THE MARIANO WE KNOW AND LOVE

The following story was originally posted on September 22, 2013. I wanted to find the best way to honor Mo today considering he would be inducted into Cooperstown. Reading through the BYB archive, I remembered this and wanted to share.

The photo above was taken on my recent visit to Cooperstown. That is Mo's autograph and once the plaque is installed, it will cover that signature forever. A pretty cool thing to see when it comes to the "behind the scenes" of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.  

Congrats to Mariano.  You are the greatest! Thank you! Oh and it wouldn't fair to not congratulate Mike Mussina too.  Talk about class... you were it!

Greatness comes in many different forms. Maybe it’s a teacher that takes the time to stay after school to give your child extra help. Maybe it’s that coach that reassures your child that if they believe in them self, anything can be accomplished. Or maybe it’s in the form of a boy from Panama with a love for the game of baseball and who perfected his craft with 1 pitch to become the greatest closer of all time.

Mariano Rivera is greatness, and with him, and his teammates, they climbed many mountains together. When you read about Rivera’s humble beginnings and see where he is today and how he is constantly pushing himself and his club to win and never give up, there is something very special with that sentiment. It’s a life lesson. It stems from his childhood and was molded when he reached the Yankee farm system.

He, Jorge Posada, Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte… they came from all over the country, became friends in the minor leagues and brothers with the New York Yankees. They pushed each other and with it, grabbed the torch and ran to the finish, together. That’s greatness. Now there are many directions you can go after you accomplished everything in your career. You can become arrogant, demand more, create an ego and don’t go back to where you began. Or, you become a teacher, a mentor… maybe you even go back to your native land and build a church with your own money and resources for people that can't afford anything. That makes you a man, that makes you the greatest.

My son had the most dynamic experience he has ever had in baseball this past summer. It was the summer they won it all. This only happened because my son, who is 11, was smart enough to know he was getting screwed in his own hometown, squeezed out for a “core 9” the town wanted to keep in place. He did something at 11 that I would never have had to balls to do. He went to a tryout with a club where he knew no one. But, like Posada, or Mariano Rivera, he wanted it so badly that it didn’t matter if he was on Mars or in New Jersey… he was going to get it. The coach was straight with me.

"He’s not the best, but he’s got mad skills and he’s got a ton of heart.” They gave him a chance, a shot and he made it, and like Mo, or Andy, or maybe even your son or daughter, he ran with the chance because he knew if he didn’t… there was someone else who would jump right in and take it. He held onto it tight and as the team progressed, he progressed and when he stood there holding that 4 foot trophy at the end of the summer… he knew he had arrived.

Mariano had arrived, achieved, pushed and became the greatest. He did it for himself sure, but there was much more to it. He did it because he had 24 other guys there to fight with him. Mariano never complained in his entire career. That's a fact. Mariano knew his role and knew that if he didn’t perform, they would lose. It’s a warrior mentality you really can’t teach… it’s in you. He, Jorge, Derek, Andy, they have 5 championships together. It wasn’t because they were sitting around waiting for it to come to them, it was because they had the confidence and the ability and the want and the need to win it all. It’s killer instinct… and it’s what made Mariano Rivera the best… the greatest of all time.

What is greatness? It’s Mariano Rivera. I have never seen a man with such class. I was taken back by how all major league baseball embraced this man, because not only was he a tough competitor, he showed incredible sportsmanship. He is loved by all and for he and his family, this chapter with the New York Yankees, as a player at least, is about to end. They deserve their time now.

So we will say “So Long”, but not "Goodbye"… not yet at least. I write this with a tear in my eye. That happens alot, but this one is special. Mariano is the symbol of greatness. When he stands there on the mound and soaks it in, he’s bashful about it. That’s a champion.

His thinking is, “I was just doing my job”. Our thinking is, “You’ve done more than you will ever know.” 

Thank you Mo… you’re the greatest...a great role model for my children, and the greatest closer this game will ever know. You have inspired millions to follow in your footsteps and I'll never forget it... ever.