Mariano Rivera notched his 500th career save at Citi Field on Sunday night. He helped his own cause when K-Rod walked him with the bases loaded to make the score 4-2. It was his first career RBI.
Mariano is arguably the greatest reliever of all time. He is only 71 behind Trevor Hoffman of the Tigers. If Mariano stays healthy, he’ll pass Hoffman. Even if he doesn’t, Hoffman doesn’t have four World Series rings. Sports Illustrated insulted me and others baseball fans by saying that Hoffman was the best reliever of all time earlier this decade. I was so offended that I haven’t bought SI since then; I even boycott the Swimsuit Issue.
500 saves is a great milestone. I was lucky to witness his 300th save on Memorial Day Weekend 2004 in Saint Petersburg against the D-Rays. I was grateful that Robert invited me. I met his friend Roy who needed a liver. Roy fought valiantly until the end a couple of years ago. Life is about special moments like 2004 and tonight. Enjoy every moment. Congratulations Mariano! R.I.P. Roy.
Posted by a grateful Tank in NY.