He didn’t have a fear. That’s what makes him so great. He never pitched around a hitter. He never gave you the impression that he didn’t have his best stuff. As a hitter you can look at a pitcher’s eyes and tell that he doesn’t have “it” per se, or on certain days you can tell from the first hitter that the pitcher doesn’t have a feel for his best pitch. Most guys have two pitches, and if one isn’t working, you can eliminate it. But Mariano consistently threw one pitch. It was well known for my seventeen years that he threw one pitch—you had to hit the cutter. There’s not anyone else in the game you could say that about.
He approached everyone very similar, in that he was going to attack you and throw his cutter. He was throwing 93 or 94 miles per hour on a plane with cut and it was difficult to square up. That’s why you never saw him make a drastic change. He never had to reinvent the wheel. Later in his career he did start throwing a back-door cutter to left-handed hitters and he threw to both sides of the plate a little more than early in his career.
If I was a switch-hitter I would have hit right-handed against him instead of left-handed. In my opinion, he would be easier to hit right-handed than left. He was so dominant coming inside to a left-handed hitter. If I was to ever manage, I would not pinch-hit a left-handed hitter against Mariano.
When the game is on the line, he never faltered. He had the ability to dominate at the highest level consistently throughout his career. The title he’s been given is one well deserved. He was a master at his craft.
Paul O’Neill
Outfield
Playing Career
Cincinnati Reds and New York Yankees from 1985 to 2001
Career Statistics
2,053 games, 2,105 hits, 281 home runs, 1,269 runs batted in, .288 batting average, .363 on-base percentage, .470 slugging percentage
Mo Cred
O’Neill teamed with Rivera to win four World Series championships with the Yankees in 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2000.
HE CAME UP as a starter [in 1995] and he threw the ball pretty well. All of a sudden he made the transition into setting up for John Wetteland. As a player out on the field, you were actually more comfortable when Mariano was in there [pitching] than you were Wetteland, because Wetteland would work out of a mess, whereas you’d have an easy seventh and eighth inning with Mariano. It’s hard to say you expect to see someone become the greatest at his craft, but you saw it coming, you saw he was special.
I do agree he was [the most valuable player of our successful Yankees teams]. If you look at how [manager] Joe Torre used him in the midst of those World Series championship years, bringing him in for the eighth and ninth innings, that shows how important it is to have a good closer in big games, because so many of those games end up close. He’s won so many games for us, so I don’t think [calling him our most valuable player] is slighting anybody else.
I took a couple of swings off him in spring training once and it was a horror story for me as a left-handed batter. I took a couple of swings, got jammed, and walked out of the [batting] cage. I was at the point in my career when I didn’t need to frustrate myself in early March. He threw the cutter inside to all left-handers. He fooled around with back-door pitches and then he learned a two-seam fastball when he needed something to get Edgar Martinez out. Basically, he threw one pitch his whole career and that pitch
has been thrown by other people but never mastered the way Mariano has.
Humble is a good word [to describe him] and it’s a great tribute to him. He really has not changed in all the years I’ve known him. He’s a very good teammate, he loves to win, and he’s very determined. A lot of times people misrepresent what intensity is. He’s one of the most intense competitors you’ll ever see, but he didn’t show up people. He [competed] in such a mild-mannered way that he made it look easy, and believe me, those last five or six outs in a World Series game are anything but easy.
Jay Payton
Outfield
Playing Career
New York Mets, Colorado Rockies, San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox, Oakland Athletics, and Baltimore Orioles from 1998 to 2010
Career Statistics
1,259 games, 1,157 hits, 119 home runs, 522 runs batted in, .279 batting average, .323 on-base percentage, .425 slugging percentage
Jay Payton facing Mariano Rivera (regular season)
2-for-12, 1 extra-base hit, 3 runs batted in, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, .167 batting average, .231 on-base percentage, .333 slugging percentage
Mo Cred
Payton is the only player to hit a World Series home run off Rivera. The blast occurred in the ninth inning of Game Two of the 2000 Series.
