His resume is so insane that everyone likes him even though he’s a yankee and had 2 huge blown saves in the 2004 ALCS & 2001 WS 😂 you can overlook those things and it just shows how legendary he was

When an era+ of 144 is considered a bad season for you, you're the GOAT

I’m a Red Sox fan and me and a friend went to Yankee Stadium on September 11th 2005 to watch the Sox and Yanks play. It was a 1-0 game in the top of the 8th when Torre brought Mariano in to face Ortiz with 1 on and 2 outs. I can still remember to this day the sound of Enter Sandman start playing and those bullpen doors open and the place went absolutely crazy. You could literally feel the excitement throughout the park. Even me and my friend were actually smiling when Mariano started jogging to the mound cause of how insane it all was. It was one of the loudest cheers I’ve ever heard at any stadium. Mo came in and got out of the 8th and then worked out of a little trouble in the 9th to get the safe. To this day I still tell people that that was one of my best memories of a sporting event I’ve ever witnessed.

0.70 Era in the postseason with 141 Innings pitched and 11 ER with 5 Championships an ALCS and World Series MVP is literally insane and MLB the Show type numbers. I feel blessed to have grew up in a Yankee family and watching his career from the start. I could give so many crazy stats and facts but just look at his baseball reference regular season and postseason and World Series stats its literally laughable how great he was

There will never ever be another like Mariano. No one will break his records because of how dominant he was. Analytics prevent managers nowadays from bringing in closers everyday. Mariano will forever be the greatest closer.

Everything about Rivera was amazing. The fact that he was still mowing people down even at the end makes you wonder how much longer he could have played.

I was lucky enough to see him live many times. It was always electric. He was so reliable that when he blew a save, everyone watching was like, "wait, what? Is there something wrong with the ball? And I hope he's okay!" The way the ball just seemed to explode out of his hand was insane to see as a kid. He was always so composed and calm in appearance, and truly everything I knew that embodied the Yankees' way.

Cut fastballs back in Rivera's day were typically high 80s to low 90s. Rivera's cut fastball being consistently 94-97 during his prime with that amount of movement was such an outlier that hitters couldn't prepare well for it. Rivera also had such command and control of the strike zone that perhaps only Greg Maddux can really be considered in the same class during that era. That combination produced such an unstoppable combination that usually only lady luck or a hitter generous home plate umpire could slow Rivera down.

Lifelong Mariners fan. When Ichiro walked off Mo, it felt like the Mariners won the World Series; all-time team moment for a team that doesn't get many all-time moments.

I was a kid but remember the 2001 WS. That Luis Gonzales flair walk off is iconic.

When you heard enter sandman playing, you knew it was over. Mariano told you there was one pitch coming, try and hit it. And whats crazy too is he never needed unlike a lot of pitchers today. Very healthy for most of his career (minus 2012) and IMO, the BEST closer in MLB history

Growing up a Twins fan, I absolutley hated the Yankees. Despite this, I idolized Rivera and developed a cut fastball because of him.

Mariano's control and consistent velocity with his cut-fastball just shows how well a pitcher can do with good control and an average fastball velo "the best pitch in baseball is a well located fastball".

He is also an amazing individual.

I went to his house in Tampa ,he use to go to my church ,we seen him as a regular person and not as a famous person ,he attended to that church over 5 years,he invited the youth to his house.good days 😊😊

Awesome video! My favorite Mariano Rivera stat is more people walked on the moon (12) than he gave up earned runs in his postseason career (11) in 141 innings pitched.

As an almost 31 year old Yankees fan, some of my earliest baseball memories are of Mariano Rivera

His career numbers are insane BEFORE you even consider the context that he did almost all of it with one pitch. No guessing games for the hitter. Just a simple man-to-man challenge. Here's my one pitch: hit it. ⚾️🐐

- His "worst" career ERA: 2.85 - His ERA while injured: 2.75 Freaking OP...

The post season ERA is unbelievable

As a Red Sox I have immense respect for Mariano. As for if there will ever be another 1 like him.....he was a once in a lifetime player.

As a yankees fan and a native new yorker seeing that great yankee dynsaty as it was happening was unbelievable it was euphoric my GOD. The yankees WERE baseball in those days, we absolutely owned major league baseball. Such a great time to be a yankees fan ill never forget those days in my life every yankee game was so good to watch. We will rise to the top again our time will come again !

There are guys around today who have great cutters (Kenley comes to mind), but Mariano's cutter was damn near unhittable. Chipper Jones said it was like facing a guy throwing 95mph chainsaws at you. Guys knew what was coming and still couldn't hit it. His stats are just insane and they won't ever be topped. He'll be leading the Mount Rushmore of closers and deserves every bit of it.

What I always liked best about Rivera was that he never screamed, yelled, or gestuculated after getting an out. He'd come in the game at the most crucial moments, break multiple bats, and make hitters look silly, but he never rubbed it in their faces. He didn't celebrate each out because he viewed it as just doing his job. Getting outs was what he was supposed to do.

No athlete has ever executed their role better. As well, never better.

