I didn’t really change my game plan against Mariano or against anybody. My game is hitting the ball up the middle, and taking the outside pitch to the opposite field. It makes me feel good [to learn] I was 3 for 6 against him, but striking out twice in six plate appearances is extremely high for me because I was a contact hitter. The RBI was probably a broken bat blooper in a game that didn’t mean anything and he was just getting in some extra work because he hadn’t thrown for a few days. [Laughs.] Obviously the guy is the best of all time and he’s going to be a first ballot Hall of Famer. He’s the ultimate professional. It makes me feel pretty good that I got to play against somebody of that caliber.
Bill Selby
Infield
Playing Career
Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, and Cincinnati Reds from 1996 to 2003
Career Statistics
198 games, 96 hits, 11 home runs, 48 runs batted in, .223 batting average, .279 on-base percentage, .360 slugging percentage
Bill Selby facing Mariano Rivera (regular season)
1-for-2, 1 extra-base hit, 1 home run, 4 runs batted in, .500 batting average, .500 on-base percentage, 2.000 slugging percentage
Mo Cred
Selby hit a walk-off grand slam home run off Rivera to beat the Yankees on July 14, 2002; it was the first walk-off Rivera allowed in his career.
Bill Selby
Year Date Result
2002 7/12 Ground out
7/14 Home run (4 RBI)
YOU DON’T HAVE to ask me what was the highlight of my career! Whenever somebody hits a walk-off home run off Mariano, I’ll get so many texts my phone blows up. Friends say, “I saw your name on Sports Center on some list about Mariano Rivera.”
It was such a surreal moment, and it’s lasted a long time. I still get to re-live it because a lot of people ask me about it. At the time when it happened, I’m thinking, wow I just hit a home run that won the game. But now that the dust had cleared, and it turns out that was the first walk-off home run Mariano ever gave up, I’m forever linked with the greatest closer of all time. Some people might have an ego and want to talk about it all the time, but I just have to laugh, because he’s still playing and I’ve been a coach [at Northwest Mississippi Community College] for the past eight years.
My mind started working while I was walking to the plate. I faced Mariano for the first time two nights before. The first at-bat was nothing dramatic like the next one. I pinch-hit with the game on the line and grounded out to first base. You don’t need an advance scouting report for Mariano. It’s not a secret. If you’re a left-handed batter like me, he’s going to pound you inside and break your bat. Facing him two nights before helped me. I got to see how his ball moves in a game situation. His cutter is a little different than a lot of cutters I’ve faced; it had a riding effect to it, it appeared to rise. It was like a 95 miles per hour slider that went up—it’s hard to explain. After the first at-bat, I spoke to our hitting coach, Eddie Murray, about the approach to have, and he suggested I choke up and get off the plate a little bit, to try to get inside of the ball, and that’s what I tried to do. So I was seeing the same guy I saw two nights before, but the approach I tried worked better.*
I got the count to two balls and no strikes right out of the gate. I was thinking the bases are loaded, a walk ties the game, and so I’m going to take a pitch, which is a strike. When the count got to two and two, I didn’t want to take a big swing and get jammed. I hit a line drive down the right-field line, but it went foul by a foot or two. I remember walking back to the batter’s box, thinking I just squared up that cutter, a lot of people in that situation would have been upset because that was their chance. I told myself to slow down, slow down. It’s still two and two—it’s an even count—so get your mind right back to thinking about what you need to do. He started his motion and I was thinking: “Get your hands inside the ball and let him do the work.”
