Remember when Mariano Rivera used to be a starting pitcher? Rivera made his first major league appearance on May 23, 1995 in a starting role against the Angels in Anaheim.
It was a game Rivera and the New York Yankees would like to forget.
Nemesis Chuck Finley struck out 15 Yankees, while Rivera lasted only three and one-third innings, allowed five earned runs, and suffered his first loss. He soon went back to the Yankees top farm team at Columbus, where he later said that Providence took over.
The last great general manager who worked for the Yankees, Gene Michael, related a fascinating story which was a compelling part of the The Yankee Years, written by Joe Torre and Tom Verducci.
Rivera had been at Columbus for a few weeks when Michael learned that Rivera was throwing at 95 mph, which was an increase of about three mph. Michael confirmed the increase with a Detroit Tigers scout who was interested in acquiring Rivera for David Wells.
“Yeah, I saw him, Stick," the scout told Michael, who asked how hard Rivera had thrown. The report was confirmed.
The next report Michael received indicated that Rivera's fast ball was hitting 96 mph. Michael couldn't explain it.
“Nobody knows. All of a sudden he’s just letting the ball go."
Some writers speculated that Rivera had finally recovered from arm surgery that had occurred in 1992.
Later in the season, the pitching-challenged Yankees brought Rivera back for a start on July 4 at Chicago's Comiskey Park.
Michael asked manager Buck Showalter to start Rivera in Comiskey Park because, as he told reporters, "...it’s shiny, it’s tough to see in Chicago. So we bring him up—eight innings, two hits. Then we knew we had something.”
Rivera struck out 11 before he left for John Wetteland as the Yankees won, 4-1.
In the playoffs against the Seattle Mariners, Rivera appeared in three of the five games. He worked five and one-third innings, allowing only three hits while striking out eight.
Rich "Goose" Gossage, who knows a little about pitching under pressure and had been a starting pitcher who became a relief pitcher, was extremely impressed with Rivera in the final game of the playoff series.
Seattle had tied the game 4-4 in the bottom of the eighth inning. With the bases full of Seattle's (sorry, Red Barber) and two outs, Rivera took over for David Cone to face former Yankee Mike Blowers. Rivera struck him out on a called third strike.
“I just sat there,” said Gossage, “Oh, my God—the coolness.”
Last year, James Traub of the New York Times told veteran closer Mariano Rivera what Gossage had said many years ago with respect to the emotional strain and drain of entering the fifth and final playoff game as a rookie with the bases loaded and the game tied.
Rivera's response explained his greatness.
“It’s a thing I can’t control,” he said. “They did it already. I don’t think about it. If you think about it, you’re going to get drained, and you might not do the job. So what is worth to think about? I’ve got to get the guy out that’s at the plate. I can do something about it.”
Alex Rodriguez, who was with Seattle in 1995 and has been Rivera's teammate since 2004, might have summed it up best.
“I don’t think he knows what pressure means.”
References:
Mariano Rivera: New York Times Magazine
Retrosheet
Martin Erat Marcel Goc Jamie Lundmark Nick Spaling Pikka Rinne Mathieu Carle
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