Mariano Rivera: The greatest of all time
(Getty Images)
By: MIGUEL TAMAYO
Channel: Sports
As the ball flew past a frozen Chris Parmelee and into Russell Martin’s waiting mitt, the argument that has bounced around lunchrooms, offices, and clubhouses for the past decade was finally put to rest. Mariano Rivera is, officially, the greatest closer of all time.
With a perfect ninth against the Minnesota Twins yesterday afternoon, Rivera notched the 602nd save of his career, passing Trevor Hoffman, and becoming the new all-time leader in career saves.
Rivera, 41, began his career with the New York Yankees in 1995 as a starting pitcher. After having mixed results as a starter, the Yankees decided to try him out in the bullpen; the results were spectacular.
In 1996, his first full season as a reliever, Rivera served as the setup man for Yankees closer, John Wetteland. In that role, Rivera went 26 straight innings without allowing a run, struck out 130 batters in 107 2/3 innings, posted a 2.09 ERA, and finished 3rd in the Cy Young voting. Following the 1996 season, the Yankees opted not to resign Wetteland, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Since becoming the full-time closer, Rivera has failed to reach 30 saves in a season only once, and it was in 2002, a season in which he battled groin and shoulder injuries all year (making three separate trips to the DL), yet he still managed to record an impressive 28 saves in just 32 opportunities. He has made the AL All-Star Team an astounding 12 times, and owns a phenomenal 2.22 career ERA to go along with his 602 (and counting) saves.
However, as his teammate Alex Rodriguez knows all too well, legends are made in October, not in April and May. Luckily for Rivera, his postseason resume is as impressive as they come.
He holds the all-time MLB record for the lowest postseason ERA with a microscopic 0.71 through 136 2/3 innings, and the record for most postseason saves with 42. Of his 5 World Series championship wins, Rivera closed out the final game in all but one of them (1996, when Wetteland was still the closer).
Rivera, originally from Panama City, Panama, is a unique kind of pitcher in that he relies mainly on one pitch: the cut fastball. Discovered accidentally while playing catch with a teammate in 1997, Rivera has fine tuned the pitch to such a degree that even though every batter he faces knows that there is almost a 90% chance that they will see his cut fastball every pitch, they are still wildly incapable of hitting it. For a decade and a half he has bewildered, frustrated, and embarrassed opposing batters with that pitch, and with another 43 saves so far this season, he doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
Although many will say that yesterday’s achievement was what solidified Rivera as the greatest of all time, those who have truly followed the game and have witnessed “Sandman” operate know that his career cannot be quantified in numbers or records.
No player of the past 15 years has so dominated an aspect of the game as Rivera has the 9th inning. Rivera turns every game into an eight-inning affair. Opposing managers scrounge for runs in the 6th, 7th, and 8th because they know that the 9th is all but a foregone conclusion. When a player gets a hold of a ball against Rivera, you are shocked. If the opposing team actually manages to score a run against him? Well, then you feel like you are witnessing history.
There have been many that have risen and fallen since Rivera became the Yankees closer, some even threatening to take the title of “Best Closer Alive” away from him (a title that, as is the sports fan’s way, we were eager to bestow upon each exciting newcomer), but day in and day out, he just kept trotting out to that mound and doing what he does best: closing out games.
Rivera’s contract runs out at the end of next season when he will be a month away from his 44th birthday. It is unclear whether he will continue playing following the expiration of his contract, but retire or not, one thing is for certain; Mariano Rivera is The Greatest of All Time.
