Mo Cred
A five-time All-Star, Sweeney finished second in the American League batting race with a .340 average in 2002, and set a Royals franchise record for runs batted in with 144 in 2000.
WHEN YOU’RE AT Yankee Stadium and Mariano Rivera is coming in the game, it feels like a horror movie. It’s like the horror movie, Friday the 13th, when you hear the music and you know Jason is coming, as the viewer, you’re scared to death, because you know what’s going to happen. That’s the feeling you get when you see No. 42 coming through the bullpen gate and you hear “Enter Sandman” blasting [through the speakers] at Yankee Stadium. Just like in the horror movie, you know the end result, you know what’s going to happen, and more times than not, Mariano will finish the game and get the save.
The one memorable at-bat against Mariano Rivera that really stands out to me is in 2009. I was a member of the Seattle Mariners and Felix Hernandez was pitching and had given up one run. We go into the bottom of the ninth down 1-0. After Felix had pitched the ninth, he comes in the dugout and untucks his shirt, he knows the game is over, and he can’t do any more but sit on the bench and watch our at-bats [against Rivera]. One out. Two outs. All of a sudden, [Mariners’ manager] Don Wakamatsu says, “Sweeney, you’re up.”
Mike Sweeney
Year Date Result
1996 8/2 Single (1 RBI)
8/5 Walk
1997 5/2 Line out
8/14 Line out
1998 8/18 Sacrifice fly (1 RBI)
1999 8/19 Line out
9/8 Ground out
2000 4/14 Foul out
9/4 Line out
2001 4/5 Ground out
2002 8/15 Pop out
2003 8/20 Single (1 RBI)
2004 4/30 Walk
2005 8/26 Single
2006 4/11 Walk (Hit by pitch)
2007 9/7 Ground out
2009 6/30 Ground out
9/18 Double
I say, “What? Thanks for the warning.”
I had a bat in my hand, I ran to the on-deck circle and got loose, and the first pitch I saw [from Rivera] I hit a ball to the right-center-field gap that was a ground-rule double.
I crushed it. And as I came off the field for a pinch runner, Ichiro [Suzuki] came up and hit the first pitch he saw for a walk-off home run, a walk-off two-run home run. I’ll never forget it because when you get two outs against Mariano Rivera and there’s nobody on base, it’s almost a forgone conclusion that the game’s over. I was up [at bat] and I was excited about having a chance to be the hero and be in that game situation against the greatest closer in history. So I promptly hit a double and then Ichiro hits the walk-off home run and I remember Felix Hernandez was in awe, because he thought the game was over. He jumped into my arms and he said: “Sweeney I can’t believe it, I can’t believe it, we got it, we got it, we got the win.”*
Against Mariano Rivera, with his cutter going away from a right-handed hitter, my mentality was to try to hit the inside part of the baseball. If you stay inside the ball, you have a better chance to square it up. I would block out the left-field side of the field and [try to hit the ball] from the center fielder over to the right fielder and drive the ball in that gap. When a left-handed hitter bats against Mariano, that cutter will break a bat seven out of ten times. He breaks bat after bat after bat. I remember [Kansas City Royals teammate] Johnny Damon breaking three bats in one at-bat against Mariano Rivera at Yankee Stadium. He broke two bats on foul balls that were [pitches] in on his fists, and then the third [broken bat occurred when] he grounded out to first base. Ironically, right-handed hitters have a better chance of success against him than left-handers do. Mariano Rivera defies statistics; he defies logic.
I don’t think I ever struck out against him. That’s because of my desire when I walked into that batter’s box to put the barrel of the bat on the baseball. When you’re facing a pitcher like Mariano Rivera your senses are heightened, your adrenaline is pushed, and your mind is driven to be something better than you are at normal times, because you’re facing the best. So whenever I stepped in the box against No. 42 it was my desire to be great because I was facing the greatest. Mariano Rivera, even though he’s the greatest closer in major league history, is a one-pitch pitcher. He throws a cutter. What makes him so effective is his ability to locate that pitch. He’s as precise as a heart surgeon. He’s on the corners, at the knees, and then he raises your eye level. When you face Mariano Rivera you cannot ever expect a pitch to be thrown down the middle of the plate; it just doesn’t happen.
