Mo Respect
Tom Wilson
Wilson caught Rivera in the Yankees’ minor league system in 1994 and 1995, and played in the major leagues with four organizations. After his retirement, he became a scout for the Yankees.
Tom Wilson
Year Date Result
2002 5/20 Ground out
7/16 Fly out
2003 7/13 Strikeout (Swinging)
I don’t care if he wasn’t viewed as a prospect outside [the organization], if you played with him you knew he was special. He never got rattled. The game came to him and he dealt with it.
A bad inning or a bad game, you had no idea. The expression on his face never changed. He was a pro then like he is a pro now. Nothing has changed. He was and is totally unflappable. You never saw a glimpse of fear or nervousness in his eyes. No situation overcame him; he controlled situations.
Gregg Zaun
Catcher
Playing Career
Baltimore Orioles, Florida Marlins, Texas Rangers, Kansas City Royals, Houston Astros, Colorado Rockies, Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Rays, and Milwaukee Brewers from 1995 to 2010
Career Statistics
1,232 games, 878 hits, 88 home runs, 446 runs batted in, .252 batting average, .344 on-base percentage, .388 slugging percentage
Gregg Zaun facing Mariano Rivera (regular season)
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
Mo Cred
The first time Zaun ever faced Rivera he drove in an unearned run with a force out in the Yankees 13-10 win over the Orioles at Camden Yards, on April 30, 1996.
Gregg Zaun
Year Date Result
1996 4/30 Ground out (1 RBI)
6/28 Strikeout (Swinging)
7/13 Foul out
2000 8/1 Ground out
8/3 Ground out
2003 6/10 Ground out
2004 7/26 Double
8/26 Ground out
10/2 Ground out
2005 9/16 Single
9/25 Walk
2006 4/19 Fly out
4/30 Pop out
9/30 Strikeout (Swinging)
2007 9/12 Strikeout (Swinging)
2008 9/23 Strikeout (Looking)
2009 5/10 Foul out
I DIDN’T REALLY GET an opportunity to face him too often early in my career, because as a backup catcher, if the game was on the line, I wasn’t playing. I faced him seventeen times in sixteen years. I wasn’t in the game at those key moments, and mercifully so. All he did was frustrate me. I was 2-for-my-lifetime against Mo. I got him for a single and a double.
The double [in 2004] was a ball I hit down the left-field line. It was a forty-two hopper. A-Rod was playing me way off the third base line. Mo threw me a back-door cutter, and I snaked it in between A-Rod and the third base bag. The base hit [in 2005] came as a direct result of [Jason] Giambi playing first base. I hit a ground ball, and as soon as I hit it, he ran to first base. Had he taken two steps to his right, he would have been able to make an easy backhand play. But I think he assumed [second baseman Robinson] Cano was going to get it. So I feel I was really 1-for-16. I remember fouling two balls off my shin and destroying my shin during that at-bat. It was a very painful at-bat.*
Both of my hits against him were in the Rogers Centre [in Toronto] with the Blue Jays. I never got a hit against him in Yankee Stadium. I hit quite a few balls into the third deck, and off the facing of the third deck, but well foul. I couldn’t keep the ball fair against Mo. The only times I ever barreled him up were balls that went foul. I had some good battles with him, but I never came out on the winning end.
After I got a couple of hits against him, then he started throwing me that back-door cutter. Whenever he threw me a back-door cutter—something other than the typical pound-me-inside-on-my-knuckles-pitch—I’d laugh or giggle or holler at him during a
game.
There were a couple of times when I looked out at him, and I said, “C’mon, really Mo? You can run that pitch to both sides of the plate? You’re that good? You’re going to rub salt in the wound? You get me out with ease anyway! Do you really have to rub my nose in it by throwing a pitch on the other side of the plate?”
I never really had much of an approach against him. Some switch-hitters thought you should bat right-handed against him. I had that theory, too, but I was too chicken to go up there right-handed. I hadn’t seen a right-on-right breaking ball since Little League. When I thought about going up there against Mariano right-handed, with his 95-miles-an-hour cutter with a little bit of wrinkle, there was no chance I wanted any part of that.
