When I hit the home run [the Orioles] were three runs down, and since it was a solo shot, it wasn’t a big deal. Later in my career, I hit a double off of Mariano that started a game-winning rally in Seattle. He threw me a back-door cutter and I hit a line drive down the left-field line for a double. Then Adam Kennedy won the game with a walk-off hit; it was a little blooper like the hit Luis Gonzalez got for Arizona in the [2001] World Series.*
[Another] great experience was when Mariano came in specifically to face me in Yankee Stadium. I went to the old stadium a lot, so I knew the crowd in a full stadium was loud. I was with Oakland and Mariano came in to face me with runners in scoring position and two outs in the eighth inning. I got the whole Yankee Stadium experience; it was definitely cool. I had a lot of family and friends in the stadium. I felt confident because I’d hit the home run off him. I don’t know if he knew that, but I knew I did, so even though he’s the best in the game, I had confidence in myself. I had a good, long at-bat, seeing six or seven pitches. The count was three-and-two. He threw a cut fastball up over the plate that just spun. It backed up; it never had any cutting action. But it was an effective pitch up in the zone and I swung through it. He got me there, and he got me plenty of other times, too.**
What he does is amazing. He makes it look like the easiest job in the world, but it’s not. I feel like he could [close] for another ten years. He can probably throw a ninety-miles-per-hour cutter for the rest of his life. He keeps himself in great shape. I saw him once before I reached the big leagues. One off-season, me and my buddies went out to dinner and Mariano was eating in the same restaurant. I didn’t talk to him, but that was the closest I’ve ever been to him, besides when he was 60 feet away trying to get me out. He looks older than he is. And he’s not as tall as I thought; you watch him on television, and he has such a big presence, I guess that makes him seem taller.
Mo Respect
Eric Hinske
Hinske was 3-for-13 with 5 strikeouts facing Rivera. He played with Rivera on the Yankees’ 2009 World Series championship team.
Eric Hinske
Year Date Result
2002 4/9 Strikeout (Swinging)
2004 7/22 Strikeout (Looking)
7/26 Strikeout (Swinging)
9/21 Single
2005 4/21 Single
8/23 Fly out
9/25 Single
2006 4/30 Ground out
8/20 Strikeout (Swinging)
2007 6/1 Ground out
8/29 Ground out
9/16 Fielder’s choice
2008 7/9 Strikeout (Looking)
He’s broken many Eric Hinske bats in my day. I got a couple of hits off him but usually they’re jam shots over the shortstop’s head or something, trying to stay inside the ball. I think it’s better to be a right-handed batter against him. At least the ball is going away from you.
He’s a great person, a great teammate, a religious man. He’s just an all-around good human being. He’s left his mark on the game, on and off the field.
Kevin Maas
Designated hitter and First base
Playing Career
New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins from 1990 to 1995
Career Statistics
406 games, 287 hits, 65 home runs, 169 runs batted in, .230 batting average, .329 on-base percentage, .422 slugging percentage
Mo Cred
As a Yankees rookie in 1990, Maas set a major league record for the fewest at-bats (72) needed to hit ten home runs.
I FACED MARIANO ONCE, on a backfield at the Yankees’ minor league complex, in Tampa, Florida, in the summer of 1995. I had played for the Minnesota Twins during the first part of that year, but then I had a severe hamstring injury, and wound up getting released. The Yankees offered to bring me back to big league camp in the spring of ’96, but they wanted me to play out the remainder of ’95 in Triple A. Before I was assigned to the Triple A team in Columbus, I spent a week or two rehabbing my leg in Tampa, and working to get my swing back. Mariano was down there at the same time.*
I had already spent four and a half years in the big leagues and Mo was just breaking in. He had a few rough starts with the Yankees and he got sent back down to Columbus. Before going to Columbus, he went down to Tampa to play in some rookie league games. Those were intra-squad games, to get us some at-bats, and to get Mo some innings to pitch. That’s where I faced him.
I remember Mo being this guy that everybody was talking about as the future of the staff, the future Yankee who had great stuff, a great fastball. He threw really hard back then, and I was excited to face him even though we probably had ten or fifteen fans there. I knew that the Yankees were obviously looking at me in a different light, having come back to the organization, and Mo was on his way up. The Yankees had released me in the spring of ’94. A year and a half later I was back, so every at-bat I felt I had something to prove to the Yankees, to show them they made a mistake. I wanted to earn a shot again. I still had something to prove.
I looked up my statistics [during that time in rookie ball] and I was 4-for-9, and I know one of those four hits was against Mo. I remember getting one good at-bat against him. I could see the good life on his fastball and the good command that he had early on, and thinking, I better get the bat head out in front. Sure enough, he didn’t have his cutter back then, I was looking for a fastball in and he threw me a fastball in. I remember hitting a laser to right field. I hit an absolute rocket because he threw me what I was looking for. I was guessing, and I got the right pitch. Maybe at that point in his career he wasn’t as smart as I was.
