Mariano Rivera: Torn ACL Does Not Signal End of a Career
May 4, 2012 · Rick Weiner · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
By now, you’ve heard the news that New York Yankees all-world closer Mariano Rivera is out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL and a torn meniscus.
Some people will throw their hands in the air and scream to the skies, denouncing the Yankees for allowing him to shag fly balls in the outfield.
But Mo has been doing that very thing before nearly every game since the day he arrived in the Bronx—and he’d do the same thing again if given the chance to re-do the day. According to ESPN New York’s Wallace Matthews, Rivera said:
…And shagging, I love to do. If I had to do it over again, I would do it again. No hesitation. There’s reasons why it happens. You have to take it the way it is and fight, fight through it. Now we have to just fight.
This is a freak injury, one that could have happened just as easily were he jogging out to the pitcher’s mound from the bullpen, something Yankees manager Joe Girardi agrees with. “You’ve all seen Mo run around here for what, 40 years? You can fall off the curb or down stairs and get hurt,” Girardi said, according to Matthews.
Of course, Mo was asked the question on everyone’s mind when he was made available to the media—is this the end of the road for the greatest relief pitcher of all-time?
“At this point, I don’t know. At this point, I don’t know. Going to have to face this first. It all depends on how the rehab is going to happen, and from there, we’ll see,” Rivera told reporters.
It’s true, Rivera is 42 years old and the older we get, the more difficult it becomes for us to bounce back from injury, especially one as severe as what Mo is dealing with.
But Rivera is not your typical 42-year-old.
He is a world-class athlete, one who works harder than most athletes half his age.
Yankees captain Derek Jeter, one of Rivera’s best friends, thinks that Rivera’s drive will get him back on the field faster than most think: “He works hard, and he’s going to work hard at his recovery and I’m no doctor, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we see him back here this year.”
I’d say that Jeter is being a bit too optimistic, but in no way do I believe this injury marks the end of the most dominating pitcher the game has seen since the days of Bob Gibson and Sandy Koufax.
To quote two iconic figures, Yogi Berra and Mickey from the Rocky movies: “It ain’t over till it’s over” and “I didn’t hear no bell.”
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