Through his major league career, Darin Erstad fared brilliantly against Mariano Rivera. In 14 at-bats versus the greatest closer of all time, Erstad recorded seven hits, good — great, really — for a .500 average.
“Pure luck,” Erstad told The Post. “I do not have an at-bat against him in regular-season play where I did not break my bat. All seven hits were broken bats, and every time I made contact I broke my bat.”
It sounds like Erstad is exaggerating, but he insists, “I’m not making that up.”
The former Angels, White Sox and Astros outfielder never solved Rivera’s brilliance or discovered a weakness. Nevertheless, Erstad is included in the rare group of hitters who enjoyed actual success against the planet’s best relief pitcher.
In Rivera’s 19-year career, just 16 players have recorded more than six hits against him and posted at least an .800 OPS while doing so. Most of the 16 are potential Hall of Famers (Ichiro Suzuki, David Ortiz, Edgar Martinez), All-Stars (Nomar Garciaparra, Carlos Delgado, Magglio Ordonez) or otherwise solid players (Jeff Conine, Bill Mueller).
“Seven singles and one double? I don’t call that exactly great success against a guy, but I’m happy for it,” Delgado said of his 8-for-21 line against Rivera. “Probably the softest 8-for-21 in my career, but I’ll take it.”
How did Delgado and Co. do it? In speaking to five of Rivera’s nemeses, no consistent pattern or strategy emerged.
Delgado, a fearsome slugger with the Blue Jays, Marlins and Mets, said he would choke up on his bat to shorten the distance to the barrel.
“Because that ball kept coming in on me and it kept hitting me on the label,” Delgado said. “I always found that the cutter got in on me, got in on me. I could never square him away.”
Garciaparra (8-for-23) also employed a trick — moving closer to the mound in an attempt to reduce the impact of Rivera’s cutter.
“It probably increases velocity, but I was more worried about the breaks,” the shortstop-turned-ESPN analyst said. “His cutter would break so late. I thought if I moved up … because I was more worried about the break than the velocity.”
Conine, however, said he didn’t try anything unusual in going 6-for-16 with a homer.
“There wasn’t any particular set plan that I had against him,” he said. “My focus was try to get it into the strike zone and get a barrel on it. That was basically my approach.”
Martinez represents one of five players who have more than one home run off Rivera in their careers, the others being Miguel Cabrera, Aubrey Huff, Evan Longoria and Rafael Palmeiro (two homers each). Martinez’s production against Rivera — a .579 average (11-for-19) with two homers, three doubles, three walks and 1.705 OPS — is easily the best of any opponent.
“I think what helped me was I wasn’t trying to do too much when he was a reliever,” Martinez said. “He allowed me to make contact. … What I used to do is prepare for that at-bat way before it happens. I had my approach already, which was middle-away. I felt I would get one pitch to hit that way.”
What was an at-bat against Rivera like? Erstad equated facing him to one of “the wonders of the world.”
“I think everybody should have an opportunity to stand [in against him],” he says.
Erstad, as with other hitters who found success against Rivera, marveled at his cutter.
“You see it so well and you track it, and then it picks up six, seven gears on its way to the plate, not to mention it comes right at you,” Erstad said. “How that happens, I don’t know. I’ve warned numerous young hitters that you see it, but it’s not where you think it is.”
Garciaparra also said Rivera’s cutter would fluctuate.
“Not every one of them cut,” he said. “It wasn’t like every single one of them moved the exact same distance.”
Delgado said Rivera’s velocity was a challenge, noting an 86-mph cutter is one thing and a 93-mph cutter — which is what Rivera would fire — is far different.
“That’s the difference between hitting the ball and getting jammed,” Delgado said. “The thing that I know is that your hands can’t go to where a ball isn’t. What made it so effective is his cutter is so hard … by the time you see it, you don’t have time.”
Not only did Rivera throw his cutter with velocity and different movement, but Conine recalled, when he was with the Orioles, hearing rumors Rivera was starting to throw a sinker. One game, Cal Ripken Jr. faced Rivera and hit a ball off the fists.
“Guys, the rumor’s true,” Ripken told his teammates. “That was a sinker, and it was a good one.”
Successful or not, Martinez hardly considered it a fait accompli he would get a hit against Rivera when they squared off. After collecting eight hits in his first nine at-bats, he went 3-for-10 with three singles the rest of the way.
For the former Mariners star, all of the confrontations were tough.
Said Martinez, “It’s never easy with Mariano.”