Mariano Rivera’s Greatness Won’t Be Soon Forgotten
June 29, 2009 · Brian Anderson · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
His stare is distinguished. His demeanor is calm. His entrance music is unexpected. His cutter is unhittable. His greatness is historic.
New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera closed out his 500th save last night against the New York Mets and added another historic accomplishment to his already Hall of Fame résumé.
He became the second closer ever to achieve 500 career saves, making him one of the most decorated pitchers in the history of baseball.
His list of accomplishments is so impressive that it’s hard to believe a humble guy like Rivera was able to achieve such success without having a dynamic personality. Some of baseball’s greatest—Ruth, Wagner, Young, Gehrig, Aaron, Williams—achieved immortality not only because of their numbers on the field, but their larger than life personality.
Not so with Rivera.
The humble man, one that is rarely emotional on the field, has built a résumé so impressive that it’s hard to pick out his greatest accomplishment.
Nine-time All-Star. World Series MVP. ALCS MVP. Lowest postseason career ERA. Most consecutive scoreless innings pitched in the postseason. Most saves by a Yankee reliever.
His cut fastball, the pitch that has been around for more than a decade, a pitch hitters still don’t like seeing, is one of the most devastating game-ending pitches ever thrown.
Lumber manufacturers won’t be too happy when Rivera retires; the broken bats he accounts for make any business more profitable.
In the past decade, there’ve been a lot of changes for the New York Yankees. With an unhappy owner, players have been acquired, let go, traded, or reassigned to field the best possible team. Few have remained a constant on the Yankees, but Rivera remains one of those select few.
When “Enter Sandman” comes through the speakers of Yankee Stadium, both the Yankees and the unfortunate team that’s down a few runs know who’s coming out of the bullpen. When Rivera and his cutter come into the game, Yankee fans everywhere rejoice—this one is almost a guarantee, all thanks to the man known as Mo.
But Rivera isn’t one to soak up the spotlight.
A very spiritual man, Rivera knows there’s something bigger than baseball. There’s something greater than his greatness. He knows he’s been blessed with an amazing opportunity and talent to play the game of baseball. It’s one reason he often responds to questions about his greatness and his place in history with this simple answer: “I just do my job.”
But a place in Cooperstown will be saved for Rivera when he finally does retire, while hitters everywhere will rejoice once his great cutter is out of the league. The sport of baseball hasn’t seen many like Rivera—extremely good at his job, and extremely unassuming about doing it.
A career regular season 2.09 ERA. Five hundred saves. An unheard of 0.77 postseason ERA. A record nine saves in the World Series. A devastating cutter. A humble personality.
This is the Sandman.
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