I had my approach going into that at-bat. It was to look for a cutter inside and convince myself to swing at it. I got to a 1-0 count and he threw the pitch I was looking for and I hit it. While the ball was in the air and I was approaching first base it was just a matter of whether it was going to get caught or go out. It landed over the fence and I remember just getting goose bumps, thinking: “I just hit a walk-off home run off the greatest closer of all time!”
Obviously it’s a short list of guys who have been able to do that.**
I always held him in the highest regard playing against him. You remember watching him jog in at Yankee Stadium, with his music playing, and the fans know that as soon as that song starts playing, they know their closer is coming in, and far more often than not, the game is over. It’s much better now [as Rivera’s teammate] when the music’s playing at home—it’s not necessarily a bad thing anymore. Now it’s a good thing knowing he’s coming in to close the door. I think a lot of people are going to miss hearing that music come on once we start getting into ninth innings after this year [2013].
*With a 6-5 lead in the bottom of the ninth inning, Rivera allowed back-to-back singles to Tony Batista and Anderson, and after a sacrifice bunt moved the runners into scoring position, surrendered a two-run single to Jerry Hairston in a 7-6 loss to the Orioles at Camden Yards, on September 21, 2001.
**Gibbons was 3-for-23 facing Rivera; Richard was 0-for-8 facing Rivera.
*Alomar was 5-for-11 facing Rivera; Boggs was 1-for-4 facing Rivera; Gwynn was 1-for-1 facing Rivera in the 1988 World Series.
*Albert Belle hit a two-out, two-run single in a three-run ninth inning off Rivera as the Orioles beat the Yankees 7-6 at Yankee Stadium, on May 7, 2000. Charles Johnson singled leading off and Anderson singled with one out. Delino DeShields’ single pulled the Orioles to 6-5 and B.J. Surhoff’s ground out advanced the runners. Belle then lined a single to center.
**Anderson faced Rivera twice in the 1996 American League Championship Series; he grounded out in the eleventh inning of Game One and struck out in Game Four.
***Ripken is 3-for-13 facing Rivera; Longoria is 4-for-16 with two home runs facing Rivera.
*Facing Rivera, Palmeiro was 8-for-24 (.333 batting average) with 2 home runs (.583 slugging percentage), 3 runs batted in, and 6 walks (.467 on-base percentage).
**Wells hit a walk-off home run off Rivera to give Toronto a 5-4 victory in eleven innings, on July 20, 2006. Catalanatto had led off the inning by hitting a line-drive single to right field after being down in the count no balls and two strikes. Catalanatto was then thrown out attempting to steal second base on a failed hit-and-run attempt. On the next pitch, Wells hit the game-winning homer.
*Damon was 2-for-8 facing Rivera in the postseason. He was 1-for-2 (a triple) in the 2001 A.L.D.S. with Oakland; 0-for-2 in the 2003 A.L.C.S. with Boston; and 1-for-4 (a single) in the 2004 A.L.C.S. with Boston.
*Manager Joe Torre called for Rivera in the eighth inning with the Yankees leading the Angels, 6-4, in the second game of a doubleheader, on August 26, 1998. This was only the second time in Rivera’s career that he had been summoned to notch a potential six-out save. Although Rivera botched the save, he did get the victory when Derek Jeter singled in Jorge Posada in the ninth inning for a 7-6 Yankees win.
*Erstad singled to short right field against Rivera in the ninth inning but Rivera retired the side to earn the save in the Yankees’ 8-5 victory over the Angels in Game One of the 2002 American League Division Series, on October 1, 2002. The Angles won the next three games to take the series, then dispatched the Minnesota Twins in the A.L. Championship Series en route to capturing the franchise’s first World Series championship.
**Orlando Palmeiro was 2-for-11 facing Rivera during his career with the Angels, Cardinals and Astros from 1995 to 2007.
***The Angels came back from a five-run deficit to beat the Yankees, 9-8, in Yankee Stadium on August 18, 2000. Trailing 8-3, the Angels loaded the bases with one out in the top of the ninth inning when Rivera entered the game. After runs batted in by Erstad and Palmeiro made the score 8-5, Vaughn hit a three-run home run to tie the score. Erstad hit the game-winning home run off Mike Stanton in the top of the eleventh inning. Erstad also saved the game for the Angels in the bottom of the tenth inning by making a spectacular diving catch in left-center field with two outs and the winning run on third base.