I remember thinking if only I had gotten the ball up in the air it would have gone over the administration building. I remember thinking, “Okay that meant something.” Because I knew everyone was so high on Mo, and I was able to turn around one of his fastballs and hit a rocket to right field for a hit. The buzz was there about Mo back then, and that’s why it meant something to me, why it stands out for me. That was the only time I ever faced Mo.
Edgar Martinez
Designated hitter
Playing Career
Seattle Mariners from 1987 to 2004
Career Statistics
2,055 games, 2,247 hits, 309 home runs, 1,261 runs batted in, .312 batting average, .418 on-base percentage, .515 slugging percentage
Edgar Martinez facing Mariano Rivera (regular season)
10-for-16, 5 extra-base hits, 2 home runs, 6 runs batted in, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts, 1 hit by pitch, .625 batting average, .700 on-base percentage, 1.188 slugging percentage
Mo Cred
Rivera named Martinez as the toughest batter he ever faced. No hitter has had the sustained success that Martinez had with a minimum of twenty career plate appearances: a .625 batting average with two home runs and six runs batted in.
Edgar Martinez
Year Date Result
1995 6/11 Home run (3 RBI)
6/11 Single
8/25 Walk
8/25 Home run (1 RBI)
9/5 Strikeout (Looking)
9/5 Double
9/5 Single (1 RBI)
10/4 Single
1996 5/25 Double
8/18 Double
1997 8/23 Intentional walk
1999 5/9 Reached on error
8/28 Walk (hit by pitch)
2000 8/5 Single (1 RBI)
8/30 Single
10/17 Ground out
2001 10/17 Ground out
2003 4/30 Strikeout (Looking)
5/1 Ground out
5/7 Strikeout (Looking)
8/8 Strikeout (Swinging)
2004 5/15 Intentional walk
8/14 Single
IT’S HARD TO tell why [I had success against Rivera]. For some reason, I never felt like I was doing great against him. I think it’s because you always felt that it was going to be a tough battle, a difficult at-bat. Against some other pitchers, if you do well, you feel comfortable at the plate, but with Mariano, it was never a comfortable at-bat. A lot of the h
its were not hard hit; I was able to find some holes.*
At the beginning of his career, as a starter, he threw hard. He was trying to beat you, to dominate you, by throwing fastballs, but it was straight and over the plate. I felt confident that I would make solid contact. I didn’t try to do too much. As a short reliever he developed the cutter, and he perfected that pitch. For me, being a contact hitter, I always look [for pitches] middle-away and I liked to use the whole field. Most of his pitches went middle-away, and he was good at keeping the ball down and away. On those pitches, I hit the ball to the right side of the field. As a reliever he was more of a pitcher, using location. He had great command. He was very effective low and away, but he also knew when to throw a pitch high in the zone. I think he was successful because he knew the hitters’ swings; he knew where you had a hole [in your swing], and he could throw to that area.
I think what makes him great is his command and his location; knowing where to throw the pitch. A good example is when I faced him in the 2000 American League Championship Series. I made the last out of the game. He got me out with a sinker inside. I never remember him throwing me a sinker before. That was the first time I ever saw a sinker from him. He knew when to change his plan, when to go with something completely new, something different that you’re not expecting. The location of the pitch is important. If he missed by just two inches it would have been a different outcome. I would have hit the ball solid. But he got inside and I hit a ground ball to shortstop. I remember that pitch and I remember that swing and I felt that if [the ball] was only two inches more toward the barrel I would have hit that ball hard.*
There is something about him, in the way he competes. You could tell he was very well prepared. He had everything a great pitcher needs to succeed: movement on the ball, command of his pitches, and a presence on the mound. He’s not going to make many mistakes. It was always a challenge to face Mariano, especially in close games. You have to admire his ability to handle pressure when the game is on the line. It seems like he wanted to be in that difficult situation. When he’s on the mound he has a presence. His demeanor is very professional. Even with his success, his body language is very normal and unassuming. You don’t notice anything he does that tells you, I don’t like this guy; I want to beat this guy. Sometimes I think if the Yankees didn’t have Mariano, maybe the Mariners win a World Series.*
I never heard that Mariano thought I was the toughest batter for him. That is a great compliment. We always had a mutual respect. He’s the best reliever I ever faced. Not only is he an amazing pitcher, he is a great person. I congratulate him on an amazing career. It was an honor to play with him in the All-Star games and it was a great experience competing against him.
Mo Says
At the press conference announcing his retirement, Rivera was asked to name the toughest batter he ever faced.
The toughest—and thank God he retired—Edgar Martinez. Oh my God. I think every pitcher will say that, because this man was tough. Great man, though—respected the game, did what he had to do for his team. That’s what you appreciate about players, when a player comes and does what is right for the game of baseball, for his team and teammates.
David Ortiz
Designated hitter
Playing Career
Minnesota Twins and Boston Red Sox since 1997
Career Statistics
1,969 games, 2,023 hits, 431 home runs, 1,429 runs batted in, .287 batting average, .381 on-base percentage, .549 slugging percentage
David Ortiz facing Mariano Rivera (regular season)
11-for-32, 3 extra-base hits, 1 home run, 4 runs batted in, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts, .344 batting average, .382 on-base percentage, .500 slugging percentage
Mo Cred
Ortiz has more hits facing Rivera in the regular season, 11, than any other batter.