My pride kept telling me, one of these days, I’m going to get him, I’m going to square him up and keep it fair. I’ll finally figure out how to hit him, and it’s going to make all this agony that I’ve gone through all these years, somehow, all worth it. That’s the way it went for most of my career. Guys who owned me early on, I figured out how to hit them. If I faced Mariano enough times, I thought, sooner or later, I’m going to figure it out, or he’s going to make a mistake.
Nothing I tried worked. He was breaking all my bats. It got to the point at the end of my career I was ordering special bats just for him. I ordered half a dozen 32-inch bats. I normally used a 34-inch bat, but [Roberto] Alomar told me to get a shorter bat, so the barrel would be closer to my hands because that’s where all the balls were ending up. Mariano was always pounding me in on my knuckles. I figured a shorter bat would help me to be able to get to that inside pitch a little better. Unfortunately, after I ordered those 32-inch bats, I went to the National League with the [Milwaukee] Brewers and I didn’t get a chance to face Mariano again. Those six 32-inch bats never got used.
Guys would not take their good wood up to bat against him. They wouldn’t. I’ve seen guys have a favorite bat, one they’d been rolling with for a week and half, and when they’d come up against Mariano, these guys would take garbage batting practice wood up there, because they knew they had no chance. He had people beat before they even stepped in the box.
You knew the at-bat against him was going to be extremely difficult. He’s so good at protecting leads because you rarely saw him give up multiple hits in an inning, and he doesn’t walk anybody. That’s why a lot of guys tried to take him deep, to hit a home run against him, because they knew you couldn’t string hits together against him very often. That played into his hands, too, because guys would get big with their swing, trying to hit it out of the ballpark, and that’s exactly the polar opposite of what you want to do against him. Your swing needs to get shorter against him.
I asked Bill Mueller, who hit Mo really good, what’s the secret? Why do you hit him so much better than anybody else? What’s your approach?
He said, “I swing to where the ball is going to be, not to where it is.”
I thought to myself, “That makes perfect sense, but it’s totally counterintuitive.”
Why would a baseball player ever think to swing where the ball is going to be? You’re always taught to swing where the ball is. But that’s a lesson I learned way too late, obviously, because it didn’t work. Nothing worked.
I love the fact that when he closes the ballgame there’s no fist pumping, there’s no bow and arrow marksmanship. He simply shakes the catcher’s hand, turns around, and slaps high fives with his teammates. To me, he’s the ultimate professional. I wish more players of this generation would react to being successful like he does. He’s a classy guy. I would probably soil myself if I ever saw him demonstrate outwardly like Fernando Rodney or [Jose] Valverde after a save. Mariano’s got 600 saves and he acts like, “Yup, been there, done that, let’s go home.”
Saves By Catcher
Jorge Posada 368
Joe Girardi 73
Russell Martin 37
Francisco Cervelli 34
John Flaherty 32
Jose Molina 31
Chris Stewart 2
8
Austin Romine 12
Ivan Rodriguez 7
Todd Greene 5
Chad Moeller 5
Joe Oliver 4
Alberto Castillo 3
Jim Leyritz 2
Kelly Stinnett 2
Chris Turner 2
Kevin Cash 1
Sal Fasano 1
Mike Figga 1
J.R. Murphy 1
Gustavo Molina 1
Wil Nieves 1
Credit: Elias Sports Bureau
*Rivera recorded his 200th career save with a six-out performance against the Texas Rangers to protect a 9-7 victory at Yankee Stadium, on August 1, 2001.
*Two months removed from the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, and just miles away from Ground Zero, Greene caught the ceremonial pitch thrown by President George W. Bush prior to Game Three of the 2001 World Series at Yankee Stadium, on October 30, 2001. It was only the second time a sitting president had thrown out the first pitch in the World Series.
*Greene wins a seven-pitch at-bat against Rivera by doubling off the right-center field wall during a two-run eighth inning in the second game of a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium, on August 26, 1998. Rivera blew the save in the ninth inning but got credit for the 7-6 Yankees win after Derek Jeter’s walk-off single.
*Levis played 111 games for the Charlotte Knights, the Triple A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians’ organization, in 1994. He batted .285 with 10 home runs and 59 RBIs.
Rivera started 22 minor league games and posted a 10-2 record at three levels in the Yankees organization in 1994. He was 3-0 at Tampa (Single A), 3-0 at Albany (Double A) and 4-2 at Columbus (Triple A).
