CONTEST WINNER: WHY MARIANO WILL BE AT HIS BEST IN 2012

If you remember our contest HERE, we wanted to reach out to readers and see if anyone would be interested in writing for Bleeding Yankee Blue. We had 28 entries... that's the most ironic part of the whole thing. 28 entries... Quest for 28... are you kidding me? It just seems right, doesn't it? Anyway, out of the 28, all were terrific, but there is 1 that I really enjoyed. And so, the winner of the BYB writing contest is Joseph Saucedo. Not only did he express his passion like a fan, but he did his piece the BYB way and for that, I congratulate you Joe. Good work. Now ladies and gentlemen, I bring you our BYB guest writer and contest winner... Joseph Saucedo.

--Casey

At the age of 42, Mariano Rivera is the 4th oldest player in the AL. In spite of that,I strongly feel that Mo will be at the top of his game in 2012, if it's possible to be better than he already is. His phenomenal conditioning and his fluid delivery make his age an interesting fact and nothing more.

Here is a summary of what Mo accomplished in 2011 it's important because chock full of important facts, some you know, some you don't.

• 11th season with a sub 2.00 ERA.
  
• 8th season with at least 40 saves.
  
• 9th season with a sub 1.00 WHIP.
  
• He has also worked more than 60 innings a year for the past 10 years.
  

Let's also not forget him surpassing Trevor Hoffman for the all-time career saves record. Only with Mo can you list that at the end of his accomplishments so casually. Everybody knows that Mo had off-season surgery on his vocal chords but his voice sounds fine and he is expected to have no ill effects from this. Mo has been utilized by Girardi in the past 4 years in a way that has preserved his arm and our sanity, and for that we thank you Joe.

Due to their abbreviated 2011 playoff schedule, The New York Yankees and Mariano Rivera have had a long off-season with which to return refreshed and ready for serious AL East competition. With 2 new arms to strengthen our starting rotation in Michael Pineda and Hiroki Kuroda, we should continue to expect plenty of chances for Mo to add to his career saves total. Batters only had a .215 BA against Mo in 2011 and he converted 90% of his save opportunities. His Average Leverage Index (aLI) for the past 2 years have been over 2. Basically he is inserted in games where there is a lot more at stake, which makes perfect sense. Girardi uses him when he really needs him.

There has been some speculation as to whether Mariano will sign another contract or if 2012 will be his last season of a Hall of Fame career. I expect Mo to make some kind of announcement during the year so the Yankees can plan for the heir apparent (paging Dr. Robertson AKA Houdini). Though he is not much for fanfare that's not team related, Mo will gracefully allow baseball to honor his last season. What he has done and continues to do is special and must be acknowledged as such. I personally would love to see him pitch in 2013 but if he decides to hang them up, here is how he leaves Major League Baseball.

• 603, most career regular season saves
• 42, most career post-season saves
• 883, most career games finished
• 206 career ERA+, 1st all-time
• 0.70 career Postseason ERA, 1st all-time
• 1,042 most career appearance with a single team
• 12, most All-Star selections as a reliever

I am excluding another 20 or so MLB & Yankee records to save some space, plus he has the 2nd highest WHIP (0.998) of all-time too. This level of consistency will reap benefits for the Yankees and he will add to these already impressive numbers in 2012.

If this is the Sandman's swan song, then look for me in Cooperstown in July 2018...Picture it. I'll be the one wearing a Yankee hat and a #42 New York Yankees jersey of the best relief pitcher to ever play the game.



--Joseph Saucedo, BYB Guest Writer & Contest Winner




By the way, check out Yankees Fans Unite's newest piece HERE.

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