Mariano Rivera: Definitely Not Pedestrian

When Mariano Rivera was brought up to the Big Leagues in 1995 and started 10 games for the Yankees, he looked pedestrian, sporting a 5.51 ERA and 1.51 WHIP while walking 30 in 67 innings.  16 years later, pedestrian would be one of the words never thought to describe the great Mariano.

In 1996, Joe Torre moved Mo to the bullpen and proved to be one of the best decisions ever--the greatest closer in baseball history was born. Since that world championship year where Mariano mostly acted as a bridge to closer John Wetteland, he has cemented himself among baseball lore for eternity.

Statistics generally don't lie, especially over 15 years. Throughout his Yankee tenure, since he was just "pedestrian" in 1995, Mo accumulated 1108 strikeouts in 1209 innings while only allowing 933 hits and 274 walks. That's a WHIP of an even 1.00. His ERA is a stellar 2.22 and on Monday this week he passed Trevor Hoffman to become the sole leader on the all-time saves list.

If the regular season stats don't impress you, try the post-season on for size:
IP: 139.2
ERA: 0.71
WHIP: 0.77--That's right, his ERA is LOWER than his WHIP
K/BB: 109/21
Saves: 42

To be fair, he did blow the Game 7 of the 2001 World Series against the Diamondbacks but that post-season will be remembered by Derek Jeter's November heroics and how the World Series brought a wounded New York City together.

As he moves into the twilight of his career (he is going to become pedestrian again, right?) Mariano still baffles hitters with pinpoint location and late movement on his pitches. Depending on how the last several games of the season end up, Rivera may finish 2011 with more saves than any year since 2004.

When he finally does retire, baseball will have lost an iconic figure. It's not just his dominance, it's how he plays the game--always tough on himself, but never dwells on the negatives (Burnett should take a page out of Rivera's book).

His record breaking save, #602, was just like hundreds before it. As Yankee fans, we have become used to watching 8 inning baseball games. When Enter Sandman is played, we know the game is over. When "Exit Sandman" finally happens, we will realize that the role of a closer is much harder than Mariano makes it look. He may have started pedestrian, but he became a legend and will continue to cement his place in baseball history for as long as he continues to pitch.