MOBODY DID IT BETTER

Posted on by

Fond farewell: ‘Mo’body did it better in baseball than Mariano Rivera and his cutter

Thu, Mar 7, 2013 6:15 PM EST

The closest thing to perfection in a sports world where it does not exist is Mariano Rivera’s cut fastball. For the last 17 years, he has thrown that pitch, and only that pitch really, to all 5,053 batters he has faced during the regular and postseasons. Upward of 20,000 cutters. The same pitch every time. And after nearly two decades of trying, hitters still have no idea what to do with it.

Rivera plans on announcing Saturday that he will retire following the 2013 season, and with him not only will he take the most saves in history, a fistful of World Series rings and a spot alongside Ruth, Gehrig, Mantle and Jeter in the New York Yankees’ most exclusive pantheon, he can say, with no exaggeration, that he was better at what he did than anybody in baseball ever was at their job. Mariano Rivera reportedly is calling it a career after the 2013 season. (Reuters)

His cutter was superior to Nolan Ryan’s fastball, Sandy Koufax’s curveball, Steve Carlton’s slider, Roger Clemens’ splitter, Pedro Martinez’s changeup and every other pitch. He refined it more than Babe Ruth did hitting home runs, Rickey Henderson stealing bases, Barry Bonds drawing walks or Pete Rose whacking singles. Even if what Rivera did was of overinflated value – most of his outings comprised all of 11 percent of a game – pitching the ninth inning is a legitimate role in the modern game, and he brought legitimacy and a measure of grace to the three-out save.

Even more important was what Rivera did on rare occasions: remind us that athletes, even the best ones, are not cyborgs. Rivera would lose his arm slot now and again. His velocity fluctuated. He walked guys. Four times he issued bases-loaded walks. And he blew saves – 73, in fact, during the regular season and another five in the playoffs. The picture of perfection was far from perfect.

 

The job wasn’t just about cutters, either, and the pandemic they proved to hitters. The idea that anyone can finish games is a fallacy. Most relief pitchers can, especially if given sufficient opportunity. Not all have the necessary mettle to recover from failure, though, and it takes that – a forgive-but-don’t-forget attitude toward oneself that so many never cultivate to find success.

[Related: Puerto Rico looks to ignite a baseball revival at WBC]

 

Very quickly, Rivera understood that today is neither the same as yesterday nor tomorrow – that each game is its own piece of fine china, placed in his hands with only one edict: don’t break. When he did stumble and saw the pieces around him, Rivera was better than anyone at wielding a broom, sweeping up the shards and dumping them in a place where they never would pose danger.

Just think about 2001. Less than two months after terrorists attacked New York, Rivera blew Game 7 of the World Series. No matter what happens this season, it will remain the most profound disappointment of his career. What did he do in its aftermath? Only save 393 games and post a cumulative 1.93 ERA with better peripheral numbers over the last 11 seasons than he did the previous six.

[Baseball 2013 from Yahoo! Fantasy Sports: Join a league today!]

Mariano Rivera has hoisted the title trophy five times in his illustrious Yankees career. (Getty Images)

The delicate balance of perfection and failure is Rivera’s greatest legacy, one he will try to parlay into one last season of excellence. He still hasn’t thrown a pitch in a game this spring, his right knee just now nearing ready for in-game action after the anterior cruciate ligament inside of it gave on a warning track during batting practice last May. Rivera, now 43, wasn’t going out like that, a crumbled mess in Kansas City. He wanted it his way.

Chances are it won’t be with a sixth ring. Among his comeback and Derek Jeter’s, the rest of the roster’s age, injuries to Mark Teixeira and Curtis Granderson, a lack of pitching depth and a grab-bag of other questions, the Yankees head into 2013 their most vulnerable perhaps since Rivera joined them the season before the first of their recent championships. The farewell tour looks more RV than chartered plane.

And yet city to city, ballpark to ballpark, fans will fete every Rivera appearance as they should: like a peek at a gorgeous sunset before it falls asleep beneath the horizon. There always is a glow to Rivera’s appearances that makes them different from others, his cutter so singularly special one doesn’t just watch it but bear witness.

[Related: Marlins giving away free tickets to opening day]

The countdown will start Saturday with the announcement, continue Tuesday or Wednesday when he is expected to take the mound in a live game for the first time, roll on through the summer and, if the Yankees can pull it together, into October, reach its conclusion with a return to his native Panama and live on forever five years later when voters induct him into the Hall of Fame. He won’t be the first unanimous enshrinee – not when some voters on principle won’t cast his name because he was mostly a one-inning reliever – but he will find himself in the place that more than any personifies what he meant to baseball.