**Levis grounded out to shortstop on a 3-2 pitch from Rivera in the top of the eighth inning of a Yankees 4-1 win in Yankee Stadium, on July 4, 1996.
***Carlos Baerga was the first switch-hitter in major league baseball history to hit home runs from both sides of the plate in the same inning. Baerga accomplished the feat in the seventh inning of a game against the New York Yankees at Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium, batting right-handed against Steve Howe and left-handed against Steve Farr, on April 8, 1993. Mark Bellhorn became the second player to do so in 2002, and Kendrys Morales did it in 2012.
*Levis stroked a pinch-hit line-drive single to left field on a one-and-one count from Rivera in the top of the eighth inning of a Yankees 2-0 win in Yankee Stadium, on July 6, 1996.
**Levis drew a walk against Rivera in the bottom of the seventh inning of a Yankees 4-2 win in Milwaukee’s Country Stadium, on July 20, 1996.
***Roberto Alomar was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011. (See Alomar entry in infielders’ section.)
*Minnesota’s Chris Parmelee took a fastball for strike three to end the game and wrap up the record-setting 602nd save in the Yankees’ 6-4 win over the Twins at Yankee Stadium, on September 19, 2011. Rivera embraced catcher Martin and was met by the rest of his teammates in front of the mound. After some prodding from Jorge Posada, Rivera stayed on the field for a few minutes to soak in his accomplishment. He stood on the mound and tipped his cap as cheers rained down from the Bronx crowd.
“For the first time in my career, I’m on the mound alone, there is no one behind me,” said Rivera. “I can’t describe that feeling. It was priceless. I didn’t know it could be like that. It was a feeling like that when we won the World Series. I’ll give you that, that emotion.”
*Rivera joined Trevor Hoffman as the only closers to earn 600 saves, pitching a scoreless ninth inning to preserve the Yankees’ 3-2 win over the Mariners at Seattle’s Safeco Field, on September 14, 2011. The final out was recorded when Martin threw out Ichiro attempting to steal second base.
*Martin singled to right field facing Rivera during an eight-pitch at-bat in the top of the tenth inning of the 2008 All-Star Game, played at Yankee Stadium, on July 15, 2008. The American League defeated the National League, 4-3, in fifteen innings.
In his only regular season at-bat facing Rivera, Martin struck out looking on a three-two pitch in the bottom of the tenth inning of a Yankees’ 8-6 victory at Dodger Stadium, on June 27, 2010.
*Moeller faced Rivera twice, ten years apart, both times in a non-save situation. He singled in his first at-bat as a member of the Twins in a 7-4 Yankees’ win in Minnesota’s Metrodome on July 30, 2000. He lined out in his second at-bat a member of the Baltimore Orioles in an 11-4 Yankees’ win at home, on May 20, 2009.
*Molina appeared in three games and played a total of nineteen innings for the Yankees in 2011. He had six plate appearances and recorded one hit, a double.
*The Yankees defeated the White Sox, 3-1, at Yankee Stadium, on April 27, 2011. Rivera earned the save by pitching a perfect ninth inning, though he needed twenty-three pitches to nail it down. Pierzynski fouled off four consecutive three-and-two pitches before grounding out weakly to the first baseman unassisted to end the game. It was Rivera’s 567th career save.
*The Twins defeated the Yankees, 5-4, in ten innings at Yankee Stadium, on May 10, 2001. Pierzynski ignited the winning rally with a one-out double, and moved to third base on Christian Guzman’s single. Even though Rivera retired the last two batters on a strike out and a bouncer to first, Pierzynski scored the winning run on a passed ball by Yankees’ catcher Joe Oliver.
**The Yankees beat the White Sox, 4-2, at Yankees Stadium, on September 15, 2008, giving Rivera thirty-six saves on the season. Pierzynski swung at a one-and-two pitch and hit a weak dribbler that the catcher handled for the game’s final out. It was Rivera’s 479th career save.
*Pierzynski caught Rivera in the ninth inning of the 2002 All-Star Game, played at Miller Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 9. That game ended in a controversial 7-7 tie after eleven innings when both teams had used all available pitchers.