Jay Payton
Year Date Result
2000 7/7 Fly out
7/8 Strikeout (Swinging)
7/8 Reached on error
Postseason 10/21 Fly out
10/22 Home run (3 RBI)
10/25 Fly out
2001 7/7 Ground out
2006 6/9 Double play
2007 6/28 Fielder’s choice
9/28 Triple (3 RBI)
2008 4/20 Single
5/27 Walk
7/29 Line out
8/22 Ground out
8/24 Strikeout (Looking)
9/21 Ground out
WE WERE DOWN 6-2 when I hit a three-run home run off Rivera to put us within one run. It’s the most memorable highlight of my career. It would’ve been better had I hit a five-run home run to give us the lead and we go on to win the game. Kurt Abbott came up after me and Mariano struck him out [looking] to finish the game. That could have been a big win for us. Losing Game One was tough, when Timo Perez didn’t run [hard and was thrown out at home plate] on Todd Zeile’s [double]. To me, that made a huge difference in the series. Had we been able to win that game, and even come back to [win] Game Two we might have been able to turn things around.*
That World Series game [when I hit the homer] was the game of the Roger Clemens-Mike Piazza [incident]. The whole New York vs. New York atmosphere gave [the series] all the fuel and fire that it needed, but the history between those guys added to it. The atmosphere [in the ballpark] was unbelievable. It seemed like every celebrity from New York came to those [World Series] games. Everybody who was anybody was there, from P. Diddy [Sean Combs] to J.Lo [Jennifer Lopez]. They came to watch us play, but we were sitting in the dugout looking into the stands and pointing out all the celebrities. Later on, I told Mike that I wished he’d [have] thrown some punches at Clemens. [The Mets] might’ve been better off with a rumble and Mike getting tossed out of the game along with Clemens, who went on to be dominating [that night]. I would’ve taken our chances losing Mike, if Clemens got tossed, too; [so] we could’ve gotten into their bullpen.**
I was a rookie in 2000. I had played a little in 1998 and ’99, but 2000 was my first full season in the big leagues, so I was classified as a rookie. I was a highball hitter; I liked pitches up and away and that’s the way [Rivera] pitched me. He didn’t know me, there wasn’t a scouting report on me yet, so when he threw me a cutter up and away, right where I liked it, he played right into my hands. I let the ball get deep and I hit it just right. I didn’t think it was gone right away off the bat. I didn’t hit a ton of home runs in my career to know that feeling! But I was able to get enough of the good part of the bat on the ball to have it go over the wall in right field. The short porch at Yankee Stadium definitely helped me out.
Being in that situation is something you think about your whole life. As a kid you play pick-up games in your backyard against your buddies, and you imagine it’s the ninth inning of the World Series and the game is on the line. You dream about that [situation] but you don’t think it will ever really happen. It was a surreal moment. I got to live out a real-life dream. The home run is something you don’t think about at the time, but now that I’m a bit older and get a chance to reflect [on my career], I never had a moment quite as big as that one. Had we won the game it would have been a much bigger moment.
It’s
an honor to get an opportunity to play in the World Series, and to hit a home run in the World Series is not something everyone gets to say they did. It’s a special moment, and on top of that, to hit a home run in the World Series off Mariano Rivera, who has a gazillion saves, and is quite possibly the best closer to ever put on a uniform in the history of baseball, well, that is special. I know I’m on a short list of players who have hit a postseason home run off Mariano. There are only two people on that list—Alomar and me.*
I dealt with so many injuries and went through so much emotionally just to get to the big leagues—two Tommy John [elbow] surgeries, two shoulder surgeries—that I wouldn’t let the pressure of the moment phase me. I didn’t think about where I was, or worry about being overwhelmed by playing in the World Series. I had confidence in myself. No, I have not seen a replay of the homer yet. My mom has everything on video. She’s transferring everything from VCR to DVD, and one day, I’ll watch the old films. That’s one game, even though it’s a special moment, I haven’t looked back and revisited yet. When I do watch it, I’m sure something in my mind will click and I’ll realize what I did was special.