The best of the best. The greatest ever. The closest to perfect. None more than Mo.

Fantasy baseball video from Yahoo! Sports

Other popular content on Yahoo! Sports:
• A healthy Jake Long could make Dolphins’ free agency decisions tougher
• Creator of ‘The Hockey Song’ dies at 77
• Rudy Gay embraces challenge with star-hungry Raptors
• Olympic hero Michael Phelps loses cool on golf course

@yahoosports on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook

Jeff Passan

  • Like
  • Follow
Author

Jeff Passan is an award-winning columnist who has covered baseball since 2004. He graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in journalism. He is the co-author of the book “Death to the BCS: The Definitive Case Against the Bowl Championship Series,” which following five printings of the first edition was re-released in a second, updated edition in October.

Explore Related Content

1 – 4 of 11

  • 204users liked this commentRate a Thumb UpRate a Thumb Down10users disliked this comment

    Dr Steve  •  1 day 3 hours ago Report Abuse

    I think he left out the greatest quality of all – his humility. In an age of cheaters, trash talkers, and money grabbers, here’s a player who stayed with one team, didn’t bad mouth opponents, and played the game quietly. In an age of facebook, he was an elegantly handwritten letter.

    13 Replies

  • 152users liked this commentRate a Thumb UpRate a Thumb Down9users disliked this comment

    A Yahoo! User  •  1 day 3 hours ago Report Abuse

    huge Red Sox fan and I would always cringe whenever he was in against us in the 9th. Simply unbearable knowing how good of a closer he was. Hope he can be a first ballot HOF, he deserves it. Didn’t trash talk, just so dang good.

    15 Replies

  • 22users liked this commentRate a Thumb UpRate a Thumb Down1users disliked this comment

    M.Short  •  8 hours ago Report Abuse

    More importantly, Mariano Rivera is a class act. This is the biggest reason why he will be celebrated throughout the 2013 season. He’s a truly decent human being.

    Reply

  • 59users liked this commentRate a Thumb UpRate a Thumb Down5users disliked this comment

    Eddie  •  1 day 4 hours ago Report Abuse

    He is one of the all time greats I think that is forgotten because he’s a relief pitcher. He also did it during all those crazy home run totals no one could forget from the steroid era. The most classy Yankee this side of Derek Jeter i and I’m a Red Sox fan that hates the Yankees! Hope he has a… More

    6 Replies

  • 14users liked this commentRate a Thumb UpRate a Thumb Down0users disliked this comment

    NPC  •  9 hours ago Report Abuse

    Automatic first ballot HOF pitcher.

    Reply

  • 13users liked this commentRate a Thumb UpRate a Thumb Down0users disliked this comment

    Sean L  •  8 hours ago Report Abuse

    It’s nice to have a closer who doesn’t jump up and down with self-congratulatory glee after every strike thrown.

    Reply

  • 30users liked this commentRate a Thumb UpRate a Thumb Down3users disliked this comment

    Lance  •  1 day 2 hours ago Report Abuse

    As a longtime Seattle fan, I can only say “well done” to this fine player! A consummate pro at all times with some wicked pitches. I truly hope that he has a fine farewell season.

    3 Replies

  • 36users liked this commentRate a Thumb UpRate a Thumb Down7users disliked this comment

    Paul  •  1 day 4 hours ago Report Abuse

    I remember the days when the closers came in and pitched the 7th, 8th and 9th innings.

    26 Replies

  • 3users liked this commentRate a Thumb UpRate a Thumb Down0users disliked this comment

    Trackball  •  2 hours 41 minutes ago Report Abuse

    He will also be the last MLB player to wear number 42.
    The number 42 was retired by every team in honor of Jackie Robinson, but players who were still wearing 42 at the time were allowed to keep them.
    Rivera was one of those players. Now, he’s the last of that bunch that’s still in baseball.

    1 Reply

  • 40users liked this commentRate a Thumb UpRate a Thumb Down6users disliked this comment

    Carl  •  1 day 4 hours ago Report Abuse

    The greatest. I will miss Mo. He is a true NY Yankee.

    3 Replies

Today on Yahoo!

1 – 8 of 48

Leave a comment