I was blessed to play in five All-Star games. One of my greatest All-Star Game memories—one of my greatest memories in baseball, period—was when Mariano and I were in Detroit in 2005. I remember after the [player] introductions sitting on the bench in the first inning in the dugout at Comerica Park [in Detroit], and I look over and sitting next to me is Mariano Rivera. He asked me how I’m doing, and we stared having a conversation. We’re talking about our faith, our family, what drives us in life, and the next thing I know, I look up and it’s already the fourth inning. Mo and I were two of twenty-five guys that were chosen to be on the American League All-Star team and we’re in the All-Star Game and we’re totally oblivious. We were talking about what really matters in life, and we were in the moment, talking for about forty minutes. I couldn’t believe it. So I said, “I better go to the cage and get warmed-up.”
He said, “I better go to the bullpen and get loose.”
That was probably the greatest moment of my baseball career. We didn’t talk about how to throw a cutter, or what it’s like to be a Yankee. We talked about what really matters: faith and family and what we have in common. It was awesome. I’m happy to bring life to the wonderful man that he is.*
*Cust led off the bottom of the ninth inning against Rivera with the Orioles trailing 6-3 at Baltimore’s Camden Yards, on August 15, 2003. With the count one-and-one, Cust lofted Rivera’s third offering over the left-center field wall for a home run to make it 6-4. Baltimore put the tying runs in scoring position with two outs when Rivera retired Jay Gibbons—who was 3-for-23 in his career facing Rivera—to record his 25th save of the season and the 268th of his career.
*Kennedy blooped a single to shallow center field off Rivera in the twelfth inning, lifting the Mariners to a 5-4 victory over the Yankees at Seattle’s Safeco Field, on May 28, 2011. With one out, Justin Smoak singled and Cust doubled sharply to left field, advancing the potential winning run to third base. Rivera intentionally walked Franklin Gutierrez to load the bases. Kennedy, who was 1-for-12 in his career against Rivera, then looped a soft single into shallow center field, scoring pinch runner Luis Rodriguez with the winning run.
**Rivera entered the game to face Cust and protect a 2-1 lead with two runners on base and two outs in the eighth inning. The game was played before 52,622 fans in Yankee Stadium, on June 29, 2007. Cust struck out swinging on the seventh pitch of the at-bat. Rivera pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his 424th career save.
*Rivera began the 1995 season in Columbus. The Yankees called him up on May 16 to replace the injured starter Jimmy Key. Rivera made his major league debut against the California Angels on May 23, and allowed five earned runs in three innings in a 10-0 loss. After struggling through three more starts, he was demoted to Columbus on June 11. On July 4, he made his first start back in the major leagues, and pitched eight scoreless innings against the Chicago White Sox, striking out 11 batters and allowing just two hits.
*Martinez was 9-for-11 facing Rivera at one point. He reached base in fourteen of his first fifteen plate appearances (two homers, three doubles, five singles, two walks, one hit-by-pitch, one reached on error, one strikeout). But Rivera turned the tables and retired Martinez in six of the last seven at-bats.
*Martinez was the potential game-tying run when he made the final out of the 2000 American League Championship Series. The Yankees defeated the Mariners, 9-7, in Game Six, to capture their third straight American League pennant.
*In two postseason series facing Rivera, Ortiz was 2-for-6 with two strikeouts.
*Scott was 1-for-12 with a single against Rivera before hitting a game-tying home run in the bottom of the ninth inning at Camden Yards in Baltimore, on September 19, 2010. Scott eventually scored the game-winning run in the eleventh inning when he raced home from second on Ty Wigginton’s hit for a 4-3 win.
*Michael Saunders pinch-ran for Sweeney and scored ahead of Ichiro in a 3-2 Mariners win at Safeco Field, on September 18, 2009. Until this point, Rivera had converted forty of his forty-one save chances that season, including thirty-six in a row.
