Just last night, in front of a full stadium of Yankees fans, Mariano Rivera did what he does best: pitching. Rivera was plugged into the game against Seattle at the beginning of the ninth inning, the score 3 to 2, Yankees in the lead. Two of the first three batters he easily struck out, firing little white missiles into the strike zone at speeds of around 95 miles per hour. Then Dustin Ackley stepped up to the plate. One ball later and the man on first, Suzuki, made a break for second base. The Yankees catcher fired the ball through the air, the small, white sphere finding its place in Derek Jeter's glove. Jeter tagged Suzuki out, immediately winning the game. The first thing Jeter did was run up to Rivera and give him a huge hug, handing him the baseball. Mariano Rivera had just done something that few pitchers had ever hoped to accomplish. He had saved six hundred games. A save is when a relief pitcher is plugged into the game when his team is ahead by three runs or less. Saving the game was a big accomplishment for Rivera, but he merely stated that passing a previous pitcher's amount of saves at 601 would truly be the biggest.
Being a Yankees fan, this achievement had me excited and feeling very happy for Mariano Rivera. After pitching very well in 1,037 games, he definitely earned this victory. With his exceptional amount of saves, Rivera is headed for the Hall of Fame, an esteemed accomplishment for a baseball player. The Yankees post-game celebration of a champagne shower and a pie to the face was not in the least over the top, Rivera's miraculous 600th save completely compensating for the Yankees' rowdiness on the field. All I have to say is, Congratulations Mariano River!
No comments:
Post a Comment