RP #42 Mariano Rivera
Born November 29, 1969 in Panama City, Panama
6'2, 195 lbs.
Throws and Bats Righty
Career Statistics (12 years)
| G | GS | CG | SHO | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | W | L | SV | HLD | BLSV | ERA |
| 720 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 881.2 | 691 | 245 | 224 | 45 | 226 | 783 | 59 | 40 | 413 | 29 | 55 | 2.29 |
Awards
1999: World Series Most Valuable Player
1999: American League Rolaids Relief Award
2001: American League Rolaids Relief Award
2003: ALCS Most Valuable Player
My Take
Without a doubt, Rivera has been the single most important Yankee during this current run, which began in 1996. His dominance goes beyond statistics, but my favorite stat of his is that he has converted on 34 saves out of 37 chances in the postseason. That is just incredible, when one considers the pressure and increased competition that is faced in the postseason. However, as a spoiled Yankee fan, I am still a little bitter about Game 7 of 2001 and Game 4 (and 5??) of 2004, even though 2004 was really Torre's fault. Perhaps the most impressive qualities about Rivera are his consistency and longevity. Of all the closers in baseball over the past 15 years, there are really only 2 groups: Rivera, and everybody else. All the other guys have their runs of dominance for 1 or 2 years, and then either they fall into mediocrity or you never see them again. Rivera, on the other hand, has sustained a high level of performance for over a decade.