No matter how much a person may hate the Yankees, it is simply impossible to hate Mariano Rivera.

I got to see him get the save against the Reds in Cincinnati in 2011. My favorite Yankee, Jorge Posada, hit a HR too. It was a good day

Crazy how bro didnt say anything about how he pitched during the toughest decade for pitchers

Those were the best years in baseball. I loved watching them as a kid. At 9-10 I couldn’t grasp why they knew the pitch was coming and still couldn’t hit it haha… I loved it

During that stretch true Yankee fans know as long as Jeter and Rivera were there; the other guys didn't matter. When they spoke about the Yankee mystique what they meant was the overwhelming psychological advantage the Bombers held during that run that set them apart. Captain clutch was going to come through and when they handed the ball to Mo it was lights out.

Boston Red Sox fan here: Mo is clearly the best closer that has ever played the game. There isnt even a close second place to have a discussion. He is the only relief pitcher who is in the discussion for GOAT all time pitchers, IMHO.

I really enjoyed this video. As more of a casual baseball fan at that time in my life, I could never understand why no one could seem to hit his one pitch. It really didn’t look that great yet it made the best hitters in the league always look silly. He certainly was something special.

Bro wore number 42. What a legend

Owner of the best pitch in baseball history

14:07 I always love to see this crushed-bat chair

Great Video! Thanks. All glories to Mariano Rivera!

As a lifelong Red Sox fan, Mo was the truth. One of the only Yankees I both respect and like.

Unanimous ticket to Cooperstown.

THE 1ST PLAYER(SHOULD HAVE BEEN AT LEAST 100) TO RECEIVE 100% OF THE MLB ⚾ HALL OF FAME BALLOT .. MARIANO 'MO' RIVERA#42 ..

If it was a west coast game and the Yankees had a 1 run lead coming in the bottom of the ninth with Mo coming in I’d just turn the game off and go to bed, can’t think of many times in his career I woke up the next day and we didn’t win. His level of dominance was just incredible, even his blown saves which where exceedingly rare it was like a couple of soft fart broken bat bloopers. And he did the aforementioned for 18 years.

My dad and his family are from Westchester County which is just north of NYC and where a lot of players and coaches live during the season because it's outside the city enough that you actually have property but it's also only 15-20 min drive to Yankee Stadium. My grandmother who was and still is a massive Yankee fan ended up befriending Mariano simply by running into him at the bank, the pizza place in the town, just out running errands. He was always happy to see her, called her Catherine even though everyone calls her Cathy, asked about me and my sister whom he never met but she always talked about, and she always said he was always just the nicest most respectful guy in the world, carrying on conversations, stopping to talk to her when he didn't have to and a simple hello in passing would have been good enough to make her day.

Here before this blows up

Perhaps the most memorable game I've ever been to in person was a late August game in 2009 in Seattle where Ichiro hit a bottom of the ninth, two out, two-run walkoff home run against Rivera. It was electric. A true hall of fame match up.

To be fair, that 85 mph LL pitch amouhts tk about 110mph In MLB, and I don't think many pros could hit that either ;)

When your signature pitch is called the buzzsaw, because the amount of bats he cut in half, you know you’re a beast.

I'm a Red Sox fan, and I knew for years that if the Sox were going to beat the Yankees, they'd better have a lead after 7 innings, because if not, Mo was there to shut the door. Rivera was amazing to watch, even for an opposing fan like myself.

His biggest failures are some of the greatest moments in baseball history simply because of his presence on the mound. He was almost God-Like to watch.

As a Red Sox fan, Mariano is my favorite closer of all time. He’s literally the GOAT of GOATS! Yankees Fan were lucky to have him.

If you want to be the best you must beat the best. The Sox in 04 they could say they beat one of the best Closers of all time before they could advance to the World Series and win it for the first time since 1918. No shame for Mariano that day. Just one bad pitch and great baserunning by Dave Roberts the game was tied. Any lesser pitcher it would of been all forgotten!!! Pedro and Mariano will go down as great pitchers of that era.

It feels too early to be here

More people have walked on the moon than scored against Rivera in the playoffs. That is actually just so insane to think about.

Us Yankee fans were spoiled while he was playing. He essentially made the gane a 7 inning game... because if it was ever close and got to the eighth inning, we knew Yanks would win.

Mariano rivera could throw a cutter ranging from 91-94 mph to all 4 corners not to mention almost always jamming them when he threw inside

As a Red Sox fan, I started liking Mariano Rivera as a person in 2005. The Yankees were of course the scheduled opponent for the Sox’ home opener, and as each Yankee was announced, they were lustily booed by the Fenway faithful. The bigger the star, the louder the boos. That is, until Rivera was announced. The boos turned to raucous cheering. Rather than take this attempt at humiliating him for his blown saves stoically or getting upset, he just smiled and tipped his cap. Classy move. On an unrelated note, former Red Sox third baseman Bill Mueller’s last name is pronounced MILL-er, not MYOO-ler. My next door neighbor at the time had the same first and last name, but pronounced it MULL-er so the difference stuck with me.