Then baseball happened. That’s a saying I like to use—baseball happened—because you can never figure out this game. The wind was blowing in that day. I hit it pretty good, but I hit it really high. I put my head down and started running. I thought, “God if you want it to be a home run, please let it be a home run”; and [the ball] kept carrying and carrying. I was running around second base and [Derek] Jeter was walking off the field. I remember him looking back at me with a little grin, and I kept running around the bases until I got mobbed by my teammates at home plate.**
That was the only walk-off hit I ever had in the major leagues, and the only grand slam I hit in the majors. I still have the ball. After the game, the fan that caught it brought the ball down to the tunnel and gave me the ball. He didn’t want a thing in return. If I ever had a chance to have Mariano sign that baseball, it would be great. It’s on my desk in my office. I also have a picture from the New York Times that was framed and sent to me; it’s a picture of me running around third base and you can see the fans in the background and I have my fist in the air. It’s a special moment preserved forever.
I live in a small town. Around here, I’m known as the—quote, unquote—ballplayer. But I’ve always been a fan of the game, even when I was playing. I was star struck and I never lost that feeling while I was playing. I don’t know if you call it star struck or respect, but when you walk to the plate to face Pedro Martinez or Curt Schilling or Mariano Rivera, the superstars of the game, I remember thinking: “This is an opportunity of a lifetime, this is something you’ll talk to your kids about.”
You’re supposed to be focused on the task at hand, but I knew these at-bats were being etched in my memory. I had a short, sporadic, journeyman career, so these at-bats were special regardless if they’re spring training or regular season.
I watched the All-Star Game [at Citi Field in New York on July 16, 2013] on television, and it was a really, really touching moment to see the way baseball presented Mariano an opportunity to say thank you. It was really neat to see. I’m just like any other fan watching baseball, even though I was fortunate to get a chance to play. The respect he’s garnered and earned from peers in the baseball world, you got chills watching what they did for him.
Ed Sprague
Third base
Playing Career
Toronto Blue Jays, Oakland Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox, and Seattle Mariners from 1991 to 2001
Career Statistics
1,203 games, 1,101 hits, 152 home runs, 558 runs batted in, .247 batting average, .318 on-base percentage, .419 slugging percentage
Ed Sprague facing Mariano Rivera (regular season)
1-for-9, 1 extra-base hit, 1 home run, 1 run batted in, 2 strikeouts, .111 batting average, .111 on-base percentage, .444 slugging percentage
Mo Cred
Sprague hit a home run off Rivera on July 18, 1998.
Ed Sprague
Year Date Result
1995 10/1 Fly out
1996 6/4 Pop out
6/10 Line out
9/6 Strikeout (Looking)
1997 5/28 Line out
7/3 Strikeout (Swinging)
1998 4/27 Pop out
7/18 Home run (1 RBI)
9/2 Pop out
IT’S CERTAINLY SOMETHING to say; I hit a home run off Mariano Rivera, the all-time saves leader. I’m proud I got him on that one occasion. I don’t have to say it [happened] in a meaningless game, with a 10-2 score, in a non-save situation. I don’t have to mention that, and I don’t have to talk about the other eight at-bats either!
I cheated [when I hit] the home run. I took a chance that he was going to pound me inside, so I cheated to the inside fastball, and I was fortunate to be able to keep it fair. The Yankees consistently pounded me inside with fastballs. Their scouting report was not to let me extend my arms. So I’m looking inside and banking on getting a pitch on the inside corner of the plate. I stepped in the bucket and hit [the ball] off the left-field foul pole.
I took a chance by stepping in the bucket, but there was
not much for me to lose in that situation. It was a non-save situation, and it was a three-and-one count in a 10-2 game. He’s coming into the game just to get some work.* Many closers typically aren’t at their sharpest mentally in a non-save situation. I remember he got a chuckle out of it. I wasn’t having a very good year in ’98. He was probably thinking to himself: “I can’t believe I gave up a home run to this guy.”
I was fortunate to hit it off the foul pole. When you cheat and step in the bucket it’s hard to keep the ball fair. I was probably six inches from hooking it foul. Had he thrown me a cutter I probably would have missed it by four feet!
