The Death Of A Sandman

They call New York City "The City That Never Sleeps".

Ironic.

For 17 seasons, one of the great icons of the New York Yankees, Mariano Rivera and his "Enter Sandman" entrance song has shut the lights out.

Game after game, Yankee closer Mariano Rivera would dissolve the opposing team's will to nothing, their bats shattered into dust, and sped up their inevitable walk back to the clubhouse, as losers.  When Mariano came to the mound, the chefs preparing the postgame spread knew they needed to speed up service.

Until now.

Thursday, May 3rd, while shagging fly balls during pregame batting practice in Kansas City, Mariano twisted his knee on the warning track dirt.  Mariano fell, immediately grabbed his right knee, writhed in pain, face contorted from a guy who never seem fazed about anything.  At the time, you just knew he tore his ACL.  Hours later, doctors confirmed the Yankee nightmare.  This Kansas City dirt should go to the Smithsonian because it's the only thing that has stopped Mariano since the mid 90s.

Mariano was carted off the field underneath a billboard sign in the stadium that said, "Walk Off A Hero".  Fitting for a guy who is so beloved by everyone in baseball.  Many players, former and current, have called him one of the nicest, most respectful players they have ever seen on the field.

Years ago, baseball retired Jackie Robinson's #42.  The league wanted everyone else to stop wearing that number, so we could all remember Jackie and his fight into baseball as the first African American player.  However, baseball made an exception for Mariano.  He wore #42 his entire career and they let him keep wearing it.  They knew Mariano was a great representative of not only Jackie, but of the league, and who better to be an example to the younger generation, who haven't followed the new school tradition of going towards the NFL as America's sport, but instead hang on to baseball as America's past time.

For the past 17 seasons, I have been blessed to watch Mariano close game after game, night after night.  During his career, he has 608 saves; the career saves leader.  He has an ERA of 2.21, the lowest of any pitcher since 1921, who has pitched a minimum of 1000 innings.  He has struck out over 1100 batters; almost one per inning.  He gives up a home run about once every two months.  Amazing, considering...

He throws one pitch.  A cutter that goes into left handed hitters and away from right handed hitters.  He has perfected it so well that everyone knows it's coming, and everyone either strikes out, breaks their bat or grounds out weakly.  Incredible.  For 17 years, this has been Mo's M.O. and everyone can't stop it.  It was like watching a sun rise.  Everyday, it was going to happen, you couldn't stop it, and you just sat there in awe and amazement.

It has been a true honor to watch Mariano.  He has given me so much joy in being the last man to stand on the mound, solidifying another Yankee win.  He has won five World Series championships and has closed out the series clinching win in four of those.  The greatest moments for me include him finishing off the cross town Mets during the 2000 World Series, and him pitching an incredible three innings to beat their rivaled Red Sox during Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS.  Those games meant more to me as a Yankee fan than any other.  You were always going to hear about it from their fans if the Yankees lost, and fortunately, Mariano did not let that happen.

Mo is 42 years old, and he said before the beginning of the year, he made up his mind whether this was his swan song.  He didn't say one way or the other, but you got the sense this was it.  The best closer in baseball history, the soft spoken, well mannered guy who shattered the dreams of the opposing teams fans, was going to soon slowly walk off the eighteen foot high mound consisting of dirt and rubber, and on towards the bright light of retirement.  And, now he's out for the rest of the season.  Time will tell if he walked off for the final time.  But, one thing is for certain, he most definitely walked off a hero.