| Paul Merchan. 19th July, 2006 - 12:33 pm
 For all the criticism the Yankees get about buying talent to remain in contention, the heart and soul of their teams over the past decade continues to be their home-grown talent. We can point out specifically the man that they turn to at the end of every game. He’s been there throughout the whole dynasty and allows a breath of fresh air every ninth inning, even well into his 30s.
Mariano Rivera recently accomplished a great milestone, becoming only the 4th pitcher in history to record 400 saves. Its all happened so fast for Yankee fans, who would swear he came on the scene just yesterday. He’s been such a constant for his team since he’s been here, that it can be easy to take him for granted. He’s never suffered a long-term injury (knock on wood) and has never been streaky in his performance. He’s pretty much always there, along with Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada and Bernie Williams.
He made his Major League debut in 1995 as a starter against the California Angels. It wasn’t a very memorable debut, as he got rocked in a 10-0 Yankee loss. His evolution since then has been one for the Hall of Fame. He set-up John Wetteland in 1996, shutting down the opposition in the 7th and 8th innings, even getting consideration for the Cy Young Award that year as a middle reliever. One can ponder on a comment made by Tim McCarver in the World Series that year while the Yankees played the Braves. Rivera was pitching and McCarver described why Rivera was so dominating. “He has what they like to call, ‘late pop’ on his fastball,” he said. Rivera’s easy-going, lulling motion during his wind-up, followed by a 96 mph cutter with movement has proved lethal to hitters for years. As easy going as his wind-up is, so too is his personality, which makes it that much easier to overlook him as the great Yankee constant for the past decade.
About reaching the 400 save milestone, Yankees.com quoted him as saying, “It’s a blessing. You never even think about that. With the blessing of the Lord, I just continue to do this thing.” A devoutly religious man, Rivera contemplated retirement a few years back so he could go back to his native Panama and become a minister there. He’s always giving back to his community, allowing for the construction of homes, churches, schools and baseball fields back home.
Goose Gossage said recently on the New York sports channel, Sportsnet New York, that he felt offended when people call Rivera the greatest reliever of all time. He cited that he and the other pitchers of his day worked harder, pitched more, and that any comparison was therefore not valid. Whether you agree with him or not, Rivera’s greatness in his own generation cannot be denied. For four world championships, he was the constant. He continues to be the constant in an injury-plagued 2006 season for the Yanks. If they pull it off once again and make it to the playoffs, Mr. 400 will again be one the main reasons why. |