It was never fun facing Mariano Rivera. It usually means game over. It’s rare to know what pitch is coming and not be able to square it up. But no matter how many times you faced him, because of his smooth delivery, the ball seemed to get on you a lot faster. He doesn’t have overpowering velocity like some other closers; he has tremendous location. Your only hope is to get a mistake pitch that’s in the middle of the plate. Still, the ball might miss your barrel. That’s Mariano’s greatest gift—he misses barrels. When you get non-barrel contact, there’s not going to be a lot of strong hits against you.
Not a lot of hitters have had success against him. I was happy to hit the home run. That [season] was his second year as the closer, so the real appreciation for what he [would accomplish] didn’t
come until he was able to do it over and over again for a number of years.
Jason Smith
Second base and Shortstop
Playing Career
Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Rays, Detroit Tigers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, Kansas City Royals, Toronto Blue Jays, and Houston Astros from 2001 to 2009
Career Statistics
278 games, 122 hits, 17 home runs, 60 runs batted in, .212 batting average, .248 on-base percentage, .361 slugging percentage
Jason Smith facing Mariano Rivera (regular season)
3-for-5, 0 extra-base hits, 1 strikeout, .600 batting average, .600 on-base percentage, .600 slugging percentage
Mo Cred
Smith, a career .212 hitter, batted .600 against Rivera.
Jason Smith
Year Date Result
2005 5/26 Single
2007 7/25 Single
8/3 Strikeout (Looking)
8/5 Fly out
9/9 Single
I’M NOT WALKING around telling people I’m three-for-five off Mariano Rivera. When I’m joking around with my friends, that’s when I’ll brag about it. When my buddies come over to watch the game, we’ll be sitting on the couch, and if we happen to be watching the Yankees, and Mariano comes in [the game], that’s when I might say: “I want you all to know I’m three-for-five off Mariano Rivera!”
I don’t think I owned him. He probably does not remember me, and he probably does not have a book on me. Those hits are all broken bat singles. I was very lucky. I’m sure you’ve seen my career stats. They’re not going to vote me into the Hall of Fame anytime soon! Facing Rivera is not a whole lot of fun, especially being a left-handed batter. You know what the outcome [of your at-bat] is going to be. It doesn’t make sense because the match-ups say you want left-handed batters against a right-handed pitcher, but not with Mariano.
I only remember one at-bat: when I was with Kansas City in 2007. It was the bottom of the ninth inning at Kauffman Stadium, and we were getting beat. Everybody in the entire world knows Mariano’s going to throw that devastating cutter, so I’m waiting for it. I had nothing to lose. I’m going to do whatever I can to get the good part of the bat [into the hitting zone], so I was stepping in the bucket and trying to get my hands out front so the barrel would hit the baseball. I still got jammed. That’s how good his cutter is. I fisted the ball just over the infielder’s head. It’s a hit, but I can honestly tell you, I never squared him up. I remember not getting the barrel on it. I also remember getting stranded on base.*
Mark Teixeira
First base
Playing Career
Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and New York Yankees since 2003
Career Statistics
1,512 games, 1,588 hits, 341 home runs, 1,113 runs batted in, .278 batting average, .368 on-base percentage, .525 slugging percentage
Mark Teixeira facing Mariano Rivera (regular season)
1-for-9, 0 extra-base hits, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, .111 batting average, .200 on-base percentage, .111 slugging percentage
Mo Cred
Teixeira played with Rivera on the Yankees’ 2009 World Series championship team. His lone hit against Rivera was a single on August 11, 2005.
Mark Teixeira
Year Date Result
2004 6/6 Ground out
8/11 Ground out
2005 7/18 Strikeout (Looking)
7/20 Strikeout (Looking)
8/11 Single
8/13 Ground out
8/13 Foul out
2006 5/5 Line out
5/7 Ground out
2008 8/1 Walk
IT WAS PROBABLY a weak broken bat hit somewhere because I faced him when he was throwing 95 miles an hour and at the top of his game. Even though he’s low 90s now, he’s still at the top of his game.*
He’s the greatest closer of all time, maybe one of the greatest pitchers of all time. When you talk about the greatest pitchers of all time, people don’t think about relievers. But I think we need to put Mo in that conversation of one of the greatest pitchers of all time. Because of what he’s done in the postseason and how he closes the door in so many tight games, you can make an argument he’s the best of all time. So he’s on your side late in the game, you feel good about it.
