lines of the crosstown Mets' 1984 rookie sensation Dwight Gooden. On December 5, 1984, the Yankees traded Rijo with Eric Plunk, Tim Birtsas, Jay Howell, and Stan Javier to the Oakland Athletics for Rickey Henderson, Bert Bradley, and cash. While with the Oakland Athletics, he struck out 16 Seattle Mariners on April 16, 1986, setting a club record. In his next start, he struck out 14 in a 2-hitter against the same Mariners organization, despite losing the game. But his time in Oakland was otherwise largely nondescript, with just 17 wins in three seasons. Even so, Rijo was still considered enough of a prospect for the Reds to acquire him in exchange for aging slugger Dave Parker, who'd had 338 runs batted in over the previous three seasons. Rijo's age eventually caught up to his talent. He was a member of the National League All-Star Team in 1994. Rijo also led the league in 1993 and 1994 in games started. He led the NL in 1993 in strikeouts and strikeouts per nine innings, and in 1991 he led the NL in winning percentage. Rijo was 3–0 in the 1990 postseason, including two World Series wins against Oakland, the team that had traded him away three years before. After winning Game One by a 7–0 score, he shut down the A's on two hits in Game Four (both in the first inning), ending the Series with a 0.59 earned run average and 15 strikeouts in innings. It was the only postseason experience of his entire career. Rijo pitched a one-hitter against the Colorado Rockies in 1993. The year after his All-Star season (1995), Rijo was sidelined with a serious elbow injury. Despite several comeback attempts, his elbow troubles kept him out of baseball for five full years. Rijo made an unexpected comeback to the game in 2001, returning to Cincinnati as a reliever. In doing so, Rijo became the first major league player to appear in a game after having received a Baseball Hall of Fame vote since Minnie Miñoso (who received six Hall of Fame votes in 1969) appeared for the Chicago White Sox in 1976 and 1980. In 2008, Rijo was again on the Hall of Fame ballot; he received no votes. In 2002, his final season, Rijo received the Tony Conigliaro Award. He made a handful of starts that year, including a win in his first start since