*Ford faced Rivera three times in the postseason as a member of the Twins. He struck out in Game Three of the 2003 American League Division Series, won by the Yankees in four games. In the 2004 A.L.D.S., also won by the Yankees in four games, Ford struck out in Game One and popped out to second base in Game Four.
*Counsell was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2001 N.L.C.S. In a five-game series win over Atlanta, Counsell batted .381 with eight hits, three doubles, four runs batted in, and five runs scored. In the World Series, Counsell had faced Rivera in games three, four, and five—and grounded out weakly all three times—before being hit by a pitch in the fateful ninth inning of Game Seven.
*Facing Rivera in the 2001 World Series, Gonzalez struck out looking in the eighth inning of Game Three; grounded out to first in the tenth inning of Game Four; and struck out swinging leading off the bottom of the eighth of Game Seven with Arizona trailing 2-1, before his ninth inning single to win it.
**Gonzalez came to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game Seven, with the score even at 2-2, the bases loaded and one out. Gonzalez swung at Rivera’s 0-1 pitch and hit the game-winning bloop single into left-center field that sealed the first franchise World Series title for Arizona. It was Rivera’s first and only loss of his postseason career, and it snapped his record streak of 23 consecutive postseason saves converted.
*Just weeks after the September 11 tragedy, the Yankees helped to uplift the spirit of New York with three straight dramatic World Series victories at the Stadium. They won Game Four on Derek Jeter’s walk-off home run after a two-out, game-tying homer in the ninth by Martinez. They also took Game Five after a two-out, game-tying homer in the ninth by Scott Brosius.
*Rivera’s memorable performance in Game Seven of the 2003 A.L.C.S. against the archrival Boston Red Sox is one for the ages. He entered the game in the ninth inning with the score tied 5-5 and pitched three scoreless innings. Aaron Boone’s eleventh-inning walk-off home run propelled the Yankees into the World Series, but Rivera was named Most Valuable Player of the series for earning two saves and recording a win in the decisive contest. As Boone celebrated with teammates at home plate, Rivera ran to the mound to bow his head in prayer, and then buckled with joyous exhaustion.
*Facing Rivera, Floyd was 2-for-8 with 1 extra-base hit, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts, .250 batting average, .333 on-base percentage, .375 slugging percentage. Gomes is 3-for-11, 1 extra-base hit, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts, .273 batting average, .467 on-base percentage, .571 slugging percentage.
**Gross drilled a one-and-one pitch from Rivera up the middle to drive in the winning run, to lead Tampa Bay past New York, 2-1, and into first place in the American League East, on May 13, 2008. Rivera absorbed the loss after he allowed his first run in fourteen appearances that season.
*Besides Gross, five other players have game-ending RBIs in extra innings against Rivera. They are: Keith Lockhart, Royals, 10th inning double, August 2, 1996; Robert Fick, Tigers, 11th inning fielder’s choice, June 27, 2000; Manny Ramirez, Red Sox, 10th inning single, April 13, 2001; Vernon Wells, Blue Jays, 11th inning home run, July 20, 2006; David Murphy, Rangers, 10th inning single, August 10, 2010.
**Facing Rivera, Zaun was 2-for-16, 1 extra-base hit, 1 run batted in, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts, .125 batting average, .176 on-base percentage, .188 slugging percentage. (See Zaun entry in catchers’ section.)
*Hulse’s two-run, inside-the-park home run off Rivera came on the eighth pitch of the at-bat, scoring Matt Mieske ahead of him, to give the Brewers a 5-4 lead in the top of the seventh inning. The Yankees scored three runs in the bottom of the s
eventh as Rivera and the Yankees won the game, 7-5, at Yankee Stadium, on August 1, 1995. The victory was Rivera’s fourth career win.
*Humphreys collected 121 hits in 135 games played for the Triple A Columbus Clippers in 1994. He batted .248 with 8 home runs and 51 runs batted in.
**Pitching for the Triple A Columbus Clippers in 1994, Rivera was 4-2 with a 5.81 earned run average. He allowed 34 hits and 10 walks in 31 innings, and struck out 23 batters.
*Jeter soared through the Yankees’ minor league system in 1994. He had a .329 batting average in 69 games for Single A Tampa; .a 377 batting average in 34 games for Double A Albany-Colonie; and a .349 batting average in 35 games for Triple A Columbus.
