Rios Trying to Deal With Friend’s Death

Photos of smiling baseball players Julius Riofrir and Fernando Rios are side-by-side in the Glendale High yearbook.

But on Sunday they became linked in tragedy. A baseball pitched by Riofrir and hit by Rios in the Glendale College batting cage struck Riofrir in the head and killed him.

Rios, an outfielder on The Times’ All-Valley baseball team, was unavailable for comment Monday and Tuesday as he grieved the loss of his friend.

Spiro Psaltis, who coached Glendale High’s baseball team for 10 years before resigning after the 1996 season, said Rios is inconsolable.

“Our concerns about [Rios] were secondary earlier on but now they become primary,” Psaltis said. “He’s absolutely devastated.”

Psaltis spent much of Sunday night and Monday with Rios and others at Glendale Adventist Medical Center, waiting for news on Riofrir’s condition.

“He was with [Riofrir’s] family just prior to the official declaration [of death],” Psaltis said. “There was no animosity.”

Rios recently signed a contract with the Cincinnati Reds after being selected in the 13th round of the major league baseball amateur draft.

Before the accident, he was expected to report soon to a minor league team in Billings, Mont. Psaltis said those plans have been put on hold “for three or four days.”

“It’s been a complete downfall for him in the last 24 hours,” Psaltis said. “It’s very important for him to come to grips even though reality has gotten in the way of his dream [of playing professionally].

“He’s going to have to get through the grief and move on.”

* RELATED STORY: Julius Riofrir died Tuesday morning after being taken off life support. B11