Mariano Rivera’s ride is almost over. After he plays in his last All Star Game at Citi Field, he will have just 67 games left in the Pinstripes (unless the Yanks make the playoffs) and when he goes he takes the number 42 with him. While taking questions, he was sitting in front of Jackie Robinson’s 42 and knows what the number means. “Number 42 represents a legacy, a legend, and a man that did everything for the game of baseball, and represented us as a minority. So, to me, this is a privilege.”
On April 15, 1997 the MLB retired Jackie Robinson’s number league wide for all he did for the game on and off the field. It was the first time any jersey number had been retired throughout one of the four major American sports leagues. Under the terms of the retirement, a grandfather clause allowed the handful of players who wore number 42 to continue doing so in tribute to Robinson, until they changed teams or jersey numbers. This affected players such as the Mets’ Butch Huskey and Boston’s Mo Vaughn. When Vaughn retired in 2003, Mo was left as the last player in Major League Baseball to wear jersey number 42 on a regular basis. On March 8, 2013, he announced the he would retire at the end of the 2013 season thus taking the number with him. It has been one hell of a ride for both Mo and number 42 and at age 43 he still has what it takes to make the All Star team.
It is Mo’s last All Star game and he is taking nothing for granted. “Oh yeah. Oh yeah. I decided I’m going to enjoy it no matter what and that’s what I’ve been doing. I’m doing it already, soaking in everything that I can. As all you guys know, it’s my last one, so I’m going to enjoy it, do my best, and have fun.”
Citi Field is special to the Yankee great, he won the 2000 World Series there and recorded his 500th career save. To Mo, playing his last Midsummer Classic in the city he has called home all these years is the only way he would want to go out. “Being able to play here, it’s home. You can’t ask for nothing better than that.” Mo said before the Home Run Derby. “It’s wonderful and great, even though it’s not Yankee Stadium. But at the same time, it’s New York City and that’s what we’re here for. It’s playing in New York City and we want to do our best.”
Mo reached regular season career totals of 602 saves and 857 games finished in 2011, surpassing Trevor Hoffman as the all time leader in both categories. He also holds records for 15 consecutive seasons with 25 or more saves, nine consecutive seasons with 30 or more saves and 15 seasons with 30 or more saves. Since 1996, Mo has held an ERA under 3.00 in all but one season (2007). In the postseason, he holds the all time record for saves (42) and ERA (0.71). Throughout his 12 All Star selections, he has saved a record four All Star Games, his most recent one coming in 2009. his career ERA (2.21) and WHIP (1.00) are the lowest of any pitcher in the live ball era. On May 25, 2011, he became the 15th pitcher in major league history to make 1,000 appearances, and the first to do so with a single team. His appearances total ranks as the most in American League history
Mo came up through the Yankees organization with the likes of Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada and Andy Pettitte, better known as the Core Four. He stands as a testament, with those other great men, to the Yankee tradition and way of life. Their names will be mentioned for eternity along side Ruth, Gehrig, Mantle and Berra.
To go along with his impressive list of personal achievements, Mo also has a list of shared records as an integral cog in the Core Four machine. He and Pettitte hold the all time record for most wins/saves combinations with 70. In 2010, Jeter, Mo and Posada became the first trio in any of the four American major sports leagues to play together on the same team for 16 consecutive seasons. In 2013, Jeter and Mo extended the record to 19 seasons together.
The reliever leaves behind a legacy that will be unmatched and untarnished. In addition to winning five World Series championships, the Core Four won seven AL pennants and 11 AL East championships for the Yankees. The four also led the team to 15 postseason appearances in their 16 seasons with the Yankees (every season except for 2008). With the rise of free agency and trades, many experts regard that it is highly unlikely that another group of players of comparable size will spend their entire careers with a single team.
We are truly blessed to have gotten to watch one of the all time great Yankees, and THE all time great reliever, play through such a long and illustrious career. It is fitting that Mariano Rivera is the last remaining homage to Jackie Robinson, and that the two had such amazing careers while serving the city of New York. Mo is statistically the greatest relief pitcher in the history of the game but still remains as polite and down to earth as his rookie year. He doesn’t play for himself, he doesn’t pat himself on the back, his ego isn’t inflated and he never takes all the credit. He plays for the men next to him, he plays for the love of baseball and for the fans. With all the records he has broken, many of which won’t be touched, he is still the most humble man you will ever meet. He and Jackie Robinson have a lot in common, and when Mo walks away from the game, he leaves another great legacy attached to the number 42.
So what does Sandman want people to say when they say the name Mariano Rivera? “Well, I would love people to say that I was a player who never thought about myself over my peers, my teammates. Ah, always leading for others. And that’s the way I want it to be left.”
The number might be gone from Major League Baseball, but those two great men and their legacies will always remain. Heroes get remembered, legends never die.
Exit Sandman