When Mo makes his pitches, you can’t hit them. I remember thinking: “Honestly, how am I supposed to hit that?”
I mean, as a left-handed hitter, you almost have to try to look for an outside pitch and pull it, because if it’s middle in, it’s going to break your bat. People said don’t bring up your good bat because chances are you’re going to break it. Facing Mo definitely wasn’t fun. The cutter is such a good pitch when he puts it in the right location. That’s why he’s been so great for so long.
If you haven’t heard about Mariano Rivera, you’d dug a hole somewhere and hid in it. He was everything and more, and he could do it all. I’m really happy to be a teammate of his so I don’t have to face him anymore.
Mo Respect
Jim Thome
The former Cleveland Indians slugger with 612 career home runs had more walks, 8, against Rivera than any other player. Thome was 3-for-15 with one home run and four strikeouts facing Rivera.
Jim Thome
Year Date Result
1995 8/10 Double play
8/10 Walk
8/10 Walk
1996 6/16 Strikeout (Swinging)
6/21 Strikeout (Swinging)
6/21 Ground out
1997 6/27 Home run (1 RBI)
6/29 Walk
7/14 Strikeout (Swinging)
Postseason 9/30 Line out
1998 (Postseason) 10/7 Line out
10/10 Ground out
10/11 Foul out
2000 5/1 Double
5/2 Ground out
5/3 Walk
2001 6/2 Strikeout (Looking)
2002 7/3 Fly out
7/14 Intentional walk
2006 7/14 Single
7/16 Walk
8/9 Fielder’s choice
2007 6/7 Fielder’s choice
2008 9/15 Ground out
2010 5/16 Walk (1 RBI)
5/25 Walk
Postseason 10/6 Pop out
10/7 Fly out
10/9 Strikeout (Looking)
2011 4/4 Pop out
If you have to pick the one guy with devastating stuff, it’s him, because of that pitch. He throws enough strikes so that you have to be aggressive. It comes out of his hand and looks like a regular fastball, over the plate, and boom, it’s on your knuckles. It moves in on you so late th
at it’s hard to make an adjustment on him, and this game is all about making adjustments.
It’s obvious that they’ve won the world championships they have because of him.
Robin Ventura
Third base
Playing Career
Chicago White Sox, New York Mets, New York Yankees, and Los Angeles Dodgers from 1989 to 2004
Career Statistics
2,079 games, 1,885 hits, 294 home runs, 1,182 runs batted in, .267 batting average, .362 on-base percentage, .444 slugging percentage
Robin Ventura facing Mariano Rivera (regular season)
4-for-13, 1 extra-base hit, 3 runs batted in, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts, .308 batting average, .400 on-base percentage, .385 slugging percentage
Mo Cred
Ventura was Rivera’s teammate with the Yankees in 2002 and 2003. He currently is the manager of the White Sox.
I REMEMBER OUR SCOUTING report said he had a really good changeup. He never showed it that day. I remember we couldn’t touch him. Tim Raines [the leadoff hitter] shattered his bat, and he pretty much told me, “There’s no changeup.” He had a very painful look on his face.*
Mariano’s had a great career, he’s been a great teammate, and I think he’s a good example for a lot of people to follow because he does a lot of good stuff. He’s a better person than he is a player.
Robin Ventura
Year Date Result
1995 7/4 Fly out
7/4 Strikeout (Swinging)
7/4 Line out
1996 5/3 Walk
5/5 Double play
5/12 Pop out
8/7 Line out
8/12 Single
8/14 Single
1998 5/26 Walk
6/1 Double (2 RBI)
Facing Mariano Rivera Page 6