*Hunter’s run-scoring single to center field in the ninth inning off Rivera gave the Angels a 1-0 victory over the Yankees at Yankee Stadium, on August 1, 2008. Hunter also singled off Rivera in a 7-4 Yankees win over the Angels, on April 30, 2009 (career save No. 487 and the start of Rivera’s career-best streak of 36 straight save opportunities converted). Facing Rivera in the regular season and postseason, Hunter was 0-for-his-last-9 with a walk, including a game-ending strikeout in a Yankees’ victory over the Tigers, on April 7, 2013, which was Rivera’s final appearance in Detroit.
*The Yankees defeated the Angels in six games in the 2009 American League Championship Series. Hunter was 0-for-3 with a walk facing Rivera: he walked in Game One, struck out looking in Game Two, and grounded out weakly in Games Three and Six. Hunter also faced Rivera as a member of the Twins in the 2003 A.L. Division Series, won by the Yankees in four games. Hunter struck out in Game Two and grounded out to end Game Three. Hunter did not face Rivera in the 2004 A.L.D.S., also won by the Yankees in four games.
*Johnson led off the bottom of the ninth inning with the Cubs trailing the Yankees, 4-2, at Wrigley Field, on June 18, 2011. Rivera got ahead in the count one-and-two, and then Johnson fouled off two pitches. On the sixth pitch, Johnson connected for a home run to left-center field, cutting the Yankees’ lead to 4-3. Then Rivera gave up a single, got a double-play ground ball, and a strike out, to earn his 576th career save.
**Delgado was 8-for-21 (.381 batting average) with one extra-base hit and one run batted in facing Rivera. Rivera has twice intentionally walked Delgado, tying him with Edgar Martinez, Evan Longoria, and Paul Sorrento for most times intentionally walked by Rivera. (See Delgado entry in Infielders’ section.)
*Johnson’s line-drive single to left field off Rivera scored Orlando Hudson to give Toronto a 4-3 lead in the top of the ninth inning of a game at Yankee Stadium, on August 23, 2005. The Yankees scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth, making Rivera the winning pitcher in a 5-4 walk-off victory.
*With one on and one out in the ninth inning, Jones drove an 0-1 pitch into the bullpen in left-center field for a two-run homer off Rivera to give the Orioles a 2-1 victory at Yankee Stadium, on July 7, 2013. It was the 67th home run surrendered by Rivera, who had converted 41 consecutive save opportunities at home. His last failure had been on September 26, 2010, against Boston.
*Kotsay struck out looking at a one-two pitch from Rivera to make the final out in a 7-5 Yankees’ win in the Bronx, on April 29, 2004. Rivera came on in relief of Tom Gordon in the eighth inning with two outs and runners on first and third and got Bobby Crosby to ground out to second to end the threat.
*Game One of the first Subway Series since 1956 was scoreless when Perez singled in the top of sixth inning off Andy Pettitte. With two outs, Zeile hit a ball inches shy of being a home run, but the ball bounced off the top of the left-field wall and back onto the playing field. Perez thought the ball was a home run and slowed down enough on his way around second base that he was thrown out at home plate. The Yankees went on to win the game in twelve innings and ultimately took the series in five games.
**In the top of the first inning, Clemens fired the barrel of Piazza’s broken bat in the direction of the Mets’ catcher. The incident aroused heated public debate in light of Clemens’ beaning of Piazza in July. Clemens, who was not ejected, went on to pitch eight shutout innings, allowing just two hits, before the Mets rallied for five runs in the ninth, but fell a run short and lost, 6-5.
**Sandy Alomar Jr. hit a game-tying home run off Rivera in the eighth inning in Game Four of the 1997 American League Division Series; Cleveland won the game and the series in five games. This was Rivera’s only blown save in the playoffs until 2001.
**Payton’s bases-loaded, two-out triple off Rivera tied the game in the ninth inning, and Melvin Mora dropped down an RBI bunt single in the tenth as Baltimore eliminated the Yankees from the postseason for the first time in ten years with a stunning 10-9 comeback win at Camden Yards, on September 28, 2007.
*Salmon was the first player to get a hit off Rivera. It happened in the first inning of Rivera’s major league debut, as a starting pitcher against the California Angels at Anaheim Stadium, on May 23, 1995. Salmon singled in the first inning, doubled in the third and walked in the fourth to knock Rivera out of the game, which was a 10-0 Yankees’ loss.
