45HOF CLASS OF 2019
“I saw a guy who should have come into Game 5. I had
thrown 147 pitches, and he came in and struck out (Mike
Blowers) on three pitches,” Cone said of the deciding fifth
game of the 1995 AL Division Series game in Seattle that the
Mariners won in 11 innings. Rivera entered in the eighth after
Cone gave up two runs that tied the score and exited in the
ninth, replaced by Jack McDowell.
“We didn’t know what we had right before our eyes,” Cone
said.
Dave Eiland became Rivera’s pitching coach in 2008 with
the Yankees, but he wasn’t a stranger. Eiland was teammates
with Rivera in both the minors and majors.
“I knew a lot about Mariano—there was some history
there,” said Eiland, who is now the Mets’ pitching coach. “I
knew him differently and I mean that in the most compli-
mentary way. There was a trust factor right away because I
had known him for so long and he had already established
the process that would make him the greatest of all time.”
By 2008, Rivera had 443 saves and 11 straight seasons
with 30 or more. Yet, according to Eiland, Rivera’s thirst for
knowledge never dipped.
“He would always ask me, ‘What did you see, was it
good?’ ” Eiland said. “He always wanted information. He was
humble. He never thought he had it all figured out and was
always positive.”
The cutter was Rivera’s bread and butter, and the stats
on the back of his baseball card say more than words. So,
too, does being the first ever to get all Hall of Fame voters to
agree on something.
Eiland believes what separated Rivera was special attri-
butes rarely packaged in the same athlete.
“His attitude, approach and character matched the talent,”
Eiland said. “That is rare. He was always positive, regardless
of the situation. That positivity was genuine.”by GEORGE KINGE
xplaining Mariano Rivera’s legacy one way is impos-
sible.
He holds a record for saves that will likely never
be broken with 652—plus 42 more in the postsea-
son—has five World Series rings, is revered by Yankees
teammates and is the first player unanimously voted into the
Hall of Fame.
Yet, Rivera’s legacy is still breathing.
Retired since the end of the 2013 season, Rivera is the gift
that continues to give to the Yankees.
Every time lefthander CC Sabathia takes the mound in the
final season of a Hall of Fame-caliber career, a huge chunk of
Rivera is in play.
“He gave me the cutter,” Sabathia said of Rivera helping
him transition from a power pitcher to one who relies on
location and the cutter. “Him and Andy (Pettitte).”
Not far from Sabathia’s locker at the far end of the
Yankees’ clubhouse—the same stall Derek Jeter used—is
lefty reliever Zack Britton. He came to the Yankees last July in
a trade, and while he never played with Rivera, that doesn’t
mean Rivera didn’t impact his career.
When Rivera retired, Britton had 48 games in the big
leagues: 46 starts, a 4.77 ERA and zero saves. Yet, as a
young Orioles pitcher working for Buck Showalter, Britton
was advised by the manager to keep an eye on Rivera, who
pitched for Showalter and the Yankees in 1995.
“Showalter told me that was a guy to look at,” Britton said.
“There were a lot of similarities, and I picked his brain when
I got to talk to him about what he thought made him suc-
cessful with one pitch.”
Britton became a dominant closer in 2014 with a bowling
ball sinker in the mid-90s. He spent time with Rivera and
Trevor Hoffman at the 2016 World Series, when he was hon-
ored with the American League Reliever of the Year award
named after—who else?—Mariano Rivera.
Britton marvels at Rivera’s longevity (19 seasons) and
achievement. “I don’t think you are going to see anybody get
close to those save numbers,” Britton said.
Craig Kimbrel, with 333 saves, is the closest challenger.
What David Cone recalls about Rivera, his Yankees team-
mate from 1995 to 2000, is also something concerning
Showalter.
Asked what he witnessed from a young Rivera, Cone didn’tJED JACOBSOHN; FOCUS ON SPORT. ICONS: HALLIDAY BY JOHN LEYBA/THE DENVER POST. MARTINEZ, RIVERA AND MUSSINA BY ALEX TRAUTWIG/MLB PHOTOS. ALL VIA GETTY IMAGEShesitate.
MARIANO RIVERA MADE HISTORY
AS THE FIRST PLAYER
ELECTED UNANIMOUSLY
TO THE HALL OF FAME.
WE REFLECT ON HIS ACHIEVEMENT
AND IMPACT ON THE GAME.
PLUSBEFORE THEY
WERE STARS
Fellow HOF inductees
Roy Halladay,
Edgar Martinez
and Mike Mussina
Pages 46-48CONTINUED ON PAGE 46LEFT: No pitcher
in baseball history
walked off the
mound having
saved a win for his
team more often
than Mariano
Rivera. He owns the
all-time record for
saves in the regular
season (542) and
postseason (42).ABOVE: Rivera
loomed large
for more than
his results. He
impressed the
importance of
accountability,
poise and character
on his teammates—
and sometimes
opponents, too.