Facing Mariano Rivera: Players Recall the Greatest Relief Pitcher Who Ever Lived

370 Pages·2014·1.84 MB·English

Copyright © 2014 by David Fischer All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any
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For my grandpa Jack Baron, a Brooklyn Dodgers fanatic, who told me stories
about another legendary No. 42, Jackie Robinson.
CONTENTS
Foreword
Introduction
Section One: Infielders
Roberto Alomar
David Adams
Mike Blowers
Aaron Boone
Mike Bordick
Robinson Cano
Eric Chavez
Jeff Conine
Carlos Delgado
Mark DeRosa
Robert Eenhoorn
Matt Franco
Nomar Garciaparra
Jason Giambi
Ozzie Guillen
Scott Hatteberg
Todd Helton
Derek Jeter
Chipper Jones
Eric Karros
Ryan Klesko
Corey Koskie
Kevin Kouzmanoff
Tino Martinez
Lou Merloni
Doug Mientkiewicz
Kevin Millar
Bill Mueller
Lyle Overbay
Dustin Pedroia
Mark Reynolds
Kevin Seitzer
Bill Selby
Ed Sprague
Jason Smith
Mark Teixeira
Jim Thome
Robin Ventura
Ty Wigginton
Tony Womack
David Wright
Kevin Youkilis
Section Two: Outfielders
Brady Anderson
Garret Anderson
Frank Catalanotto
Bubba Carpenter
Johnny Damon
Jim Edmonds
Darin Erstad
Lew Ford
Brett Gardner
Luis Gonzalez
Curtis Granderson
Gabe Gross
David Hulse
Mike Humphreys
Torii Hunter
Raul Ibanez
Reed Johnson
Adam Jones
Mark Kotsay
Paul O’Neill
Jay Payton
Alex Rios
Dave Roberts
Tim Salmon
Mike Simms
Matt Stairs
Ichiro Suzuki
Nick Swisher
B.J. Upton
Shane Victorino
Vernon Wells
Section Three: Catchers
Sal Fasano
Francisco Cervelli
John Flaherty
Darrin Fletcher
Todd Greene
Jesse Levis
Russell Martin
Chad Moeller
Gustavo Molina
Salvador Perez
Wil Nieves
A.J. Pierzynski
Jorge Posada
Austin Romine
Terry Steinbach
Chris Stewart
Kelly Stinnett
Tom Wilson
Gregg Zaun
Section Four: Designated Hitters
Jack Cust
Eric Hinske
Kevin Maas
Edgar Martinez
David Ortiz
Luke Scott
Mike Sweeney
Section Five: Pitchers
Jonathan Albaladejo
Bronson Arroyo
Dellin Betances
Joba Chamberlain
David Cone
Dennis Eckersley
Tom Gordon
Rich Goose Gossage
Jason Grimsley
David Huff
Phil Hughes
Jason Isringhausen
Shawn Kelley
Pedro Martinez
Al Leiter
Joe Nathan
Denny Neagle
Jeff Nelson
Andy Pettitte
J.J. Putz
David Robertson
CC Sabathia
Curt Schilling
John Smoltz
Mike Stanton
Tanyon Sturtze
Rick Sutcliffe
Justin Verlander
Ron Villone
Adam Warren
John Wetteland
Section Six: Management
Mike Borzello
Bruce Bochy
Brian Butterfield
Bill Evers
Terry Francona
Joe Girardi
Mike Harkey
Jim Leyland
Bill Livesey
Mitch Lukevics
Joe Maddon
Bob Melvin
Mark Newman
Juan Nieves
Herb Raybourn
Larry Rothschild
Glenn Sherlock
Mike Scioscia
Joe Torre
Career Statistics
Acknowledgements
Photo Credit
FOREWORD
F YOU’VE EVER studied the best major league pitchers, either from a seat at
Ithe ballpark or on television, when a batter swung and missed, you, as a
decent ballplayer in your day, might have muttered, “I could’ve hit that one.”
And maybe you could have.
But maybe not. Probably not. And if that pitcher was Mariano Rivera, almost
certainly not.
Page after page in Facing Mariano Rivera, you will read how he not only
baffled the best major league hitters with his cut fastball, he often shattered their
bats. Of all the gifts he received in his 2013 farewell tour, he said his favorite was
a rocking chair constructed of broken bats from the Minnesota Twins. “If you’re
a left handed hitter,” says an opponent who later would be a Yankees teammate,
“you almost have to look for an outside pitch and pull it, because if it’s middle in,
it’s going to break your bat.” If only David Fischer could have interviewed some
of those shattered bats.
No need to tell you here the most successful hitter against baseball’s greatest
closer, but even he acknowledges, “It was never a comfortable at bat.” Another
hitter who once swatted fifty home runs (none off Rivera), analyzes that “His
cutter has four-seam fastball spin and then it cuts—it cuts late . . . and he learned
to throw a two-seam fastball that broke in on righties.”
For all of the hitters’ testimony, perhaps the most authoritative comments are
from his Yankees’ teammates. From the outfielder who says, “He was the Devil
when I was playing against him, but when I came here, he became God because
he’s on our side.” From the right-handed pitcher who says, “His arm slot is the
same every pitch.” From the bullpen catcher who says, “I don’t think he ever
threw a ball that ever bounced in my twelve years of catching him in the bullpen.
He would pitch up and down, and in and out, but never in the ground.”
And as much as all these opposing batters dislike trying to hit that cut fastball,
they praise him for never “showing up” any of them. “Once you get to know
Mariano,” one says, “you respect him more as a person than as a player.” As
challenging and frustrating as facing him was, they seem to enjoy having had the
opportunity. And now the opportunity in these pages to describe what it was
like.
—Dave Anderson