New York, NY (WFAN) -- Who's better than Mariano Rivera?
I've written before in this space that you can make the case he is the most important Yankee since Babe Ruth. Think about it.
The Yankees don't win four World Series titles in five years if Mariano Rivera is not their closer. If the Yankees don't win four World Series titles in five years they don't draw 3-4 million fans every year for the last decade. If the Yankees don't win four World Series titles in five years and draw 3-4 million fans every year for the last decade they don't erect that shiny new building that in the Bronx.
Almost ninety years ago the Yankees imported Babe Ruth from Boston and the fortunes of the franchise changed forever. They built a spectacular new stadium that came to be known as the House That Ruth Built. Mariano Rivera's arrival was less heralded, but has his status as the greatest closer in history been any less important to this franchise?
The game has changed over the years, so much so that the lockdown closer is as important as the big slugger. Ruth used to make opposing teams quake when he came to bat. How do you think teams feel when they see Rivera come into a game?
Here's another important aspect to Rivera's greatness. By nature of the position he occupies, every one of the 500 saves he's racked up obviously resulted in Yankee victories. The math is a little fuzzy from the Ruth era, but I'm quite certain he hit plenty of home runs in games the Yankees lost.
And when he does lose, which actually happens a handful of times every year, Mariano Rivera doesn't pout. He doesn't kick and scream. He doesn't throw chairs or turn over tables. He doesn't make excuses and he never says anything that is considered the least bit controversial or inflammatory. He doesn't put down the opponent and he never blames anybody but himself.
And the only time you'll ever see any emotion greater than a gentle fist pump is when he closes out a World Series championship. Through 500 regular season saves and counting you wouldn't know number 1 from number 312 from number 500. There are players whose actions on the field ruffle feathers and then there is Mariano Rivera who does nothing but command respect everywhere he goes.
When you want to show your kids what a great baseball player looks like and how he comports himself win or lose, you can't go wrong with #42 on the Yankees. It was once said of Sandy Koufax that he belongs in a higher league. You could say the same of Mariano Rivera.
Visit our Yankees audio page to listen to Mariano Rivera's postgame comments following save #500 on June 28 against the Mets.
I don't care if Hoffman winds up with more saves - Mariano is the greatest of all time. Period.
06/29/2009 10:13AM
overrated
this argument may have been relevant before game 7 of the 2001 world series, yankee fans have to admit hes cost them two world series titles and being 4-2 as a closer is not that impressive. sorry, still the best of all time, still overrated
06/29/2009 2:33PM
Sweeney- your right!
Excellent, well stated case, sweeney. Mo's greatness lies in his effortless saves, which ISN'T the norm.I just finished Tom Verducci's book (which kind of makes the same point). When will Brian Cashman realize that there is more to baseball than stats. Baseball has a heart. On the Yankees its name is "Rivera".
06/30/2009 1:05PM
cool
"still the best of all time, still overrated" um that makes no sense...also, saying Mo is the most vital Yankee since Ruth IS the dumbest thing I have ever heard.
Go back to 1997, the year after the Yankees won their first World Series under Joe Torre, and two of the most talked about players were a couple of kids who were less than two years removed from their big league debuts in Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera.
Welcome to February. It may not feel like it outside, but spring is right around the corner. Pitchers and catchers are just two weeks away, and if that’s enough to warm you up right about now then try another pair of socks and some hot tea.
I can’t imagine I’ll ever have the privilege of covering a player like Hideki Matsui again. The word “unique” is thrown around too much, but this was indeed a unique experience, right from Day One.
The Perks of This Job!!!!! The day started at 5AM. I had 3 alarm clocks and a coffee pot set, so I wouldn't oversleep. The call was for 7:30 at the Stadium to start getting on the 20 buses...
On December 26th, 1919, Harry Frazee sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees to finance the musical No, No, Nanette. Since that day, every time the Yankees win the World Series, it's because they have more money than anyone else...
The Yankees traveling party left the Stadium this morning on 3 buses to go to Penn. Station, for the Amtrak Trek to Philadelphia. As the buses turned down 31st Street, we saw the crowds...
Back in 1986, a friend of mine, a 20 year season ticket holder at Yankee Stadium, said to me: "Who do I root for in this thing...it's THEM against THEM!" I guess Mets fans think the same thing right now?
I’ve heard a bunch of different reactions to Mark McGwire’s “revelation” (seriously, if you were surprised by what he admitted, you need to stop taking your stupid pills). Some people were angry, others were disappointed, some were sick of steroids becoming a story again and other people actually felt sorry for the man since he kept crying.
Someone is going to have to explain this one to me. Why wouldn’t the same reasons the Yankees had for not signing Hideki Matsui also apply to Nick Johnson?
The Yankees should just close up shop, and pack it in until 2010. The only thing left to do is leave a contract offer on the table to Johnny Damon to think about over Christmas. Santa Steinbrenner should be fairly generous with a two year contract in the neighborhood of 20 million dollars. If another team finds him worthy of a three year deal, the Yankees should be content to watch him walk and
I hate to be the Grinch that stole Christmas for all you Yankees fans out there, but this is going to be a quiet offseason. There isn't going to be a CC Sabathia. There isn't going to be a Mark Teixeira. There isn't even going to be an A.J. Burnett.
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