David Ortiz
Year Date Result
2000 7/28 Single (2 RBI)
9/1 Single
9/3 Fly out
2002 5/19 Line out
2003 5/27 Single
8/30 Single
9/7 Fielder’s choice
Postseason 10/11 Foul out
10/14 Single
10/16 Double
2004 4/24 Fly out
4/24 Strikeout (Swinging)
7/1 Single
Postseason 10/13 Strikeout (Swinging)
10/17 Strikeout (Swinging)
10/17 Pop out
2005 4/6 Ground out (1 RBI)
7/14 Strikeout (Swinging)
7/16 Pop out
9/9 Fly out
9/11 Walk
2006 5/23 Pop out
8/18 Home run (1 RBI)
8/20 Double
8/20 Fly out
2007 6/3 Line out
9/16 Pop out
2008 7/25 Fly out
9/28 Reached on error
2009 4/24 Strikeout (Swinging)
8/7 Single
8/9 Walk
2011 5/16 Foul out
8/5 Ground out
8/30 Double
2013 5/31 Single
7/20 Foul out
8/18 Single
9/5 Line out
9/8 Strikeout (Looking)
HE’S A GUY [who] is going to be irreplaceable. Everybody right now in the league [tries] to throw cutters, pretty much every pitcher [has] a cutter right now, but [it’s] not like Mariano’s. Not even close. There’s one second before it’s on your hands. And he’s the only one that I have ever faced [like that].*
He’s special. What can I tell you? He’s the type of guy that basically says, “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.”
When you talk to Mariano, it doesn’t even feel like you are talking to a guy that is going to the Hall of Fame [on the] first ballot. He’s so humble and so respectful and funny. He says things that sound funny, things you aren’t expecting him to say. He never would look [down] at anyone over his shoulder.
I was sitting right next to him during the [2013] All-Star Game and I pulled out my camera and said: “This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing, let’s take a whole bunch of photos.”
I did take lots of photos with him. I didn’t ask for his autograph at [the] All-Star [Game] as I was giving him his space, but I will. Actually, I do have an autographed jersey of his framed in my house in my basement. I got it a couple of years ago and asked him myself for it. But
I got to get a new one now!
Luke Scott
Designated hitter and Outfield
Playing Career
Houston Astros, Baltimore Orioles, and Tampa Bay Rays since 2005
Career Statistics
889 games, 725 hits, 135 home runs, 436 runs batted in, .258 batting average, .340 on-base percentage, .481 slugging percentage
Luke Scott facing Mariano Rivera (regular season)
2-for-16, 1 extra-base hit, 1 home run, 1 run batted in, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, .125 batting average, .176 on-base percentage, .313 slugging percentage
Mo Cred
Scott hit a game-tying home run off Rivera on September 19, 2010; it was the sixty-second homer Rivera has allowed.
Luke Scott
Year Date Result
2008 4/20 Ground out
5/22 Ground out
5/27 Pop out
5/28 Reached on error
8/22 Line out
9/20 Pop out
9/21 Ground out
2009 4/9 Ground out
9/1 Double play
2010 4/29 Fly out
6/1 Single
6/3 Strikeout (Swinging)
9/19 Home run (1 RBI)
2011 4/24 Fly out
5/18 Pop out
2012 4/6 Intentional walk
2013 7/28 Ground out
YEAH, ABSOLUTELY, THAT was one of the biggest [hits] of my career, if not the biggest. Considering the situation, the best closer I think that’s ever taken the mound, it’s just another experience that I’ll never forget. I’m thankful for the opportunity and the way thin
gs worked out. It was a lot of fun against a real good [pitcher].*
He’s not going to try to fool you. It’s real simple. He’s got one pitch. His success is based on the quality of his stuff. He’s got a late-moving cutter, but it’s also his movement, and his location. He’s got very good control.
I’ve got [sixteen] at-bats against Mariano Rivera. In all those at-bats, I haven’t been counting how many hits I have; I’ve been counting how many balls have actually been [fully] on the plate in the strike zone, instead of being on the corner or just off. I’ve seen maybe three pitches where the whole ball has crossed the white of the plate, which is pretty impressive. Everything is on the black. Either the ball is running off the plate, or it’s off the plate running toward the black.
To me, he’s been that good, and I’ll go as far as to say to other people, he’s been that good. As a lefty he’s going to try to run that cutter in on your hands, to speed up your swing. And when you start laying off of it, that’s when he’ll go to the back-door cutter.
Mike Sweeney
Designated hitter and First base
Playing Career
Kansas City Royals, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, and Philadelphia Phillies from 1995 to 2010
Career Statistics
1,454 games, 1,540 hits, 215 home runs, 909 runs batted in, .297 batting average, .366 on-base percentage, .486 slugging percentage
Mike Sweeney facing Mariano Rivera (regular season)
4-for-14, 1 extra-base hit, 3 RBIs, 2 walks, 0 strikeouts, .286 batting average, .389 on-base percentage, .357 slugging percentage
Facing Mariano Rivera Page 18