Special Editor
DongA.com, Song Chi-Hoon

With a decade of experience as a sports journalist and 30 years as a devoted baseball fan, Song Chi-Hoon brings deeper insights into the fascinating hidden stories of Major League Baseball.

※ This content is part of a special collaboration with MLB Park and features unique items from the Eland Museum.

On September 19, 2011, at Yankee Stadium, the New York Yankees faced the Minnesota Twins.

All eyes in the stadium were on the pitcher with number 42 on the mound in the top of the ninth inning. If he could protect the Yankees' 6-4 lead, he would become the pitcher with the most saves in MLB history. His name was Mariano Rivera.

The Yankees had built a 5-0 lead early, but the Twins closed the gap to 6-4, setting the stage for Rivera's save opportunity. The crowd was abuzz, anticipating witnessing history.

In the bottom of the eighth, with one out and runners on first and second, Nick Swisher hit into a double play, keeping the score at 6-4 and maintaining the save situation. The fans cheered, relieved that Rivera would get his chance.

Rivera took the mound, receiving a roar from the crowd. He retired Trevor Plouffe with a groundout to second, Michael Cuddyer with a flyout to right, and struck out Chris Parmelee looking to end the inning. His teammates rushed to the mound to congratulate him.

In his post-game interview, Rivera commented on the fans' reaction to the double play:

“I wanted to pitch, but I didn’t want my teammates to do bad. When I saw that I thought ‘These fans are crazy. We need to score some runs.’ But at the same time, I appreciated it because they wanted me to pitch.”

With this game, Rivera recorded his 602nd career save, surpassing Trevor Hoffman's previous record of 601 saves.

Born in Panama, Rivera joined the Yankees in 1990 but struggled with language barriers and underwent elbow surgery, making his adjustment difficult. Despite these challenges, his high-90s fastball kept him in the game, leading to his MLB debut as a starter in 1995.

As a rookie, Rivera pitched 67 innings in 19 games (10 starts), with a 5-3 record and a 5.51 ERA. The following year, he transitioned to the bullpen as a setup man.

Although he recorded only five saves that season, Rivera was a key multi-inning reliever, pitching three innings in eight games and over two innings in 27 games. His performance earned him a third-place finish in the 1996 Cy Young voting, an unprecedented achievement for a reliever with only five saves.

Starting in the 1997 season, Rivera firmly established himself as the Yankees' closer, racking up 43 saves that year. Over the next 15 seasons, he consistently recorded at least 28 saves each year, with an ERA under 2.00 in 11 of those seasons. Aside from his first two years when he wasn’t a closer and the 2012 season when he was limited to just nine games due to injury, Rivera recorded 30 or more saves in every season except for one, in 2002, when he had 28 saves. Remarkably, he notched 40 or more saves in 10 different seasons.

Rivera’s signature pitch was the cutter (cut fastball). Initially, he threw a high-90s fastball and slider, but he added a cutter and a two-seam fastball, eventually dropping the slider. His cutter became legendary, with hitters knowing it was coming but still unable to hit it effectively.

After a subpar 2007 season by his standards (3-4, 30 saves, 3.15 ERA, four blown saves), Rivera relied even more on his cutter. His command was impeccable, rarely giving up hard contact or walks, with a career slugging percentage against of .293, HR/9 of 0.5, and BB/9 of 2.0, often painting the corners of the strike zone.

Rivera’s dominance was even more pronounced in the postseason, earning him the nickname “Untouchable.” His postseason stats include 96 games, 141 innings, an 8-1 record, 42 saves, and a 0.70 ERA. Despite pitching the most postseason innings, he has the lowest ERA in history.

His postseason Win Probability Added (WPA) is a staggering 11.7, meaning he contributed enough to win nearly 12 games single-handedly. The next highest WPA for a reliever is 2.7, for a starter is 4.1, and for a hitter is 3.2.

In the 1998 and 1999 postseasons, Rivera was flawless, pitching 24 1/3 scoreless innings in 1998 and 12 1/3 scoreless innings in 1999. He earned the 1999 World Series MVP with 4 2/3 scoreless innings, one win, and two saves.

Before the 2013 season, Rivera announced his retirement. On September 26, 2013, he made his final appearance at Yankee Stadium against the Tampa Bay Rays. Entering in the eighth inning to "Enter Sandman," Rivera retired all four batters he faced. With two outs in the ninth, the Yankees sent Andy Pettitte and Derek Jeter to the mound to pull Rivera, who embraced them and wept, receiving a standing ovation from the crowd.

Rivera finished his career with 1,115 games, 1,283 2/3 innings, 82 wins, 60 losses, 652 saves, a 2.21 ERA, and 1,173 strikeouts.

Rivera was a lock for the Hall of Fame, but on January 22, 2019, he made history again by becoming the first unanimous inductee.

Rivera's unanimous selection was influenced by changes in the voting body, removing many long-retired, conservative voters, along with his dominant postseason record and positive public image.

Despite some debate about whether a reliever deserved unanimous induction, there is no doubt Rivera is the greatest closer in MLB history.

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