I know I didn’t have great numbers against Rivera. There are two hits that I remember, so at least I have two positive at-bats on my side! The only other big hit I got off him was when I was with Baltimore. He came in to close out a game, and I hit a bases-clearing triple to tie the score. We went on to win that game, and that helped Boston clinch the pennant that year.*
Alex Rios
Right field
Playing Career
Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago White Sox, and Texas Rangers since 2004
Career Statistics
1,455 games, 1,542 hits, 161 home runs, 708 runs batted in, .278 batting average, .324 on-base percentage, .443 slugging percentage
Alex Rios facing Mariano Rivera (regular season)
0-for-16, 4 strikeouts
Mo Cred
Rios has the most at-bats without a hit against Rivera among all active players.
Alex Rios
Year Date Result
2004 7/26 Ground out
8/28 Ground out
9/21 Fielder’s choice
2005 4/21 Ground out
8/5 Fly out
2006 4/30 Ground out
9/30 Fly out
2007 7/18 Strikeout (Swinging)
8/6 Strikeout (Swinging)
2008 8/29 Strikeout (Swinging)
2009 7/3 Strikeout (Swinging)
8/4 Ground out
8/28 Pop out
2011 4/27 Fly out
8/1 Ground out
2013 8/7 Foul out
YES, IT WOULD be nice [to get a hit off Rivera.] It would be very nice. If I get it—and I will get it—I’m going to ask to keep the ball! Unfortunately, I haven’t gotten a hit yet. But just facing him is something you should be happy for. I’m glad that I faced him, just so I could say I faced one of the best pitchers ever. He’s the greatest. What he’s accomplished in this game is unbelievable. I’ve never had a conversation with him, but I’d like to get to know him better. From what I’ve heard he’s a great man, and a very humble guy. I really admire him for being humble. A lot of people appreciate how he goes about his business. He could be a flashy guy, but he’s not. He goes about his business the right way. He does his job, and people appreciate that.
Dave Roberts
Outfield
Playing Career
Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants from 1999 to 2008
Career Statistics
832 games, 721 hits, 23 home runs, 213 runs batted in, .266 batting average, .343 on-base percentage, .366 slugging percentage
Dave Roberts facing Mariano Rivera (regular season)
0-for-1
Mo Cred
The Yankees led 4-3 in Game Four of the 2004 American League Championship Series, and were three outs away from sweeping the Red Sox in the bottom of the ninth inning in Fenway Park when Kevin Millar drew a leadoff walk against Rivera, who had worked a scoreless eighth. Boston manager Terry Francona sent Dave Roberts into the game as a pinch runner. Roberts promptly stole second base, and scored the game-tying run on Bill Mueller’s single. The Sox won 6-4 in 12 innings, and won the next three games en route to becoming the first major league team to rally from a 3-0 deficit to win a seven-game series. Then they won the franchise’s first World Series in 86 years.
Dave Roberts
Year Date Result
2007 6/22 Fly out
YOU JUST KNEW the game was over [when Rivera entered]. That was the one guy in a Yankee uniform you didn’t want to see. Because if you saw him, you knew the game was over. What he means to the Yankees and major league baseball—he’s a guy who, to a man, commands the most amount of respect. He’s done it right. So for me to have the opportunity to compete against him, it’s something that I cherish.
First and foremost, it’s a credit to Mariano being so dominant that we had to go outside the box and couldn’t play it straight as far as a sacrifice bunt to try to get two hits with one out. We had to go outside the box and maybe get one hit.
