Monday, just seconds before I dashed out the door for work, I watched Mariano Rivera record his 602nd save. Like, watched it on the TV. I was standing there in my work clothes, my wife was sitting on the couch in complete disinterest, and my child was clinging to my pants trying to get my attention. It was a magical moment.
I understand my wife's apathy, actually. The "save," in my opinion (and hers, but for different reasons) is overrated as a statistic. There are a very specific set of circumstances that must be met before a pitcher can be credited with a save. It's somewhat farcical and mostly unnecessary. The last pitcher pitches his inning or two. If the score is close enough he "saves" the game. Good job. If he blows the lead he may be credited with the loss. Bad job. If the score is not close then he gets nothing at all. Good game butt pat.
But there's no questioning Mariano's dominance. He's not there to close the door. He is there to slam the door. So watching Mr. Rivera do his job Monday was less a celebration of him setting the all-time saves record and more a celebration of Mariano's tremendous pitching career.
I remember when Jeff Reardon set the all-time saves mark in 1992. I was staying the night in a motel in Cooperstown, New York. I was 10-years-old. The next day was super awesome Hall of Fame museum day. But that night, after a long day of traveling, my family and I crashed at the motel and watched whatever game was on the TV. There was Reardon. There were his final pitches. He had won the saves record formerly held by Rollie Fingers. Reardon smiled his big beardy smile. I fell asleep.
Jeff Reardon held the all-time saves record for one season. I have no recollection of what I was doing when Lee Smith became the all-time saves leader in 1993.
I have no recollection of what I was doing when Trevor Hoffman became the all-time saves leader in 2006.
But, by golly, I was standing there in my living room at 4:30 pm Monday, September 19, 2011, when Mariano Rivera became the all-time saves leader. Documented history.
The active player second on the saves list? Francisco Cordero. He's got 323 saves. He is also 36 years old. This record will stick around for a while.
I can tell my child that she was there in front of the TV as well, even if she was wasn't paying any sort of attention to it.
I understand my wife's apathy, actually. The "save," in my opinion (and hers, but for different reasons) is overrated as a statistic. There are a very specific set of circumstances that must be met before a pitcher can be credited with a save. It's somewhat farcical and mostly unnecessary. The last pitcher pitches his inning or two. If the score is close enough he "saves" the game. Good job. If he blows the lead he may be credited with the loss. Bad job. If the score is not close then he gets nothing at all. Good game butt pat.
But there's no questioning Mariano's dominance. He's not there to close the door. He is there to slam the door. So watching Mr. Rivera do his job Monday was less a celebration of him setting the all-time saves record and more a celebration of Mariano's tremendous pitching career.
I remember when Jeff Reardon set the all-time saves mark in 1992. I was staying the night in a motel in Cooperstown, New York. I was 10-years-old. The next day was super awesome Hall of Fame museum day. But that night, after a long day of traveling, my family and I crashed at the motel and watched whatever game was on the TV. There was Reardon. There were his final pitches. He had won the saves record formerly held by Rollie Fingers. Reardon smiled his big beardy smile. I fell asleep.
Jeff Reardon held the all-time saves record for one season. I have no recollection of what I was doing when Lee Smith became the all-time saves leader in 1993.
I have no recollection of what I was doing when Trevor Hoffman became the all-time saves leader in 2006.
But, by golly, I was standing there in my living room at 4:30 pm Monday, September 19, 2011, when Mariano Rivera became the all-time saves leader. Documented history.
The active player second on the saves list? Francisco Cordero. He's got 323 saves. He is also 36 years old. This record will stick around for a while.
I can tell my child that she was there in front of the TV as well, even if she was wasn't paying any sort of attention to it.
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Speaking of baseball (and I usually do), I was at a game this past Sunday in Toronto. Blue Jays versus Yankees. I wanted to get a picture of Alex Rodriguez hitting a baseball because I thought that would be pretty cool. I wanted the precise moment the ball came in contact with his bat. And so I chose the pitch I would snap the shot. As the pitcher wound up I steadied my camera, but I was having trouble zooming in and focusing. The pitch was thrown and I snapped my shot late. But holy cow! A-Rod had lost grip of the bat and helicoptered it into the seats. And then I looked back down at my camera and holy cow! I took a picture of this...
Nice.
Everybody in the seats where the bat landed was okay. I think. Actually I hadn't heard anything at all about anybody in the bat-landing area. People might've died. There might still be a baseball bat impaled in the abdomen of a Toronto Blue Jays fan. Who knows?
Yankees lost, 3-0. Mariano Rivera did not record his record-breaking save that day.
Use ample pine tar, please. It will save lives.
