The Ultimate Homecoming Throwback

IT’S MORE THAN A

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IT’S MORE THAN A GAME

Pictured: Josiah Rivera during a baseball promotional day photo shoot. Rivera, who has played baseball since childhood, gleefully smiles, putting his love for the sport on full display.

Josiah Rivera and his two older brothers were introduced to baseball as toddlers by their father, Angel Rivera. Josiah, Brandon, and Isaiah each fell in love with the game as toddlers. The boys were born in New York and grew up in Pennsylvania. Angel and their mother, Jacqueline, were both very supportive of their children playing baseball.

When Josiah was in the fourth grade, the family moved to Florida. They made the move so that Josiah and his brothers would have more opportunities to play baseball. Unlike Pennsylvania, the Sunshine State’s weather allowed for the brothers to play baseball year-round.

Angel was heavily involved in a coaching role, while Jacqueline was supportive by attended practices and games, and making sure that refreshments were prepared for long days at ballparks.

“They really supported us playing the sport of baseball and keeping us busy throughout our youths,” Brandon said. “Keeping us engaged in that game really helped us bond as a whole family.”

After a few years in Florida, Jacqueline was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Angel and Jacqueline told the boys of the news one night at dinner. It was kept a secret in the very beginning, but the brothers were quickly informed about the diagnosis. “He had to tell us sometime, and sometime we had to accept the fact that she was diagnosed,” Josiah said.

When he found out the news, Josiah knew very little about the disease.

For about two years, Jacqueline was able to keep a standard dayto-day routine as a stay-at-home mom. During that time, she experienced relatively minor signs of Alzheimer’s. However, around the time Josiah was a junior in high school, the impact of the disease was very apparent.

With Angel being away from home often due to work, Josiah and his brothers were largely responsible for taking care of their mother. Eventually, Jacqueline had to move in with a sibling. Angel and the boys’ schedules with school and work led to the move.

Her health continued to decline, and unfortunately, Jacqueline passed away in December of 2018. Josiah was a senior in high school at the time, and he tried to hide his emotions when he returned to the classroom several weeks later.

As for baseball, Josiah had no collegiate offers after his senior season. “I literally just wanted to quit baseball,” Josiah said. David Blackmore, one of Josiah’s high school coaches, contacted many colleges on the NAIA and JUCO levels about Josiah. Blackmore’s efforts eventually resulted in Josiah signing with CCC.

The spring of 2020 marked his first season with Coahoma. But the season was prematurely ended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Josiah had to return home. After multiple trips back and forth, he was finally situated in Florida once again. The next morning, he found out that his dad was in the hospital due to a heart attack. Angel was hospitalized in North Carolina. The brothers traveled by plane to visit their dad.

Due to COVID-19, they had to visit their father individually. Angel needed surgery, but he was able to have normal conversations with his children.

As Josiah recalls, his dad told him to never give up and to continue to do what he loves.

“I didn’t think that would be the last time I would actually talk to him,” Josiah said.

The surgery went well, and the boys returned to Florida. However, unforeseen complications quickly occurred when Angel’s heart stopped beating. Doctors were able to revive him, but his brain had lost too much oxygen. Angel was placed on life support, but he passed away about one week after being admitted to the hospital. “At the time, we didn’t know what to do,” Josiah said. “It didn’t feel real. To this day, I think my dad’s still out there like on a trip. I still haven’t accepted the fact that he’s passed away; he’s still gone.

Baseball has been Josiah’s escape. When he’s having a bad day, his “mood changes like that” when he’s on the diamond. “Being on that field is like the best feeling for me,” Josiah said.

With such a strong passion for baseball, Josiah works hard to maximize his potential. Coahoma teammate Bryland Skinner described Josiah’s work ethic as being “over the top.” On several occasions, Skinner saw him taking batting practice around midnight, even though he had already gotten reps during the day.

“It would amaze me,” Skinner said. “Every time I went, he was there.”

Josiah’s work ethic is strong, and so is his game.

“There are not many people that I’ve seen (that) can play at his level,” Skinner said. “I’m just like, dude, you have the talent and potential to be anywhere you want to be.”

Pictured: Rivera on a zip-lining adventure with his father and two older brothers. He enjoys making great family memories.

In his final season with CCC, Josiah would face more adversity. In the fourth game of the regular season, he dislocated his shoulder. He was sliding into third base on a run down, while trying to go around the tag. When he rolled over;, he felt it happen.

“I just started screaming,” Josiah said.

He had never felt pain like that before.

His shoulder felt fine once it went back into place, but it was very sore on the following day. Despite the injury, Josiah played second base in Coahoma’s next matchup, which was against Mississippi Delta Community College. Josiah tried to work around the injury by simply flicking his wrist on throws instead of using his standard throwing motion. But his instincts took over during the game.

“I wasn’t thinking,” Josiah said. “I really just threw the ball. Right when I threw the ball, I felt it pop again. … That pain felt worse than the first time.”

Josiah thought that his season was over. He thought that all of his hard work was going to be negated by an injury.

“I started crying,” Josiah said. “And at that time, I really thought He had injured his labrum and rotator cuff. Josiah needed surgery. He was able to hit, but throwing was not advised. Instead of opting to prematurely end his season by having surgery, Josiah became Coahoma’s designated hitter. Throughout the remainder of the season, he played sparingly on defense.

Josiah finished the season with a .394 batting average, five home runs, 20 runs scored, and 19 RBIs. He graduated from CCC in May of 2022 and plans to continue playing baseball in the future.

The past several years have been very tough for Josiah. Baseball has been his happy place and escape from the hardships. While it did bring its own tribulation this past season, the game he loves has provided him with good times and great memories. He and his family have bonded over the sport that has given so much to them.

For Josiah, baseball is more than just a game.