Having already established himself as the greatest reliever in Major League history, Mariano Rivera made it “statistically” official when he recorded his record breaking 602nd save on September 19, 2011.
In many ways, it was just another day in the life of a famously modest player who, over the course of a decade and a half, has put his signature on the ninth inning in a way no other pitcher has.
When it was over, after Rivera had gotten a called third strike against Minnesota’s Jason Parmelee to finish a 1-2-3 ninth and preserve a 6-4 victory, and after he had been mobbed by his teammates, his longtime catcher, Jorge Posada, joined with Alex Rodriguez to push Rivera back out to the mound so the crowd could salute him one more time. Read more NYtimes.com
While Rivera has been as good as any pitcher in the regular season, he’s been even better when the pressure is at its highest level. In 31 postseason series, Rivera has amassed a record 42 saves, and his ERA stands at 0.30.
While the likes of Babe Ruth, Michael Jordan and Rivera’s current teammates, Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, will always stand out as some of the greatest and most recognizable athletes in history, Rivera is just as great — even though he has never garnered the attention of those legendary figures. Read more Yankees.mlb.blogs
Mariano Rivera was warming up for his attempt at the all-time saves record Monday when a bizarre cheer caught his ear. When Rivera realized what had caused the applause – Nick Swisher hitting into a double play that ended the eighth inning and ensured he would get a save opportunity – he thought two things: Read more NYDailynews.com