Mariano Rivera: Yankees Superstar Must Not Let Injury Force Retirement

Before the season started, all the talk surrounding Mariano Rivera was how this could be his last season. Following the freak accident on Thursday night in which the New York Yankees closer tore his ACL, hopefully he decides to give it another go in 2013. 

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Mariano Rivera with torn ACL.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) May 4, 2012"

We all have an image of great athletes that we don't want to lose. Certainly, nothing that happened with Rivera's injury will ever tarnish his image or legacy as the best relief pitcher of this generation and one of the best in the history of baseball. 

But the idea that Rivera might end up walking away from the game he has been part of since 1995—during which time he has won five World Series, a World Series and ALCS MVP and been part of 12 All-Star teams—is not the ending he wants or deserves. 

No one knows what Rivera is going to do now. Given his personality, he could very well decide that this is the end of his career and not give it a second thought. It's not like he has anything else to prove on the field. 

Rivera could have retired years ago and he would walk into the Hall of Fame. The level of consistent dominance he has shown while playing a position that is by nature completely unstable and leaves players prone to short careers is staggering. 

Now there are a lot more questions than answers, both for Rivera and us. At 42 years old, the rehab that Rivera will have to do just to make it back to the playing field might be more than he is comfortable with. 

It is possible that Rivera will decide that he wants to go out on a higher note than being carted off after crumbling to the ground clutching his knee. 

The only one who has any idea what is going to happen is Rivera. He has never been one to keep chasing things on the field. He shows up, does his job and does it better than anyone in the sport today. 

Even if we are saying it selfishly because we don't want to see Rivera go out like that, we sit here today just hoping that we haven't seen the end of the most dominant relief pitcher of this generation. 

Given Rivera's competitive fire, I find it hard to believe that he wants to go out this way, either.

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