Mariano Rivera has been with the New York Yankees for 17 years. He’s been the Yankees All Star closer for the last 15 years. He leads Major League Baseball in saves at 603 and games finished at 883. Rivera is a 12 time All Star player and won the World Series ring five times.
On Monday, Rivera, who is 42, hinted that the upcoming season could be his last. He said that he’s not going to announce what plans he has for his future, though, until this season is over. Rivera, along with Derek Jeter, are the only remaining members of the Yankee’s core team that lead to multiple World Series appearances. Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada, and Andy Pettitte have all retired.
Rivera said that his children are ready for him to spend some time at home. He said that he’s been blessed to have such a great career, but he has other priorities, too, which include his family and his church.
One reporter asked Rivera if this spring training camp was as exciting as his first. Rivera replied, “Believe it.” He said that each year, you have to show up to compete. He’s ready to go for the playoffs and the World Series – at least that’s his goal.
Rivera has surgery last December in order to remove some polyps that had developed on his vocal cords. He said that the surgery helped him to re-evaluate a lot of things. He said he realized how quickly everything could be gone and how easily it could have been cancer. He said that he wasn’t allowed to talk for a week afterwards and that he was going crazy.
Rivera had 44 saves last season in 49 chances. His ERA was 1.91 and he went to his fourth straight All-Start game. He is considered the most dominate relief pitcher in the history of the MLB.
