Rafael Mendivil

Rafael Mendivil

• Bats Right, Throws Right

• Born in Mexico

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Rafael Mendivil was a minor league catcher for eight years.

Mendivil debuted in 1965 with the Aguascalientes Tigres, hitting .222. In 1966, he batted .265/.369/.444 for the San Luis Potosi Rojos though he made 17 errors, leading Mexican Center League catchers. He also spent part of the year with the Tabasco Plataneros, going 14 for 64 with 16 walks, 2 doubles, a triple, 2 home runs and 23 whiffs. In 1967, he hit an unimpressive .213/.296/.271 for the Las Choapas Diablos Rojos and made 15 errors, tying for the lead among Mexican Southeast League backstops. Mendivil split 1968 between Las Choapas (.239/.303/.310) and the Diablos Rojos del Mexico (3 for 19 with 2 walks), making it up to the Mexican League itself.

Mendivil spent all of 1969 with Mexico City, hitting .231/.293/.276 with 134 at-bats over 67 games as the backup to future big leaguer Frank Estrada. In 1970, he played briefly for Mexico City (7 for 29, 3 walks backing up Estrada) and starred for the Tampico Algodoneros at .314/.381/.568 with 20 homers and 81 RBI in 101 games. He was named one of the Mexican Center League All-Star catchers, along with Magdaleno Feliciano. In 1971, he hit .252/.318/.377 between the Diablos Rojos del Mexico (3 games) and Broncos de Reynosa (82 games). He started for Reynosa and led the Mexican League in errors by a catcher (15) while tying for second with 18 passed balls. After not playing in 1972, he split 1973 between the Piratas de Sabinas and Saraperos de Saltillo, posting a composite line of .220/.262/.317.

Overall, he had batted .237/.298/.317 over 225 games and 524 at-bats in five seasons in the Mexican League.

Sources

• 1967-1974 Baseball Guides
• The Mexican League: Comprehensive Player Statistics by Pedro Treto Cisneros