Enter Sandman, Part 2.
Mariano Rivera hung up his spikes last October, but his son’s professional career is just beginning.
And the Yankees are keeping the prestigious name in the family.
The Yankees took Iona College star Mariano Rivera III in the 29th round (872 overall) Saturday afternoon, on the final day of the First-Year Player Draft.
“Being drafted is a blessing,” he said in a phone interview Saturday night. “I wanted to be drafted by the Yankees. … I didn’t know what to do. I was just trying to stay calm. It’s exciting.”
A 5-foot-11 right-handed starting pitcher, Rivera throws a fastball in the low 90s, but his repertoire doesn’t feature a cut fastball — the pitch that made his father the game’s greatest closer. Instead, he relies on a slider as his out pitch.
Rivera, a rising junior who wears No. 6 — not 42 like his dad — has improved each year at Iona, after playing sparingly in high school at Iona Prep while growing up in Harrison, N.Y. He began to take baseball seriously in college and has rapidly progressed.
He’s been adamant his father’s shadow hasn’t affected his own path, nor will it.
“The fact that I’m a Yankee doesn’t change anything,” Rivera said. “I’m still my own person. I still have to develop. I still have to go on that road on my own. I have to do my own, thing, I have to work hard, get stronger.”
Following a redshirt season three years ago, he was used as a spot-starter and reliever last year and became Iona’s top starter this season. He currently is in New Hampshire, pitching for the Laconia Muskrats of the New England Collegiate Baseball League.
Though his numbers this spring — 2-6 with a 5.40 ERA, 72 hits allowed and 50 strikeouts in 70 innings pitched — were far from eye-popping and Iona finished eighth in the MAAC, he drew notice of scouts because of the improvements he made and famous bloodlines.
“[He threw] 92 miles an hour last time I saw him,” said Damon Oppenheimer, Yankees director of scouting. “He’s in New Hampshire pitching in a summer collegiate league. We think we have a chance of getting him signed. I’d like to see him throw against hitters in that league and we’ll have a discussion.”
Last year, the Yankees drafted Andy Pettitte’s son, Josh, a right-handed pitcher in the 37th round out of Deer Park High School in Texas. Josh Pettitte, however, didn’t sign and attended Baylor, and has since transferred to Rice. But Oppenheimer said this is different.
“Andy’s kid was more of a projection,” Oppenheimer said. “Mariano’s kid throws 92.”
Rivera said he isn’t sure if he wants to stay in school or go pro. He plans to meet with the Yankees, talk to his father and weigh his options.
He has lofty goals of reaching the majors, helping his team win a World Series and reaching the stage his father flourished on.
“I’m very happy, very fortunate,” he said. “I can’t wait to see what the future holds.”
Additional reporting by George A. King III