22 Jul Panama icon Mariano Rivera makes baseball history
written by William Upchurch
The Panamanian baseball player Mariano Rivera retired in 2013 and was eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2019. In January of this year he was an unanimous selection for this honor. All 425 ballots included his name. No other player in history received an unanimous selection. He was formally inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York last week.
Mariano “Mo” Rivera, source La Prensa
I need to preface this blog, by telling the readers that I am a Boston Red Sox Fan! And by nature and a requirement of the Red Sox Nation, I HATE THE YANKEES!! I would rather have my sister dancing with a bronze pole than my brother a Yankee Fan. There has been no greater rivalry through out all US sports than the Red Sox/Yankees, Period!
It goes back to the day Boston traded a guy by the name of Babe Ruth to New York. Setting my resentment aside, I have to tell you a story about a guy that spent his entire career with the Yankees. And guess what? He is from a little fishing village, close to Chorrera, in Panamá.
I also must apologize for the baseball terminology used in this writing. If you are not familiar with it, please search here.
Panama has had several well known sports celebrities such as Romel Fernadez, Rod Carew and Roberto Durand. But none had the impact on their sport more than Mariano Rivera.
Mariano “Mo” Rivera AKA “The Sandman” made his first appearance in a Major League baseball game in 1996 as a starter for New York. As with most players of this caliber, it took a few adjustments to find out where he fit in with the team. In fact they almost traded him for a shortstop because team management wasn’t sure if their new shortstop (an unknown by the name of Derek Jeter) was going to make the cut! If only they would have!! Eventually, Mo made his way to the bullpen to become a regular “reliever” for his team.
The year 1997 saw the beginning of a One Man dynasty. The manager of the Yankees made Mariano the team “Closer.” And they left him there for 16 long, painful, miserable seasons (Unless, of course, you are a Yankees supporter.) Most players don’t last four or five years in the Major League. There is a “Closer” on every major league team in professional baseball. He is the pitcher that comes into the game in the eight or ninth inning when his team is clinging to a lead, usually with a one or two run difference. Of all the great ones like Dennis Eckersley, Trevor Hoffman or Goose Gossage, one name stands alone…..Mariano Rivera!
I sat in Fenway Park (Red Sox home stadium) cerca 2002 for a game between the Yankees and my beloved Red Sox (by the way, a pretty tough ticket to come by without connections.) The game lived up to its billing. Home runs, lead changes and all of the drama you would expect in this rivalry. The bottom of the 9th inning coming up, the Yankees with a one run lead and we have the meat of our batting order coming up. Needless to say, we Boston fans were very excited about the climactic victory we were about to witness. And then came the PA announcement with the most vile words ever spoken in any language “Now entering the game, Number 42, Mariano Rivera.” The collection of expletives that could be heard in the ballpark would make a sailor on shore leave blush! Why all of the swearing….because we new that we were finished when “The Sandman” came into the game! Sure enough, 12 pitches and three strike outs later, we were done!
This was only one example of 900 plus times he came into a game and ruined another team’s day! Interestingly, most pitchers of this level have a variety of different pitches and velocities they use to try and fool batters. Curveball, fastball, change up, slider and knuckleball to name a few. Not Mariano!! He had one pitch, a Cut Fastball with one location over home plate and traveling 94 mph (152 km). To quote Kevin Millar “Oh that nasty Cutter!” This means that all of those hitters who are making millions of dollars new which pitch was coming at them, how fast it was coming and where it was going to be and they still could not touch it!
Upon his announcement of leaving the game, most every team in the league had a ceremonial send off in his honor for his last trip to their stadium! Including Boston! I am certain these tributes were to make sure he was finished and wouldn’t change his mind. Even at 43 years of age, he won the All Star Game MVP proving he still had something left in his tank. At 43 years of age I was groaning just trying to get out of a chair. If you are a baseball fan, there are two Youtube videos worth seeing: Mariano’s last game at Yankee Stadium and Mariano’s last visit to Fenway Park.
New York Yankee Stadium
Beyond his athletic skills there are many stories of how he handled himself off of the field. He was never too busy for a fan or an autograph. Mentoring kids learning the game. His own foundation to help people in the community that he grew up in. The man even left heartfelt notes for opposing team fans in the bullpen of each of the stadiums he visited on his final tour thanking them for the honor to play in front of them. And the list goes on and on!
Mariano “Mo” Rivera playing against the Bosten Red Sox, source WCVB Boston
I won’t say that I was not happy to see him retire, but this is one Red Sox Fan that had the privilege to see him dominate the game and honored to follow career of greatness. It is also an honor to live in the country that he represents. I was trying to come up with a couple of words to show the respect I have for Mariano Rivera. How about “The G.O.A.T.” (Greatest of all Time)……or Better yet “Class Act!!”