Closing Time

Entering the game in the 9th inning beginning with a slow walk, and then transitioning into a steady jog to the mound, a legend has done this a remarkable 1052 times. He does not enter to the mellow sounds of the band Semisonic, but to the heavy and hypnotizing sounds of 'Enter Sandman' by Metallica. That legend is of course, Mariano Rivera. 

As a young man growing up in Panama, Rivera had his sights on becoming a mechanic and not following in the footsteps of his father, a fisherman. Also growing up in poverty Rivera and his friends had to use milk cartons as gloves and tree branches as bats, but not once had Rivera expected to throw the last pitch in five World Series victories. Its the stuff kids dream of, but Rivera only thought of baseball as a hobby. 

Being signed as an amateur free agent in 1990 a 21 year old Mariano had a five year road to the show, finding much failure along the way. Finally in 1995 Rivera made his debut, and in 1995 he made his only 10 starts of his career. With 67 innings pitched, Rivera's rookie season was nothing close to successful  with a 5.51 ERA. Fortunately for both Rivera and the Yankees, that would be most of the failure in his career. 

Rivera would pitch 107.2 innings in 1996 with a 2.09 ERA and 130 strikeouts, finishing third in Cy Young Award balloting. In 1997 Rivera took over a closer as John Wetland went to pitch for the Texas Rangers, and Rivera ran away with it. With his new responsibility, the then 27 year old was cool, calm, and collected on the mound, but his devastating and iconic cut fastball was something wicked. 

As we skip ahead to 2012, Rivera had flirted with the idea of retirement for a number of years, but this appeared to be the year. We all expected it would be the last year the legend would pitch, but a devastating injury put him out for the entire year. The man who everyone loves tore his ACL and that ended his season, but then a reassuring quote by Rivera brought all the fans and media back to life. "I will be back." Just five words, but they meant so much to everyone. 

The man is now 43 years old and has tallied up 1230 innings, 618 saves, 1130 strikeouts, 12 all star games, 5 world series and a 2.21 ERA. He is defying time itself, by throwing his cutter at 90 miles per hour consistently with accuracy. One month into the season Rivera has continued his success and doesn't appear to have skipped a beat. He has collected 10 saves in 10 attempts while striking out 11 with a 1.74 ERA. 

Mariano Rivera is my favorite baseball player ever, his autographed baseball is my prized possession and when he enters a game, its almost certain the Yankees will have a win. 'The Sandman' put all the rumors to sleep this year in spring training and confirmed that this will be his last season. Rivera has stated that throwing his last pitch to win the World Series is how he wants his career to end, and that's the way it should end. 

The living legend has successfully closed the door 618 times, and come October, he will be closing the door on his career. 

Sayonara Mo.