Salmon faced Rivera thirteen more times after Rivera’s debut. He never reached base again. The next time Rivera faced the Angels was one year later, on May 17, 1996, when he closed out an 8-5 Yankees’ win for the first save of his career.
*The 1993 American League’s rookie of the year, Salmon is the Angels’ all-time leader in home runs (299) and walks (970) and second in hits (1,674), runs batted in (1,016), on-base percentage, and slugging percentage. He was also a member of the Angels’ 2002 World Series championship team.
*Simms hit a one-two pitch from Rivera over the center field fence in the ninth inning of a Yankees’ 6-4 win over the Rangers at Yankee Stadium, on August 14, 1998. Andy Pettitte got the win. Rivera has saved 72 wins for Pettitte, a record for any closer/starter combination.
**Clark was 2-for-9 facing Rivera with the San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, and St. Louis Cardinals from 1986 to 2000. Greer was 4-for-15 facing Rivera with the Texas Rangers from 1994 to 2002. McLemore was 5-for-19 facing Rivera with the Anaheim Angels, Cleveland Indians, Houston Astros, Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners, and Oakland Athletics from 1986 to 2004.
*Rivera picked up a two-inning save to give the Yankees a 3-1 victory over the Phillies in Game Two of the 2009 World Series. Matt Stairs struck out swinging on a two-and-two pitch to end the game with Raul Ibanez on second base as the tying run.
*Suzuki faced Rivera in the 2001 American League Championship Series as a member of the Mariners and was 1-for-2. He doubled in Game One and grounded out in Game Five. The Yankees won the series in five games.
**Suzuki hit the first pitch he saw from Rivera deep over the right field fence for a two-run walk-off home run as the Mariners defeated the Yankees, 3-2, on September 18, 2009, in Seattle.
*Wells hit Rivera’s second pitch over the left field fence in the bottom of the eleventh inning for a walk-off 5-4 victory for the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre, on July 20, 2006.
**Rivera has given up five walk-off home runs in his career: to Bill Selby, Bill Mueller, Wells, Marco Scutaro, and Ichiro Suzuki.
Section Three: Catchers
Sal Fasano
Catcher
Playing Career
Kansas City Royals, Oakland Athletics, Colorado Rockies, Anaheim Angels, Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, Cleveland Indians from 1996 to 2008
Career Statistics
427 games, 245 hits, 47 home runs, 140 runs batted in, .221 batting average, .295 on-base percentage, .382 slugging percentage
Sal Fasano facing Mariano Rivera (regular season)
0-for-4, 2 strikeouts
Mo Cred
The New York Yankees catcher for 28 games in 2006 was behind the plate for 1 of Rivera’s 652 career saves.
Sal Fasano
Year Date Result
1996 4/22 Fly out
1998 8/9 Strikeout (Swinging)
2000 5/30
Fly out
2006 6/20 Strikeout (Swinging)
OUT IN THE bullpen, we’d talk all the time. What a lot of people don’t understand about Mariano is that he was very prepared and he communicated very well. He was a tremendous teammate. He really took an interest. If he knew that you were going to catch him, he would talk to you about what he wanted to do.
It was really fun diving into what his head was like and how he pitches. That’s what makes him so unique. He never pitched to home plate. He pitched to the bodyline of the batter. If a left-handed hitter would back up, he wouldn’t worry about throwing a strike. He would throw it in the same lane as if the batter was in a conventional position.
Versus lefties he was trying to get closer to the hands and versus righties he was trying to get away from the barrel, away from the hands, more to the extension side. So to a righty he was going more to the other side of the plate. But he could throw it in on them, too. He’d throw it inside and you’d think it was a ball and all of a sudden it moves back to the inside corner and you’re frozen.
I’ve never seen him throw it straight. It’s just the natural movement that he has. He could elevate it, he could make it move more, he could make it move less, he could sink it. He could throw to all nine quadrants and expand off the quadrants. He was special. He was an absolute pleasure to catch.
It was a special time in my life. I’ll never forget it. It was fun because you just knew he was going to get the outs. I’m telling you, man, it was unbelievable.
Mo Respect
Francisco Cervelli
Cervelli was behind the plate for 34 of Rivera’s 652 career saves.
I’ve faced him in spring training. I think it’s better to catch him! I thank God I’m on his side, so I can catch Mariano, because he’s not easy to hit.
Facing Mariano Rivera Page 14