Dreams Come True: A Major Debut

He has made the journey that every young baseball player dreams of: Alfonso Rivas ’15 is now in the major leagues. The 24-year-old first baseman was called up to the bigs by the Chicago Cubs in late August 2021 after proving himself with Triple A Iowa. And if his first MLB at-bat is any indication, Rivas is ready for the big leagues. Up against the White Sox starting pitcher Dylan Cease, Rivas swung at the first pitch, a 98-mph fastball, and sent it cleanly into center field for a single. A second hit came later in the game.
 

Rivas has been honing his talents and building upon his successes since his time as a Torrey. He played for the University of Arizona Wildcats from 2016 to 2018 as a fielder and a relief pitcher. As a freshman, he appeared in 55 games, making 47 starts in the field and 18 appearances on the mound. He recorded two saves in the Wildcats’ 2–16 run to the College World Series. He finished his career at Arizona hitting .323 with 15 home runs. 

In 2018, Rivas was a fourth-round draft pick for the Oakland A’s but was traded to the Cubs in January 2020. He was able to be with the team for spring training, but the pandemic delayed his major league debut for a year. After playing 58 games for Iowa, the self-described contact hitter earned his chance to show the Cubs how he could help the team in the run-up to the postseason.

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