the visitors’ dugout, to cheer him on. Mike proceeded to throw 2.1 innings of scoreless ball, giving up just three hits, and of course, no walks. His parents could be proud, in that moment, to say their son was not only a big leaguer, but in fact dominating, on the biggest stage. Maybe baseball was a viable career after all.
And the icing on the cake? Due to a rain delay in the fifth inning (thanks, Mexico City), Boise starter Felipe Méndez couldn’t pitch deep enough into the game to get the win, which in this case was awarded to the next pitcher out of the bullpen, which was Mike.
It’s only a week into the season, but if you look at the leaderboards, there’s Mike at the top of most pitching categories, tied with many others of course, with his zero ERA and one win. The league should get used to seeing his name there.