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Facing Mariano Rivera

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Facing Mariano Rivera

Players Recall the Greatest Relief Pitcher Who Ever Lived
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Description

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.

Author Biography

David Fischer has written for the New York Times and Sports Illustrated for Kids, and has worked at Sports Illustrated, National Sports Daily, and NBC Sports. He is also the author of Yankee Stadium Scrapbook: A Lifetime of Memories, and co-author of Sports of the Times, Greatest Sports Rivalries, and Red Sox vs. Yankees. He lives in River Vale, New Jersey. 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. He passed away in 2018, at the age of eighty-nine.
Release date Australia
March 5th, 2019
Author
Audience
  • General (US: Trade)
Contributor
  • Foreword by Dave Anderson
Country of Publication
United States
Illustrations
50 b&w photos
Imprint
Sports Publishing LLC
Pages
312
Publisher
Sports Publishing LLC
Series
Dimensions
152x229x25
ISBN-13
9781683582793
Product ID
28225131

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