Aaron Rifkin - Biography

Aaron Kristopher Rifkin (born March 12, 1979, in Apple Valley, California) is a 6' 3" (192 cm) minor league left-handed first baseman.

High school and college

He attended Etiwanda High School in Etiwanda, California, where he was a two-time All-Mt. Baldy League first-team selection, first-team All-Inland Valley, and an Inland Valley Senior All-Star. Rifkin batted .511 as a junior and .494 as a senior.

Rifkin spent his freshman year of college at Chapman University, where he played right field, batted .416, set the school single-season records for doubles (26; in 44 games), total bases (130), and slugging percentage (.751), and was selected to the first-team All-Western Regional team.

He then attended California State University, Fullerton. In 1999, he was a Big West Conference All-Star at DH. In 2001, he hit .300 with 16 home runs, 62 runs scored, and 60 RBIs in 65 games for the Titans during his senior season.

Minor league career

He was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 54th round (1,479th overall) of the draft, and then by the New York Yankees in the 4th round (125th overall) of the draft.

In 2001, he hit .318 with a .559 slugging percentage in his first pro season for the Staten Island Yankees, was a Short-Season A All-Star first baseman, the Northwest League All-Star first baseman, and the Northwest League Most Valuable Player. He split 2002 between the Yankees High Single A and Double A teams.

In , he hit 19 home runs with 90 RBIs for the Trenton Thunder in AA. His 7-RBI-game on August 23 tied a franchise record. He won the Hamilton Jewelers "Fan Favorite Award".

In , he hit a career-high 23 home runs for Trenton. On May 23, 2004, he was named Player of the Week, hitting .462 (12-for-26) with two doubles and three home runs. In July he was named to the All Star team for the Eastern League Northern Division. In December 2004, he was selected by the Seattle Mariners from the Yankees in the Rule 5 draft. On May 1, 2005, he was voted PCL Player of the Week.

In December 2005, he was selected by the Chicago Cubs from the Mariners in the Rule 5 draft. The Cubs then traded him to the Colorado Rockies the same month, for a player to be named later and cash. In , he began the season on the disabled list after undergoing surgery on his right labrum. In , he played for the Tulsa Drillers in AA. He hit .272 with 14 home runs, and was 5th in the league with 36 doubles and 6th with 76 RBIs, and had the highest fielding percentage (.996) of all Texas League first basemen. That winter he played in the Dominican Winter League for the Azucareros del Este.

Family

He is married, and has a child. His mother teaches at Etiwanda Intermediate School in Rancho Cucamonga, California.

Notes

External links

• Tulsa Drillers profile
• Fangraphs stats
• Baseball Cube stats
• Scout profile
• Baseball America profile
• "Rainiers Notebook: Rifkin Learning the Curve," 5/28/05
• "Meet Aaron Rifkin," 6/15/07