If Joe Girardi has his way, Mariano Rivera will be back on the field come next season. The Hall-of-Fame bound closer is set to retire at the end of the season, but the New York Yankees manager does not understand why. As Rivera plans on closing out his storied career at the end of his 19th season, Giradri plans on spending the entire offseason convincing him to come back.
ESPNNewYork.com reports the Yankees manager is not ready to let Rivera go. The closer announced during spring training that this year would be his last. At 43-years old he still is showing great ability on the mound, especially coming off a torn ACL. Girardi thinks he is more than capable of giving one more year.
"I don't see any reason why he couldn't do it next year, I don't," Girardi said. "He's made it pretty clear that he doesn't want to [return], but I always say, you know, January rolls around and sometimes you have a different feel about what you want to do."
Rivera does not understand where all the talk of a return is coming from. He told the media after earning his 40th save on Tuesday night that he plans on retiring and that is final. He said that his decision is made and he is not changing his mind. That answer does not satisfy Girardi.
"I think he could still do the job, but knowing how hard it is to take your uniform off, you don't ever want to think, in my mind as a player, and I'm not speaking for Mo, but I never wanted to think, could I have played a little bit more. It was really evident for me because I physically couldn't stay healthy. But Mo has been pretty healthy this year," Girardi said.
Girardi knows that deep down Rivera plans on closing the door on baseball when the year is up. He has now collected 40 or more saves in nine seasons which ties the all-time record held by Trevor Hoffman. Girardi plans on giving the star a month or two off to rest his body and then he will bring up the conversation about a possible return.
The Yankees plan on honoring Rivera before their Sept. 22 game against the San Francisco Giants. The closer has no plans on changing his mind, saying that he wants to close the door and see what happens in the future. Rivera has already begun his goodbye tour, thanking long-time employees and fans while getting honored at every ballpark the team stops at. Girardi's sales pitch to Rivera will include the fact that the team has three National League ballparks on the schedule next year that he did not visit this season.