12/21/24
April 26, 2010
The understated elegance of the Yankees' Rivera.: “For what he does, he’s maybe the most dominant athlete other than Bill Russell that I know,” [Reggie] Jackson said. “But it’s also in the way he does it. Quiet. Humble. Mariano is regal, baseball royalty.”
posted by mr_crash_davis to baseball at 10:09 AM - 7 comments
Why not? Even as a Red Sox fan I'd say Rivera is one of the few ageless players I've seen. Not "ageless" in the sense of "when will this bastard's arm fall off so he can retire" (though I wonder that about 10 times a year) but in the sense that he's bigger than his era and could dominate whenever he played.
posted by yerfatma at 12:34 PM on April 26, 2010
Jackson has gushed lavishly about esteemed fellow players in the past. And not just other Yankees.
When the first murmurs started up after Jim Rice retired that he (Rice) might not be considered as a possible HOF candidate when he became eligible, Reggie spoke out several times extolling Rice's virtues and made a strong case for his candidacy.
posted by beaverboard at 01:20 PM on April 26, 2010
Comparing Mariano Rivera to Bill Russell is absurd, in my opinion.
I agree only in the comparison of positions (playing center for a couple of hours or getting 3 out in the ninth). But he's done it for so long so well that I can't hold that against him. Any other reliever? Sure. But not Rivera.
posted by justgary at 04:53 PM on April 26, 2010
Yes, that and Rivera is just statistically dominating. And the one pitch thing. That's gotta count for something.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 05:46 PM on April 26, 2010
When the first murmurs started up after Jim Rice retired that he (Rice) might not be considered as a possible HOF candidate when he became eligible, Reggie spoke out several times extolling Rice's virtues and made a strong case for his candidacy.
This should be considered a mark AGAINST Jackson.
posted by grum@work at 06:56 PM on April 26, 2010
Rivera? Yeah, he's okay. I guess. If you're into that sort of thing.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 09:40 PM on April 26, 2010
Comparing Mariano Rivera to Bill Russell is absurd, in my opinion. Tiger Woods, Wilt Chamberlain, Roger Federer, etc. belong in that category. Not Rivera.