It was spring training of 1996, and Lou Piniella had to feel like he was on top of the baseball world.
His Mariners were coming off an industry-shaking run to the American League Championship Series, one in which they had eliminated the Yankees and Lou’s old Boss, George Steinbrenner, by climbing out of an 0-2 hole in the AL Division Series. Their success had even prodded the Washington State Legislature to authorize public funding for a new ballpark so they could escape the dank Kingdome, and the club had three mega-stars in Ken Griffey, Jr., Randy Johnson and Alex Rodriguez.
Just think how higher he could have climbed had one more item, a seemingly small one at the time, gone right.
“The general manager, Woody Woodward, called,” Piniella said in a recent interview. “He said he was working on a deal with the Yankees. He mentioned a few prospects, including Mariano. It never materialized.”
It’s the ultimate baseball “What if …” of the past 19 years, the entirety of Rivera’s big-league career: What if the ’96 Yankees, concerned about the underwhelming Grapefruit League showing of their rookie shortstop Derek Jeter, had pulled the trigger and dealt Rivera, at the time a 26-year-old late bloomer with a live arm, to the Mariners for stopgap shortstop Felix Fermin?
“I don’t think like that,” Rivera said. “I don’t wonder about what might have happened. It’s not real.”
No surprise there. Rivera thrives by keeping things simple. For the rest of us, though, it’s exactly the sort of hypothetical we love discussing.
The Yankees’ brain trust at the time, featuring assistant general manager Brian Cashman, former general manager Gene Michael, third-base coach Willie Randolph, manager Joe Torre and general manager Bob Watson, talked Steinbrenner out of the deal — more out of their insistence Jeter get a chance than any vision about Rivera would do.
So the deal would have been a double-whammy. Not only would Rivera have been jettisoned, but Fermin, who slashed .195/.232/.235 for the ’95 Mariners, would have taken away playing time from the profoundly superior Jeter.
(Interestingly, the Mariners wound up releasing Fermin on April 13, 1996, and he signed with … the Yankees, who assigned him to their Triple-A Columbus affiliate. He played there for seven games before getting released again, and he finished his professional career that season with the Cubs.)
While Jeter justified his front office’s faith by winning AL Rookie of the Year honors, Rivera shockingly drew AL Cy Young Award consideration by putting together a spectacular campaign as John Wetteland’s setup man, striking out 130 and walking 34 in 61 appearances totaling 107²/₃ innings. The Yankees then allowed Wetteland to go to Texas as a free agent so they could promote Rivera to closer, and you know the rest.
Without Rivera and with Fermin as their Opening Day shortstop, the Yankees probably wouldn’t have won the World Series in 1996. Down the road, however, you have to figure Jeter eventually would have worked his way up to the everyday shortstop job. He’s a pretty tough dude, and Fermin stunk.
And in the bullpen? Well, Rivera is one of a kind, but there have been plenty of other relievers who contributed to championships.
Let’s say that, instead of five titles from 1996 through 2009, the Yankees would have won three. The 1998, 1999 and 2009 teams were so deep and so strong in all facets that they probably could have gotten by with an inferior closer.
What about Rivera? Would he have established himself as an elite closer with the Mariners, who endured bullpen problems during many of Piniella’s 10 seasons in the Pacific Northwest?
Let’s say that Seattle, which has yet to reach a World Series, would have one title on its résumé had the trade gone through. In 2000, the Mariners fell to the Yankees in six games in the ALCS. Those Yankees probably wouldn’t have even qualified for the playoffs without Rivera. With Rivera, Seattle would have won the whole thing.
Separately, the pitcher and his original team could have thrived. Together, however, they created an all-time legacy.
“The best thing that happened to the Yankees and Mariano both was that he stayed in New York,” Piniella said. “I think he would’ve had a great career no matter where he played. But at the same time, playing in New York, being successful in New York, being great in New York, that really enhances your career.”
The Yankees and Rivera are thankful this is nothing more than a fun conversation, and Piniella is left to wonder how differently he and his former employers would be viewed had The Boss not come to his senses on Jeter.
Which means that, in this close call concerning the game’s best-ever closer, we should credit Jeter with the save.