Sandman Exits
Most of you probably know that a gentleman named Mariano Rivera is retiring from MLB at the end of this season. If you’re even a causal baseball fan – or even read the newspapers or otherwise follow the news – it would have been virtually impossible to avoid knowing.
Most of you also probably know that the NY Yankees won’t be in the hunt for a World Series title this year. That means that for Mr. Rivera, his season ends Sunday.
This man is considered to be one of the all-time greats. That’s true whether you’re talking athletic performance and class – or simply as a human being.
I’m not going to sing his praises here. I’m only going to say two things:
- IMO, Rivera absolutely deserves his reputation.
- If you doubt that, read this SI article by Tom Verducci. It’s longish, but it’s IMO well worth your time.
It’s not often you get to see an all time great end his career. It’s even rarer when that all-time great is also an all-time great human being.
Vaya con Dios, Señor Rivera. IMO, the world needs more like you.
And baseball isn’t why.
Category: Baseball
So Hondo-do you think they let him play center field for an inning? He says he wants to.
68W58: maybe. But after what happened early last season, perhaps that’s not such a good idea. No use tempting fate. (smile)
I do hope he gets the save on Sunday. IMO, that would indeed be a fitting swan song.
Thanks Hondo. He is loved here.
In his hometown he paid to construct a building.
That church is the most cherished structure for miles.
The Red Sox gave him a well desirved send off at his last game at Fenway. A class act.
Mariano Rivera has been the most feared pitcher in all of baseball for many seasons. The quotes you get from hitters who have to face him are all pretty comical in that they all talk about how hopeless their situation is. Some say things like, “It’s like a horror movie. You know what pitches are coming and you still can’t do anything…” You can look up his stats, read about his accomplishments, and he’s sure to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in a few years. It’s no exaggeration to say that he is the best closer ever in the long history of baseball.
Off the field, he is an even better man than he is as a pitcher.
One of the few Yankees I have always respected and liked.
MLB tonight just showed an incredible statistic-in the postseason at Yankee Stadium he had a 0.45 ERA.
That’s money!
Now they’re going on about Bud Selig and his impact on the game since he has announced his retirement. Meh-he’s better than Roger Goodell (interleague play needs to die though I would tolerate it if it meant the demise of that even greater abomination-the DH).
Was reading up on how “Enter Sandman” came to be Rivera’s entrance song: Yankees execs who were in San Diego for the World Series heard Trevor Hoffman’s entrance song, “Hell’s Bells” and decided that their closer needed one too.
If Rivera is the best, Hoffman is a great #2, and like Rivera, a certain Hall of Famer and a class act. In honor of his father, a Marine who served in WW2, he picked up the tab for about 1000 military families every season.
Apparently last night was his last night pitching. Sunday, I believe, they’re going to let him play in the outfield (something he’s wanted to do). He definitely is loved by the fans and even the opposing team.
KenW: last night was his last appearance in NYC at Yankee Stadium – hence the non-save appearance, the early exit, and the emotional sendoff. It’s unknown at present whether Rivera will pitch during NY’s series at Houston this weekend.
Hopefully he’ll get a save in game 162 on Sunday, which will be his last game. Whether he plays in the outfield or not is up to him and the Yankees. Part of me agrees, but part of me hope he doesn’t considering how he screwed up his knee and nearly ended his career last spring (shagging flies in the outfield during pre-game warmups). That just seems to me too much like tempting fate.
I tend to not watch a lot of sports or follow them too closely, mostly because I am a cranky old f4rt who can’t stand celebrity worship. I find no joy in watching millionaires play sport for billionaires….
But I am well aware that not all sports figures are subject to becoming arrogant 4ssclowns and that some of them are in fact men of honor and character who use their genetic gifts well and the resulting fame and fortune to do good works off the playing field.
This gentleman is clearly one of those good guys, may the rest of his days be lived well and enjoyed thoroughly. Thank you Mr. Rivera for showing us that there are still athletes who understand and appreciate the gift of a world class athletic ability and choose to use that gift with grace and humility.
90% of the time he threw one pitch. The batter knew what pitch was coming, the fans in the stands knew what was coming. The only problem was that even the best professional hitters in the world could do nothing about it. He changed the face of the game for the Yankees by making their games only 8 innings long, because you were not going to do shit in the ninth. As dominant a pitcher that has come along in a very long time.
An even better person. Bask in the glory you have earned.
V/R
A Red Sox Fan
Thanks for the correction Hondo. The wife’s the Yankee’s fan, I’m more of a football guy myself. Still, it’s always bitter sweet to say goodbye to a class act and a good player.
They said about Stan Musial “you throw him your best pitch and then back up third”. I have always wondered what a matchup between the two would have looked like.
At least he’ll go out on a winning night – they are playing the Lastros.
Rivera’s numbers and five World Series rings say it all, almost. What is fascinating is that he claims (and I believe him) that his cutter, the bane of all batters, was a gift from God. When he was a rookie, his catcher complained that the ball was moving unpredictably and Rivera insisted he had not changed his grip or anything else to cause the wicked movement of the ball as it approached the plate. His honest explanation was that it just happened one day and that he attributed it only to God and no one else, including himself. He has never lost that gift nor has he ever failed to show his gratitude for it. By the way, he blew 3 of his first six save opportunities with the Yankees BEFORE he ‘received’ that cutter. The rest, as they say, is history—and the stuff of baseball legend.
Hondo: The Yankees players would often tease their outfielders saying that Rivera could easily replace them in the lineup because he was pretty fast on his feet and fielded very well.
@15 And not only has Rivera always said that pitch was a gift, the story in the post has him sharing it with other pitchers. A quote from his wikipedia entry from another pitcher: “…just ask hitters about it and they tell you everybody’s throwing one. And they hate it.”