Jon M. Fishman - Mariano Rivera

Mariano Rivera

Jon M. Fishman

Copyright 2014 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Fishman, Jon M.
Mariano Rivera / by Jon M. Fishman.
pages cm. (Amazing athletes)
Includes index.
ISBN 9781467721448 (lib. bdg. : alk. paper)
ISBN 9781467724395 (eBook)
1. Rivera, Mariano, 1969Juvenile literature. 2. Baseball playersPanamaBiography
Juvenile literature. I. Title.
GV865.R496F57 2014
796.357092dc23 [B] 2013024560

Manufactured in the United States of America
1 BP 12/31/13

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Mariano Rivera pitches against
the Boston Red Sox in 2013.

YOU HAVE TO
FINISH THE GAME

New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera
looked toward home plate. He nodded
and raised his hands. Then he fired off the
baseball. Boston Red Sox third baseman Will
Middlebrooks swung and hit the ball to

a Yankees player. He was out. But Bostons
runner on third base dashed home to score.
The Yankees still had a lead in the top of
the ninth inning. With two outs in the inning,
Mariano needed just one more to end the game.
Mariano is the most successful closer of all
time. He has more saves than any pitcher in
baseball history. Even his manager is in awe
of Mariano.

Mariano has been saving
games for many years.

When Mariano
enters a game at
Yankee Stadium,
the speakers
play the song
Enter Sandman
by Metallica.
The crowd roars
when they hear
the song.

It will be one of those thrills for me, to be
able to tell my grandkids about this guy, said
Yankees manager Joe Girardi.
The Yankees closer has been saving games
for almost two decades. But this 2013 game
was special. Mariano had missed most of the

2012 season. On May 3,
2012, he tore a ligament in
his knee. He had surgery to
repair the ligament. He was
thrilled to be back on the
field. I was waiting for
months, Mariano said.
Next up for the Red Sox
was rookie Jackie Bradley. He
couldnt keep up with the

great pitcher. With two strikes against Bradley,
Mariano launched a pitch across the plate.

Strike three! The game was over. Mariano
shook hands and hugged his teammates.
Mariano had announced before the start of
the season that 2013 would be his last year
playing baseball. He
was going to retire
after seasons. But
before that, he had a
job to do. There were
a lot of emotions
tonight, but you have
to control that, he
said. You have to
finish the game.

Mariano had more than saves
in the 2013 season.

Many people in Panama City, Panama,
make money fishing.

NEW POSITION, NEW JOB

Mariano Rivera was born on November 29,
1969, in Panama City, Panama. He has an older
sister and two younger brothers. Their father
is also named Mariano. Their mothers name
is Delia. The couple raised their children in the
village of Puerto Caimito.
Soccer is the most popular sport in Panama.
Mariano loved the game. He also played
baseball. But he didnt take the sport seriously.
Baseball was fun, he said. Just fun. Until the
age of 12, Mariano used a piece of cardboard
for a glove. Then he got a leather baseball glove
as a gift from his father.

Mariano graduated from
high school in 1986. He went
to work with his father on a
fishing boat. He didnt mind
the job. But he spent most of
his time daydreaming about
sports. I liked looking at all
the different fish, but my
fathers life was not for me, Mariano said.

Mariano has
brought baseball
gloves as gifts for
schoolchildren in
Puerto Caimito.
He doesnt want
them to have to
use cardboard as
he did when he
was young.

Mariano (right) and his dad enjoyed
spending time together fishing.

In 1989, Mariano was playing shortstop for a
local team. A scout from the New York Yankees
named Herb Raybourn
visited Panama. But
Raybourn didnt think
Mariano would make
a good shortstop in
Major League Baseball
(MLB).
Raybourn was back
in Panama a year later.
He heard about a good
young pitcher named
Mariano Rivera. The
Mariano Rivera I knew
was a shortstop, Raybourn said. They told
me he was a pitcher now. Raybourn set up a
tryout with the young thrower.

Scouts such as these
travel to many places to
find MLB players.

Mariano still remembers the tryout. It feels
like it was yesterday, he said in 2009. He also
said he wasnt nervous. I had nothing to lose.
Raybourn liked what he saw the second
time. On February 17, 1990, Mariano signed a

contract with
the Yankees. He
received $ 3,500
in the deal.

Mariano was happy
to sign with the Yankees.

FIRST- TIME CHAMPION

Mariano left Panama for the United States in
1990. It wasnt easy for him to leave home. His
mother also had a tough time with the move.
I was worried, Delia said. At that time, we