The New York Yankees' Mariano Rivera will call it quits after the conclusion of the 2013 major league season. Following a shortened 2012 campaign, the best closer in the history will attempt to make a successful farewell tour.
Rivera, who is 43, has been in the majors for 18 years. He suffered a season-ending ACl injury, which only allowed him to play in nine games. However, a guy of Rivera's caliber can't just complete his season on the disabled list.
Rivera will announce his retirement on Saturday before making his comeback against the Atlanta Braves. The irony or beauty of this game is that the Braves feature the best closer in the game today. It can sort of be the passing of the baton if you will.
Though Craig Kimbrel, the Braves closer, has a lot of years left ahead of him, he will have some big shoes to fill if he's to accept and hone the title of the best closer in the league.
Rivera is a five-time champion, 12-time All-Star and almost won the Cy-Young Award in 1996 after being the best setup man in baseball. He then made another run at the Cy Young award in 1999 after saving a league leading 45 games. Then in 2005, only Bartolo Colon beat him on for the Cy Young and Mariano had to settle for second place.
The man inconsistent, not only with his numbers, but with his pitches. The two-seamer is the one thing you can expect for Rivera in every outing, but yet, hitters have trouble making contact. He mastered the role of a closer and made sure that teams out there knew that when he stepped on the mound, the game was over.
Rivera holds the all-time record for saves recording 608 in his 18-year career.
