Disbelief. That was the only word that could describe my reaction to the bottom of the 9th of that Game 7 in last year’s World Series. But as many Yankees' fans can later attest, part of that disbelief came not from the fact that the Yankees had just lost – although that in itself was pretty disturbing – but rather how they lost, and more importantly, who was on the mound at the time.
It was Mariano Rivera. And he made an error. The first one of his career with the Yankees.
Mariano Rivera. How could the Yankees have known they had struck gold when they signed Mo to a minor league contract out of Panama back in 1990? Sure, prospects are often overly-hyped as they are being recruited and signed, but as many scouts can tell you, most of them turn out to be just what they were – over-hyped prospects. And when you first take a glimpse of the Yankees’ closer, he does not give off the image of a closer. At 6’2” and weighing only 170 pounds, the lanky Mo gives off no indication that he is the most dominant closer of not only this generation, of the Yankees organization, but of the entire Major League Baseball history. And considering the lucrative history of the Bronx Bombers and Major League Baseball, that is saying quite a bit.
In his 8th season with the Yankees, Mo has proven again and again not only how good he is, but also how durable he is. Just look at his stats. Compared to other good closers from the last several years - Trevor Hoffman, Troy Percival, Kazuhiro Sasaki - Mo has the lowest E.R.A., highest average number of innings pitched, and averages 30 saves a season. These numbers in itself are astounding, but what sets Mo apart from the rest of these guys is not what he does from April to September, but rather how he devours hitters in the postseason.
In the Yankees run since 1996, Mo has recorded an unreal E.R.A. of 0.32, 0.76, and 1.76 in the ALDS, ALCS, and World Series respectively, and he was the MVP in the 1999 World Series. And until Game 7, he was 6-0 with 24 saves in 51 games.
Considering how all the numbers seemed to lie in his favor, Mo’s so-called meltdown in the bottom of the 9th was beyond disbelief. Since the Yankees began this run in the postseason back in 1996, no one has ever successfully challenged the Yankees with Mo as their closer, except for that Sandy Alomar Jr. home run in 1997. Mo just doesn’t blow games, especially in the World Series. Only after the inexplicable occurred, did it seemed like all the critics in the world finally decided to come out of the woodwork. So what happened?
Maybe he was tired. That obviously was a plausible argument. After all, Mo’s been used for inning-plus saves so often in 2001 that the innings must be finally catching up with him. But then again, didn’t Mo just struck out the side an inning earlier?
Maybe he was nervous. Given the situation – bottom of the 9th, Game 7, your team up 2-1 – another closer might be overly anxious out there. But this is Mo we’re talking about here. The guy doesn’t seem to even break out a sweat in tight situations where most of us fans would be covering our eyes because we’re THAT afraid of what might happen (Hey, I know I did that and more.)
Then there is the answer that most non-Yankees' fans like – and the one that most Yankees fan would laugh at – maybe he’s losing it.
If you tune in to these critics – most of them far from ever becoming fans of the Yankees – Rivera has lost his sense of invincibility, as the Yankees did, in Arizona. “He will suffer a letdown in 2002,” they said. And on several occasions this season – like that game-winning home run that he gave up to Yankee-killer Shea Hillenbrand back on April 13th and the meltdown he had against Cleveland on July 14th – Mo had shown he was human. Maybe it was because he was hurt, since he has been on the DL three times this season, including right now. But even so, his stats are still rather stellar.
The Yankees will no doubt once again be the favorites going into the postseason – as well as the hunted. Sure, the Diamondbacks are the REAL defending champs, and the A’s and Angels are super hot. But when it comes down to it, every team’s goal is to beat the Yankees. They already proved that they could win without Rivera, going with the trio of Steve Karsay/Ramiro Mendoza/Mike Stanton as closer while Mo is on the DL. And that might be okay for now, but once the calendar turns to October, the Yankees would like nothing better than to have "The Sandman" return to their roster. Because as all teams can tell you, "Mystique and Aura" DOES appear in the Bronx - and anywhere else the Yankees play - daily. His name is Mariano Rivera. And he's back.
Wai Ting is a columnist for NYYFans.com.