*The American League All-Stars defeated the National League All-Stars, 7-5. Sweeney struck out swinging in a pinch-hitting appearance against Philadelphia pitcher Brad Lidge. Rivera faced one batter and earned the save, striking out Houston’s Morgan Ensberg to end the game.
Section Five: Pitchers
Jonathan Albaladejo
Relief pitcher
Playing Career
Washington Nationals, New York Yankees, and Arizona Diamondbacks from 2007 to 2012
Career Statistics
66 games, 6 wins, 3 losses, 4.34 earned run average, 76 innings, 77 hits allowed, 32 walks, 56 strikeouts
Mo Cred
Albaladejo spent three seasons in the bullpen with Rivera while playing for the Yankees in 2008, ’09, and ’10.
THE MOST IMPORTANT thing I learned from Mariano is the mental part of the game. His mental strength is amazing. He wins the battle before he throws a pitch. You can see the confidence on his face every time he steps on the mound. He knows he’s going to get the hitter out, and the hitter knows it, too.
He’s always relaxed. Nothing ever gets to him. Or at least he doesn’t show it. His expression stays the same. I saw him get mad only once. It happened so quick you noticed it only if you were looking at him at that particular moment. [It happened] right after he threw a pitch that got hit and a run scored. By the time he got the ball again, he was the same guy as before. I try to stay relaxed, but sometimes the game gets to me more than I would like.
My years in the bullpen [with Mariano] was a wonderful time. When you’re a Yankee, they let you know on day one that the goal is to win games. Everybody in the bullpen was pulling for each other, because everybody wants to win. That’s your job. We were a tight group. There was no feeling of, “I want your spot; you want mine.”
Everybody in the bullpen pretty much sits in the same place every day. We all sit together, we all talk. There’s a bench [in the bullpen] and Mariano sat at the end. He was the last one to show up, he comes by the sixth inning, and that was the only spot open. It wasn’t like everyone was trying to sit next to him.
He really didn’t have a routine. The phone rings, he’d grab a heavy ball to stretch for a minute, then he’d start warming up. He throws two balls and he’s ready to go. It’s impressive.
When he comes out [of the bullpen] in Yankee Stadium, the game stops for a moment. Everybody goes crazy. The first time I ever heard [the crowd cheering for him] it gave me chills. I think about it now and I get chills. It was awesome.
We sat across from each other [in the Yankees locker room]. He would sit quietly at his locker, really polite; always has a smile on his face. Any chance he gets to talk to the younger Latin players he will help them out. Talking about the game, what you can do to improve, sharing his experiences.
He’s always trying to help everybody. He finds a way to speak to you and tries to help you in any way he can. I learned a lot from him—not only about baseball, about life. I appreciate all he did for me. He’s a wonderful guy and treats everybody with respect, and everybody respects him.
Bronson Arroyo
Pitcher
Playing Career
Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Red Sox, and Cincinnati Reds since 2000
Career Statistics
391 games, 138 wins, 127 losses, 1 save, 4.19 earned run average, 2,278 innings, 2,321 hits, 623 walks, 1,479 strikeouts
Mo Cred
Arroyo competed against Rivera’s Yankees as a member of the Red Sox in the 2003 and 2004 American League Championship Series.
YOU ALWAYS SEE guys who want to have a bunch of facial hair and they want to look mean and have people think that they’re a little off or a little crazy and they don’t have command of their hundred-mile-an-hour fastball, they try to use that intimidation to beat guys.
The thing about Mariano is he didn’t have to use any of those weapons. He didn’t have to use any intimidation at all. He didn’t have to use a brash attitude on the mound. He went out there cool, calm, and collected for all these years and dominated at that position without having to use that as an edge at all.
Mo Respect
Dellin Betances
Betances was Rivera’s teammate in the Yankees’ bullpen from 2011 to 2013.
Being a hometown New Yorker, I grew up watching the Yankees, and Mariano was always one of those guys you watched and are like, Man, I wish I could meet that guy.
Now becoming teammates with him is an honor for me. It’s an honor to be around him and be in the bullpen with him.
