The Sandman stands alone: Mariano Rivera becomes all-time saves leader

The great Mariano Rivera tries to soak it all in after recording his record-breaking 602nd save. (Reuters/Shannon Stapleton)

Mariano Rivera was already the greatest closer the game of baseball has ever seen, but compiling save number 602 against the Minnesota Twins on Monday was statistical proof. He had passed Trevor Hoffman, and after the historic strikeout of rookie Chris Parmelee his New York Yankees teammates gave a smiling Rivera congratulatory hugs. The 41-year-old showed as much emotion as he ever has, and it still wasn’t much.

He has always been so business-like, so peaceful. Throughout his long tenure the team has had ‘World Series or bust’ expectations, but while many pitchers and hitters have struggled under the pressure he certainly hasn’t. He has been as difficult to hit as anyone. And while every other dominant pitcher of his era has needed multiple pitches, Rivera has baffled the opposition with just one, a cut-fastball.

He didn’t start with this one-pitch arsenal. He came up in 1995 with a repertoire that was far from intimidating–a good changeup, breaking ball, and 88-90 mph fastball. “He had a straight fastball and no cutter and no movement,” then General Manager Gene Michael said. “He was mediocre at best.”

Then, everything changed. By 1997 he had finished tinkering with his stuff and had developed his legendary pitch, which then was consistently thrown at 96 mph. Tinkering meant erasing pitches and increasing the velocity of one. That cutter has been all he has used. And hitters haven’t stopped him from consistently racking up strikeout after strikeout and breaking bat after bat.

“I’ve faced him 12 or 15 times, and I’d say he probably broke five or six bats,” said current teammate and ex-Oakland Athletic Eric Chavez recently. “It was quite puzzling how a ball could move out.”

The pitch and its perplexing movement has had opposing hitters trudging back to the dugout and shaking their heads for the better part of 15 years. Its late life and break has made it impossible to consistently hit, and as result Rivera has put together an incredible resume. To go with his saves total and career 2.22 ERA, he has five top-five finishes in the Cy Young Award voting, including four top-3. And this recognition is for a guy who throws an average of 78 innings per season. He has struck out four batters for every walk issued, given up nearly 300 fewer hits than innings pitched, led the league in saves three times, and has an absolutely extraordinary 0.71 postseason ERA, playing a pivotal role in winning five World Series Championships.

Metallica’s famous song, “Enter Sandman” has always been played as he enters the game. When he does toe the mound, the words “Game over” can be safely uttered. And far more often than not he has proven that dangerous proclamation to be right. He has been that good.

He had a severe and very memorable hiccup in the 2004 ALCS against the incredibly and historically resilient Red Sox, blowing two saves, but he certainly hasn’t had many others over the course of his regular or postseason career. He has been as dependable as realistically possible, and as a result he has reached the mark of 602 saves that is 252 more than any active reliever’s total.

“This is an important moment,” the longtime catcher Jorge Posada said, as documented by the New York Times’ Tyler Kepner. “Nobody is ever going to get even close to this. There’s so many intangibles that you have to achieve to get here that it’s amazing that we’re watching it right in front of us. We’re spoiled when he comes into the ballgame because he’s able to do it for so long.”

Manager Joe Girardi doesn’t believe Rivera’s record will be broken anytime soon. “I’d be shocked if it happens in our lifetime,” he said, as documented by NJ.com. Rivera needed an average of 39 over 15 seasons. I think Girardi is right.

Even if it is, whoever overtakes him would be hard-pressed to compare to Rivera in many other categories. It’s hard to find anyone who has been as posed, as calm, as modest, as respectful, and as overwhelming as The Sandman.

His mentality reminds me of perhaps the best scene from the excellent 2000 film Legend of Bagger Vance. Bagger, the caddie, played by Will Smith, tells Junuh, played by Matt Damon, at the tee to “see the field”, to block out everything around him. Junuh does, and a perfect drive ensues. All the unique Rivera has done is see the field and hit that drive over and over again. That’s The Sandman–the best closer the game has seen and will ever see.