(
)
TENDER MOMENT: Jackie Robinson’s widow, Rachel, shares a laugh with Derek Jeter at a ceremony celebrating her husband and his retired No. 42, which is worn by only one major leaguer, Yankees closer Mariano Rivera. (N.Y. Post: Charles Wenzelberg (2); AP (Robinson))
Jackie Robinson
TENDER MOMENT: Jackie Robinson’s widow, Rachel, shares a laugh with Derek Jeter at a ceremony celebrating her husband (below, left) and his retired No. 42, which is worn by only one major leaguer, Yankees closer Mariano Rivera (above, left). (N.Y. Post: Charles Wenzelberg (2); AP (Robinson))
Reggie Jackson knows drama and picture-perfect moments as well as pretty much anyone in this solar system. So when he offered a vision early yesterday evening, one involving Mariano Rivera, you paid attention.
“It would be nice if he pitches tonight,” Mr. October said.
The last man who wears 42 every day, closing out a Yankees victory on what could very well be his final Jackie Robinson Day. At age 42, to boot.
NOVA’S WIN STREAK HITS 14 AS YANKEES’ BATS HAMMER ANGELS
Alas, even Reggie misses sometimes. Because the Yankees won in a rout, 11-5 over the Angels at Yankee Stadium, Rivera rested. Yet his presence in The Bronx still reverberated on this festive night.
The game’s best closer ever earned that title through an accident; he wasn’t a very good starting pitcher. Then again, you could say that for virtually everyone who winds up pitching the ninth inning for a major league club.
It’s Rivera’s accidental connection with Robinson, the man who broke baseball’s color barrier, that enhances the pitcher’s already remarkable tale.
“To me, this is a privilege,” Rivera said prior to the game. “Having this day for Mr. Jackie Robinson, it’s tremendous being the last one, as a minority. Number 42. It’s a privilege and a challenge to carry the legacy of the number.”
Everyone in a major league uniform wore number 42 yesterday, as has become baseball tradition, to honor Robinson on the 65th anniversary of his breaking baseball’s color barrier. The Robinson family — Jackie’s widow Rachel and daughter Sharon — participated in a pregame ceremony at the Stadium.
Starting today, it’s just Rivera with 42 again.
Bud Selig announced on April 15, 1997, the 50th anniversary of Robinson’s major league debut, that 42 would be universally retired, but those wearing 42 at that juncture would be allowed to keep wearing it. The second-to-last active player to don 42 was the Mets’ Mo Vaughn, who retired after the 2003 season.
That means Rivera is in his ninth season of Robinson exclusivity. And if he sticks to his hints to retire after this season — the bet here is he’ll indeed step down — 42 will go unoccupied for 161 of 162 games everywhere.
“If you have one last person wearing it, I’m really glad it’s Mariano,” Sharon Robinson said. “He’s wearing it proudly. He’s a really positive person. When he retires, I hope he gives us the jersey, so we can auction it off to the Jackie Robinson Foundation.’’
Said Jackson, who is very close with the Robinson family: “One of the all-time greats, wearing an all-time great number.”
Rivera didn’t seek out this mantle. He came up to the Yankees in 1995, and the team’s clubhouse attendant handed him 42. Rivera knew virtually nothing about Robinson. End of beginning of story.
Only after Selig’s mandate, two seasons later, did Rivera fully appreciate what it meant to wear this number.
“I wanted to learn about Jackie, learn exactly who he was,” Rivera said. “I wanted to know who he was.”
Rivera of course didn’t overcome the sort of adversity Robinson did. Yet his humble upbringing in Panama, his determination to learn English as a young player and the way he treats his job and his teammates makes him a good fit for this mantle.
“There’s one thing I like about him, more than anything else,” said Robinson Cano, who is named after Jackie Robinson. “If he wants to tell me something, he comes right to my face: ‘Come on, you’ve got to hit, let’s go.’ ”
These pep talks will usually occur in the clubhouse kitchen, Cano said, hours before first pitch.
Rivera’s Latino heritage exemplifies that, as Jackson said, Robinson is “a person that every person in the country should be proud of.”
Because of what Robinson did, Curtis Granderson said, “It opened up for everybody.”
If this is it for Rivera, then there will be no one active next April 15 to talk about number 42 quite in the same way. Yet we will talk about Rivera and how he added class to an already regal number.
“Things happen for a reason,” Cano said.
We now await Reggie’s next vision.