Mariano Rivera will probably remember Sunday's game against the New York Mets as not only the night where he got his 500th save, but also his first RBI.
Rivera became only the second member of the 500-save club, joining the Padres' Trevor Hoffman.
It remarkably only took him 13 years to reach that plateau, which is almost 40 saves a year. Hoffman also has had four more years to reach that mark.
If that wasn't enough, Rivera also picked up his first career RBI in the eighth inning by drawing a walk against one of baseball's other great closers, Francisco Rodriguez. The fact that two of baseball's best closers were facing head-to-head at the plate was a sight to see in itself.
What made the situation even funnier was the fact that the Yankees tried to fool the Mets that Rivera was on deck by putting someone else in the on-deck circle while Rivera hid in the dugout. Rodriguez threw a hard fastball right down the middle at Derek Jeter, and Jeter just laughed, probably in shock that the Mets actually fell for it.
It was an historic night for Rivera and in his post-game interview he proved to be nothing but a class act. The question was asked that if he thought there was anyone better than him at what he did. Oddly enough, he named several pitchers, including Trevor Hoffman and Francisco Rodriguez.
There couldn't be a better person to reach this milestone and the sports world definitely needs more Mariano Riveras in the world, even if he is a New York Yankee.
All-Time Saves Leaders (Active)
- Trevor Hoffman-571
- Mariano Rivera-500
- Billy Wagner-385
- Troy Percival-358
- Jason Isringhausen-293
Mariano is a pitching machine... I'm thinkin he's a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame some day
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