Right-handed
pitcher Jose Rijo was born in San Cristobal,
Dominican Republic on April 13th,
1965. He has pitched for the
Cincinnati Reds since he transferred in
1988 after a season with the
Oakland A's, the team the Reds swept to win the
1990 World Series. Jose Rijo was the
MVP for that series.
Rijo returned as a starting pitcher in April 2002 after a 6 year hiatus in which he underwent five elbow operations. On April 21, 2002, he pitched his first win since 1995 against the Chicago Cubs, in what Reds General Manager Jim Bowden called a miraculous return: "His story is almost Biblical. It's really a miracle. Most players would have given up. After five surgeries, you still want to come back? How many guys have that kind of perseverance? Not many."
Source: yahoo.com and espn.com