Janiliz Rivera

Janiliz Rivera Cruz

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 257 lb.b

• Born September 3, 1998

Biographical Information

Janiliz Rivera has played for the Puerto Rican women's national team.

Rivera was the youngest player for Puerto Rico in the 2015 Pan American Games. The 16-year-old not only started at catcher but did very well, hitting .385/.385/.615 with three doubles in four games. She handled 14 chances error-free and threw out 4 of 11 who tried to steal. She tied Kiara Irizarry for the team lead in doubles; only Yinoska Claudio had more hit for Puerto Rico. She returned as their starting backstop in the 2018 Women's Baseball World Cup, also playing a game at DH and one at 1B. She hit .571/.690/.714 with seven walks, seven runs and ten RBI in eight games, fielding .949 but allowing 19 steals in 20 tries. She led the event in average, the first Puerto Rican to lead a Women's Baseball World Cup in average (and second player from the Americas, six years after Tamara Holmes of the US). She was .015 ahead of Harue Yoshii. She tied Lisandra Berrios and Shae Lillywhite for third in hits (12), led in OBP (.023 ahead of So-yeon Kim, Ya-Ling Tsai and Chelsea Forkin), tied for sixth with three doubles, tied for third in RBI (behind Iori Miura and Megan Baltzell), was 8th in total bases (15), ranked 6th in slugging (between Lillywhite and Chia-Hui Yang), was 3rd in OPS (after Forkin and Baltzell) and tied for second in walks (four behind Kim). She did not make the All-World team, losing out to Shih-Yun Lee at catcher; teammate Adrix Paradizo did make the squad.

She won MVP of the 2021 Puerto Rico Women's League. She was named Best Pitcher of the 2022 Caribbean Women's Baseball Cup, getting both of Puerto Rico's wins, beating the Dominicans and Cubans.