Facing Mariano Rivera: Players Recall the Greatest Relief Pitcher Who Ever Lived

The all-time career leader in saves, with 652, Mariano Rivera is one of the greatest professional athletes in history. Since taking over the closer's role for the New York Yankees in 1997, until his retirement in 2013, Rivera saved 30 or more games in every season but one. In addition, he has an astonishing MLB record 42 postseason saves, with 11 of them coming in the World Series. After 19 seasons in the Major Leagues, his preeminence among relief pitchers is assumed and his induction into Cooperstown assured.

And he accomplished it all, mostly, with one devastating pitch: his signature cut fastball. As third baseman Corey Koskie put it: "You knew what pitch Rivera's] going to throw, a cutter. . . . You start to swing at the pitch and the next thing you know, the ball explodes your bat. I tried multiple things hoping to figure out a way get the barrel of the bat] on one of his pitches. . . . Nothing worked."

Far from a conventional biography, Facing Mariano Rivera offers perspectives and testimonials from opponents and teammates alike, including Rivera's minor-league roommate and the final batter he faced in the major leagues. Some opponents had uncommon success against "The Sandman," and they share their secrets for hitting him. Most, however, echo the sentiments of five-time All-Star Mike Sweeney: "When you're at Yankee Stadium and Mariano Rivera is coming in the game, it feels like a horror movie . . . when you hear the music and you're scared to death, because you know what's going to happen."

Truly dominant pitchers come along only rarely. This book tells the reader what it's like to battle one of the all-time best, in the words of the players who did just that.

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Author: David Fischer
Publisher: Sports Publishing LLC
Published: 03/04/2014
Pages: 288
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.95lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.10w x 1.20d
ISBN: 9781613216392
Audience: Young Adult


Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 02/15/2014 pg. 110

About the Author
David Fischer has written for the New York Times, Sports Illustrated, National Sports Daily, Sports Illustrated for Kids, and more. He is also the author of Yankee Stadium Scrapbook: A Lifetime of Memories, and co-author of Sports of the Times and Greatest Sports Rivalries.
Dave Anderson joined the New York Times in 1966 after working at The New York Journal-American and The Brooklyn Eagle. He became a Sports of The Times columnist in 1971 and won a Pulitzer Prize for distinguished commentary in 1981. Among many other honors, he was inducted into the National Sports Writers and Sportscasters Hall of Fame in 1990 and in 1991 received the Red Smith Award for contributions to sports journalism from the Associated Press Sports Editors.


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