Red Sox fan here. I always respect the skill that the Yankees could bring to the game. But Rivera is the only Yankee I ever feared. There was immense pressure to be well ahead by the end of the 7th. Because if you weren't, you'd have to face him, and the game was over. The best closer ever, and in some ways, maybe the best pitcher ever.

If he played for any other club, he'd be right next to Junior as the most universally beloved baseball player of all time.

Great video.

Growing up, and playing baseball. It blew me away you knew the Cutter was coming from 42, yet no one could hit it. Kenley Jansen got close with his cutter. His prime was crazy too

What’s interesting for Rivera is he was constantly put in the situation to get a save and he almost always consistently delivered in closing the game all the way up till he retired. Was he the best closer ever with the best stuff? Maybe not the best in everything but his cutter was the nastiest thing I’ve probably ever seen.

Can confirm. Watched him live back in the day

He was a phenomenal closer, and I know I’ll get hate for saying this, but the blown playoff saves against Arizona in game 7 of the World Series (01) and Boston in game 4 of the ALCS, on the verge of a 4-0 sweep in that series which they would infamously blow (04) will always sting. Ok you can destroy me now 😂

For one season, the Yankees had another reliever who put together an amazing record. In 1927, Wilcy Moore, pitching primarily in relief, posted a record of 19-7 with an ERA of 2.28. What makes this so unique is, like Mariano Rivera, he did it with one pitch, a sinking fastball he could locate with pinpoint control.

He was more like a force of nature than anything, you know it's coming, but still cannot do anything. That is the most gangster shit in baseball ever. One of my favorite players ever

If you heard the Metallica song "Enter Sandman" at the stadium, you knew who was heading to the mound and the game was over. So many great memories at the old Yankee Stadium.

As a sox fan growing up, I hated the Yankees. But not Rivera. I feared and respected him.

I was always a huge Red Sox fan growing up but I always had MASSIVE respect for Mariano. Man was incredibly dominant at his craft and played with incredible class. I feel the same about Derek Jeter

No steroid allegations. Probably got a big ol' hog on him, too. He's a goddamn hero

That's true! literally and figuratively

Trevor Hoffman and coming out of the bullpen to Hells Bells (he was the first to use that song) was the most electrifying thing you ever experienced and the crowd would go crazy.

As a Tigers fan it hurts thinking about a David Wells for Rivera trade. The fact he learned to throw the cutter at Tiger Stadium is just salt in the wounds.

I know there's a game called ultimate frisbee, but his pitch was the "ultimate frisbee."

I think we’re going to see Ohtani become a closer, after his recent injury, plus the WBC. I think the starting is going to be too much, and that way, he can still be active pitching. ALSO, Robinson, Aaron, Mays, Williams, Mantle and some other should have also been unanimous votes for the HOF. Criminal that Aaron and Robinson were not.

A living legend

The amazing thing is that closer wasn’t his best position. He was even a better set up man in 1995

As a Red Sox fan, I hated the guy. As a baseball fan, I admired the man.

Wow...that's INCREDIBLE!! I wonder what it was that made him so hard to hit.

Nah aint no one better than eckersley

GOAT

A lot of people in Panama refer to Rivera as "Señor Automatico!" Mr. Automatic!

Sand man is for SURE the Michael Jordan of closers and for sure the cutter pitch! So glad he was a Yankee his entire career!!!

Enter the Sandman. Thank you for everything you done for us Mariano

W video

Correction, In the 2009 WS, Yankees closed out the Phillies in 6 games, not 5.

My theory is this. At 95mph+ it is proven the human eye cannot track the ball from about 20 to the plate so every hitter’s brain has to determine where the ball will end up after the first 40 feet. Your brain can do that calculation. But his cutter broke so late the ball was simply not where the batter’s brain said it would be when it crossed the plate. So it didn’t matter the hitter knew what was coming.

Obligatory "More men have walked on the Moon than scored an earned run against Mariano Rivera in the postseason."

Do a video on Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders

I agree

Has the amount of broken bats ever been tracked? By both hitters and batters? Seems Mo would be pretty far up there, if not first by a lot and at least the most memorable, considering the Twins gave him that chair.

This title is “Perfect “!

Mariano Rivera was ridiculous! And he came outta nowhere, I'd put him up there with Nolan and Pedro as one of the goats!

Weirdest thing about Rivera nowadays when you watch old film is he wore 42 into the 2010’s

It's often impossible to say that someone is or was the best at what they did, objectively. This is not the case for Mo.

Correction: Mo didn’t have TJ surgery. He had the UCL repaired, not replaced

HOLY UPWARD INFLECTION BATMAN!!! Couldn’t watch this video because of it

The one pitched Reliever

I’m still upset with Rivera giving up 2001 World Series winning run

More people have walked on the moon than scored on him in the postseason 🔥🔥

There will be another though, probably someone even better

As a Jays fan, the number 42 still gives me nightmares.

New Yorkers literally bullied everyone into thinking a one inning pitcher was the Goat…