*Romine, who entered in the seventh inning, was making his first appearance in a major league game, catching Rivera, who was making his 1,036th appearance. Rivera worked the ninth as the Yankees beat the Angels, 6-5, in Anaheim, on September 11, 2011. Rivera picked up his 40th save of the season—his eighth season of 40 saves—and the 599th of his career.
*Rivera earned his first major league win against the Oakland Athletics, on May 28, 1995. Making his second major league appearance as a starting pitcher, Rivera scattered seven hits over five innings in a 4-1 Yankees victory. Steinbach struck out with the bases loaded and two outs to end the first inning threat; flew out to center in the third inning, and flew out to deep right field in the sixth. Steinbach faced Rivera again on June 6 of that year. He struck out looking in the second inning and grounded out in the third. Steinbach faced Rivera for the first time as a relief pitcher on September 1, 1995. He struck out swinging in the sixth inning and grounded out to shortstop in the eighth inning.
*Steinbach’s only hit off Rivera was a line drive single to left field in the bottom of the eighth inning of a Yankees’ 11-4 win over the Athletics in Oakland, on June 2, 1996.
*Rivera earned the victory when the Yankees scored five runs in the eleventh inning to beat the Tigers, 11-6, at Comerica Park, on May 30, 2006. Granderson struck out on three pitches and was the second out of the bottom of the eleventh.
*Zaun hit a ground ball single to right field on the ninth pitch of the at-bat against Rivera with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning of a game the Yankees won 11-10, at Rogers Centre in Toronto, on September 16, 2005. In the win, Rivera earned his 376th career save and his 40th save of the season. It was the sixth time Rivera had saved 40 games in a season. He would accomplish that feat nine times in his career, a record he shares with Trevor Hoffman. No one else has more than four seasons reaching the 40-saves plateau.
Section Four: Designated Hitters
Jack Cust
Designated hitter and Outfield
Playing Career
Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, Baltimore Orioles, San Diego Padres, Oakland Athletics, and Seattle Mariners from 2001 to 2011
Career Statistics
670 games, 510 hits, 105 home runs, 323 runs batted in, .242 batting average, .374 on-base percentage, .439 slugging percentage
Jack Cust facing Mariano Rivera (regular season)
2-for-6, 2 extra-base hits, 1 home run, 1 double, 1 run batted in, 2 strikeouts, .333 batting average, .333 on-base percentage, 1.000 slugging percentage
Mo Cred
Cust hit a home run off Rivera on August 15, 2003.
Jack Cust
Year Date Result
2003 8/14 Pop out
8/15 Home run (1 RBI)
2007 6/29 Strikeout (Swinging)
2008 7/19 Strikeout (Looking)
2010 7/5 Fly out
2011 5/28 Double
I’LL NEVER FORGET the home run. It was one of my first home runs in the major leagues, so it was fresh. I was a young player facing a pitcher who I’ve watched destroy hitters for years. Facing Mariano was surreal. Living in Flemington, New Jersey, I grew up being a Yankees fan. Now, here I was, batting against Mariano Rivera and seeing Bernie Williams in center field and Derek Jeter playing shortstop; it was crazy. Hitting a home run off the greatest closer of all-time is still one of the best experiences I’ve had in baseball.*
The night before the home run, I faced Rivera as a pinch hitter. I didn’t get a hit—he jammed me with a cutter and I popped up—but I got an at-bat against Mariano, and got to see how his pitches moved. You can watch a pitcher on tape, but until you face him, it’s a totally different animal. The next night, when I got an at-bat against him, he threw me a back-door cutter and I hit it out to the opposite field. I was lucky that he tried to back door me instead of going with his bread and butter—the cutter inside to the left-handed hitter.
[John] Flaherty was catching. I always wondered if [Jorge] Posada was catching would I have hit the homer? Hitting home runs to the opposite field is what I did best when I was hitting the ball for power, so it was playing to my strength to let me extend my arms. When Posada was catching, Mariano threw the cutter inside all the time to lefties. Every pitch was in, in, in, until he jammed you or struck you out. Until the home run, he’d never thrown me an outside pitch. The home run was the first time [Rivera] ever threw me a pitch away. It was a good pitch on the outside corner. I saw the ball start further away from me, so I thought I had a chance to get good wood on it. I got the barrel on it and it ended up going out.
Facing Mariano Rivera Page 17