TAMPA — In many ways, Mariano Rivera is the Yankees’ Most Valuable Player. Just think where this franchise would be without the great Rivera. To truly understand Rivera, you have to go back to his days growing up in Panama. Listen to this story about how Rivera forged his winning ways playing baseball:
When he was 8, 9, 10 years old, each team would put up 25 cents, winner takes all.
“Whoever scored 10 runs first was the winner,” Rivera explained last night at Steinbrenner Field. “Are you kidding me, 50 cents, that was gold for us! And we fight to the end. It was beautiful. It don’t matter what we have to do, we fight to the end. Most of the time we came up winners. And my team was small, but a lot of hitting. We beat a lot of teams.
“I always had that determination to win,” Rivera said. “I was disciplined to win. I hated to lose. I hate to lose at anything, with my cousins, anything. I was very, very competitive. That’s the point. We didn’t want to let that 25 cents get away without fighting.”
All the young pitchers in the Yankees organization should heed Rivera’s words.
“You have to fight for that goal — it ain’t going to be given to you, no one is going to hand you anything,” he said with passion. “You have to fight for it. You have to earn it.” Terms of the financial deal have changed. It’s no longer 50 cents, but Rivera has had the same determination throughout his career.
Rivera owns 526 career saves, the most in AL history, and only Trevor Hoffman (591) has more. The way Rivera is going, he will be the all-time leader. He has another 39 in the postseason. Rivera is 40, but he may be in the best shape of any Yankee.
He looks back to those days when he was a kid and how those games shaped his approach to the game. Win or lose, he knew he did the best he could and moved on to the next game.
He still never looks back.
“It’s a blessing, but that’s something I learned playing those games as a kid,” he said. “If we lost, we gave our best.”
And here’s the best part. “If we won,” Rivera said, “we all went to the little store to buy a big liter of soda and oatmeal cookies and we share.”
That’s what winning is all about.
The Yankees may have issues with the fifth starter, but once again pitching is the strength of this team. The addition of Javier Vazquez solidifies the rotation. He was the Braves’ best pitcher last year, and with a solid four starters, that puts the Yankees where they need to be, because they can always count on Rivera.
Come contract time at the end of the year, the Yankees cannot afford to lose Rivera. He said he has no concerns about that because, “I have a job.”
He keeps it simple. “Business is business,” he said. That means Rivera expects to be treated fairly by the Yankees at the end of the year. No matter what happens, he has no worries at all. He may be the most together athlete to ever play this game.
“Why should I worry about something I don’t control?” Rivera said. “I have a job right now, so I rejoice in it.”
Rivera has been in great spirits all spring. He is expected to pitch in a game for the first time on Tuesday. The only other player who has the same type of mental edge that Rivera has is Derek Jeter. They are the competitive cornerstones.
“That’s the beauty about this,” Rivera said of the challenge to win another championship. “Every year is a new beginning. With that comes new challenges. You have to be up to the challenge. Definitely, I’m up to the challenge. Do it again.”
Find a way to win to take that 50 cents.