[Meeting Rivera] was nerve-racking, I guess. At first, I was like, Oh man, I can’t believe I’m standing next to Mariano. But he’s a real humble guy, a nice guy, and he tries to teach you as much stuff as he can. He loves working with the younger guys.
I don’t know what’s so great about [his cutter]. It just doesn’t make any sense. To watch it on TV, it doesn’t look any better than half the other guys in the league throwing their cutter. Yet he continues to make it work and it’s not like he’s only done it when he throws 95 miles an hour. He’s still doing it at 91, 92, and he still gets guys out. It’s mind-boggling.
Joba Chamberlain
Pitcher
Playing Career
New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers since 2007
Career Statistics
260 games, 23 wins, 14 losses, 5 saves, 3.85 earned run average, 444 innings, 433 hits, 182 walks, 446 strikeouts
Mo Cred
Chamberlain was Rivera’s teammate with the Yankees from 2007 to 2013 and was a member of the 2009 World Series championship team.
HE’S ALWAYS PLAYING jokes on everybody [by] throwing gum at people and doing stuff like that. Everybody sees the baseball side of things, but they don’t get to spend the time in [the bullpen] with him and joke [around]. I [enjoy] watching him play jokes on people and throw gum. He’s really good at throwing gum, too. Shocker, I know, but yeah, he always finds a way to keep guys loose.
[The funniest joke was] probably in spring training when he threw a rosin bag at our bullpen coach that hit him on the head and it exploded. Why did he do it? I don’t know. He was just being Mo, I guess. It wasn’t a mean thing. It was funny, actually. He was just tossing it and it happened to hit him and explode. It was pretty fun. It was pretty cool. Not something you see every day. Obviously, my kid is going to know who he is. So he’s going to know the baseball side, that’s irrelevant. I think the life side is more fun than the baseball side.
He’s always there to talk to about certain situations, certain counts. He always keeps it fun in the bullpen. I think it’s a good way to keep us relaxed but also keep us in the game when we start talking about at-bats and certain situations. The way he keeps things fun is he’s always laughing and joking. People have no idea [there is] this side of him. If they could only see half the stuff I can’t talk about! But that’s the fun part for us, seeing the human side of Mariano, because when he pitches he’s really not human. So it’s fun for us to see that side of him.
David Cone
Pitcher
Playing Career
Kansas City Royals, New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox from 1986 to 2003
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Career Statistics
450 games, 194 wins, 126 losses, 3.46 earned run average, 2,898 innings, 2,504 hits, 1,137 walks, 2,668 strikeouts
Mo Cred
Cone was Rivera’s teammate with the Yankees from 1995 to 2000. He was a member of four World Series championship teams.
TO ME, WHAT sets him apart is being able to repeat what’s already perfect mechanics. It’s what you would teach a Little Leaguer, frame by frame. Mariano’s arm slot is the same every pitch. No one else does that. He gets lots of arm extension. I call him Inspector Gadget because it’s like his arm has an extra extension that pops out of his shoulder. There is also that great wrist action; his wrist is like a blur at the end of the pitch.
There have been so many great memories. Every time I see [former Atlanta Braves pitchers Tom] Glavine or [Greg] Maddux or [John] Smoltz, I say: “You could have four or five rings if you had Mariano Rivera.”
We joke about it, but when you think about it, it’s probably true. When I think of Mo, I think, “Wow I’ve got four World Series rings on the same team with him, and every time I see him I want to say, thank you.” That’s how strongly I feel about him, how good he’s been in the clutch.
It was a comforting feeling when Mariano went to the bullpen in the fifth inning when we had a lead or it was a close game. That’s when you’d see his game face. It’s different for a closer because things have to fall right for Mariano to do his job. You’ve got to have the lead, and it’s got to be a close enough game. So he had a different look on his face when the game was close and it looked like he was going to get into the game.
I don’t think there’s ever been a pitcher, especially a closer, that’s been so calm on the mound. You get spoiled with how efficient he is. It’s boom, boom, boom, game over. There’s no walking the bases loaded, no tightrope walks. There’s never been a closer like him—ever.
Facing Mariano Rivera Page 19