Former New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera makes history this weekend as he will enter the baseball HOF as the only inductee unanimously inducted.
New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera (aka “Sandman”) redefined the role of closer in MLB and he enters the baseball HOF this weekend as the only inductee to appear on every single ballot. He was also the last man to wear No. 42, Jackie Robinson‘s number.
Rivera spent 19 seasons in the big leagues, all of which were with the Yankees. His name was synonymous with “game over.” Most teams knew when he came in to close the game, it was more than likely over.
He was named an All-Star 13 times and helped the Yankees to 5 World Series titles during his tenure. He is also MLB’s career leader in saves (652) and games finished (952). The man was a machine, he averaged 39 saves and 58 games finished per season.
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Mariano Rivera holds a career ERA of 2.21 and amassed 1173 strikeouts during his career. This isn’t even the most impressive part of his resume. Rivera was money in the postseason.
He holds a career .70 ERA over 16 years in the postseason with 42 saves and 96 games finished. The dude was lights out in the 9th inning.
Having watched a lot of Rivera’s career I can tell just how impressive it was watching him work. His devastating cutter just destroyed both right-handed and left-handed batters and there was no way you were going to get a hit off it.
I remember in 2001 when my Arizona Diamondbacks and the Yankees played in the World Series and it went to Game 7 in Arizona. Rivera came into the game with the lead in the 8th inning for a two-inning save. I thought that we were toast. There was absolutely no way we could win against Rivera.
That was the type of fear Sandman induced. He wanted teams to fear him and they did. I had abandoned hope when he entered the game. Luckily he went through the lineup no problem in the 8th, but we came out with a win scoring twice in the 9th to win the World Series.
Rivera deserved to enter the baseball HOF unanimously and the BBWAA got it right giving that honor to Rivera. He has set the bar high for future closers and is the golden standard for that position. That bar is likely one that no one else hits.