Jason Lariviere was born in 1973 and grew up in the blue-collar town of Biddeford, Maine. Jason is the son of Cindy and Robert Lariviere who grew up playing baseball with his older brother Shawn and his younger sister Stacy. From a young age, Jason’s parents instilled a strong work ethic by example as his dad worked endless hours to support his family. Jason has lived in Buxton since 2003 with his wife Danielle, their sons Noah & Drew and their daughter Chloe. Professionally, Mr. Lariviere is employed by Progressive Insurance where he is a Regional Manager. In addition, Jason is a co-owner of the Southern Maine River Rats Baseball Organization that was established in 2013.
As a youngster, Jason played Little League for East Biddeford making the all-star team in both 1985 and 1986. When he was twelve, Jason led his East Biddeford team to the District four championship and came within one game of winning the State Title and a trip to the Eastern Regionals. A team of great young Biddeford athletes lost a heartbreaker to Old Town 4-2 in the final game.
In high school, Jason played football, basketball and of course, baseball for the Biddeford Tigers. As a sophomore, Jason was named to the All-telegram team, a rare feat for a high school sophomore. As a junior, Jason also made the Telegram League first team, but more importantly, he and his teammates won the Telegram League championship. As a senior, Jason went 6-1 on the mound and was named All-state as a pitcher. In addition, Jason was the starting quarterback for the Tigers who won the state championship in football and the point guard for the Biddeford basketball team who were runners-up for the state title. Jason will be forever grateful for the tutelage he received from Coach Ron Cote and Coach Mike Laundry.
In college, Jason was a three-year starter at the University of Southern Maine. Playing center field, he made third team All-American as a junior and the first team as a senior. Jason batted 435 as a senior and finished with a career average of 399 which is the 4th best in Husky history. In addition Jason was blessed with speed and stole thirty-five bases, which is the 2nd most in the history of the USM program. Jason credits Coach Ed Flaherty and his USM staff with transforming him from an athlete into a baseball player.
Professionally, Jason was drafted in 1995 by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 44th round and had an outstanding minor league career. Jason Played six years in the organization from 1995 to 2000. In 1998, Jason was named to the Texas League all-star team while playing for the Arkansas Travelers. In 1999, Jason was named the defensive player of the year for the AAA Memphis Redbirds. In addition, he put up great numbers batting 286 with 142 hits including nine home runs. Jason also had thirty-five doubles and stole eighteen bases for the Redbirds. His greatest major league moments were in Spring Training for the Cardinals in 1997 & 1998. Jason’s first Spring training hit was off Scott Rudinsky knocking in the great Willie McGee from 2nd base. Just being on the same team with stars like Mark McGwire, Ron Gant, Ray Lankford and Manager Tony LaRussa made it a wonderful career.
Jason Lariviere continues to give back to the local communities today as he is considered one of the premier youth coaches in Southern Maine. Jason has earned a well-deserved place in the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame.
The Southern Maine River Rats
https://www.riverratsbaseball.com/page/show/936217-the-river-rats-staff
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