As far as scouting him and looking at tendencies, I just had had a sequence against him in Yankee Stadium in September where Jorge Posada went out to the mound and had a meeting with Mariano, and I felt he told him to hold the ball against me and then go to the plate. And so I felt, if I ever got a chance to be in the same situation, his defense against me would be to hold the ball and then quicken up. So, basically, when I got out there, I tried to calm my nerves as much as possible and wait him out. And so, as he came set, I just knew that after the three throw-overs, just wait him out. And he held and he held, and it felt like an eternity. I stayed relaxed and got a great jump.
A few years later, we did a commercial together for a Macy’s [department store] in Miami. It was me, him, Brandon Phillips, and Dan Uggla. It was a Father’s Day ad. I was with the Giants then. He’s just a pro. He said, “Hey, it’s great seeing you, and congratulations again.” That’s him.
Tim Salmon
Right field
Playing Career
California/Anaheim Angels from 1992 to 2006
Career Statistics
1,672 games, 1,674 hits, 299 home runs, 1,016 runs batted in, .282 batting average, .385 on-base percentage, .498 slugging percentage
Tim Salmon facing Mariano Rivera (regular season)
2-for-14, 1 extra-base hit, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts, .143 batting average, .200 on-base percentage, .214 slugging percentage
Mo Cred
Salmon was the first player ever to get a hit off Rivera.
I KNOW I GOT the first hit against Mariano Rivera. At the time, I really didn’t think much of it. He was just another young starting pitcher. I faced more intimidating pitchers with power who throw hard and you don’t see the ball well. But it was comfortable to hit off him, because he wasn’t doing anything special. I singled and doubled, and my walk knocked him out of the game. Then the next time I saw him, he was coming out of the bullpen and he was a completely different pitcher. Everyone said, “Remember him as a starter?”
Tim Salmon
Year Date Result
1995 5/23 Single
5/23 Double
5/23 Walk
1996 5/18 Fly out
1997 4/8 Strikeout (Swinging)
4/15 Strikeout (Looking)
8/21 Strikeout (Swinging)
1998 7/30 Fly out
8/26 Ground out
2000 4/3 Fly out
4/4 Fly out
8/18 Strikeout (Looking)
2001 8/4 Strikeout (Swinging)
8/26 Fly out
2002 (Postseason) 10/1 Fly out
2006 4/9 Pop out
And I said, “No, I don’t.”
He seemed like two different guys. That was baffling.*
Facing him as a starter wasn’t nearly as intimidating as facing him as a reliever. As a reliever he was ridic
ulously filthy. To his advantage, you might face him once or twice a season, so you don’t get a good read on his ball. His fastball was lively. The ball jumped out of his hand, sinking and darting. It got on you so quick, and with a cutting action. I swung at the ball anticipating making contact and I would consistently swing and miss. It always surprised me. It was frustrating, like I had a hole in my bat. He was very deceptive, like a magician. To his credit, he transformed into something completely different. I hit him as a caterpillar, but as a butterfly he was untouchable. I never even squared up another ball against him. Any good swing was a foul tip or maybe off the end of the bat. I thought I was a good hitter, against everybody else.*
When your team has the lead in the ninth inning and then loses it, the repercussions stay with you for a few games. You don’t feel secure. When you have a closer like Mariano Rivera, it’s no secret; it’s an eight-inning game. You had to get to the pitchers before him. When he comes in, you can light the cigar and call it a day. Without a doubt, he’s the biggest reason [the Yankees] were the great team they were. They knew Mariano could close the door every night.
A lot of closers grunt and snort and spit, they scowl at you, and throw the ball under your chin, trying to intimidate you, which makes you want to bear down and beat them all the more. Mariano was never like that on the mound. He was pleasant; his demeanor was disarming, it was like facing an old friend. I think that works to his advantage. Hitters don’t have that extra motivation you might have against guys you despise who are flaunting their stuff and pointing to the sky and talking trash. Mariano was never about that; he’s the complete opposite. He’s very well respected because he goes out there and he beats you, and then he shakes hands and walks off the field.
Mike Simms
Right field
Playing Career
Houston Astros and Texas Rangers from 1990 to 1999
Facing Mariano Rivera Page 12