Infographic: Mariano Rivera
Posted: August 9, 2019 Filed under: 20th Century, 21st Century | Tags: Baseball, infographics, Major League Baseball, Mariano Rivera, MLB, New York Yankees, sports Leave a commentThis Tier10 infographic on Mariano Rivera is awesome. Not only are there a lot of details and statistics about the man himself, you will also find instructions on how to make a cardboard baseball glove.
Click on the image to get to a larger version of the graphic.
Mariano Rivera’s Hall of Fame induction speech
Posted: July 31, 2019 Filed under: 20th Century, 21st Century | Tags: Baseball, Major League Baseball, Mariano Rivera, MLB, National Baseball Hall of Fame, New York Yankees, sports, videos 2 CommentsAs many of you already are aware, The Sandman, Mariano Rivera, was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame a couple weekends ago. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to his Hall of Fame induction speech. What a humble guy.
Baseball 101: The closer
Posted: April 1, 2019 Filed under: Baseball 101 | Tags: Baseball, Major League Baseball, Mariano Rivera, MLB, Official Baseball Rules, sports 6 CommentsA couple days ago, a baseball neophyte friend of mine asked me, “In baseball, what is a closer?” And as I explained the concept, it occurred to me that I haven’t done one of these posts in awhile.
In baseball, a closing pitcher, more commonly referred to as a closer, is a relief pitcher who typically enters the game in the final inning. Ideally, the closer’s team will be leading on the scoreboard at that point, and so the closer’s job is to “close” the game, getting the final outs of that final inning.
A closer’s effectiveness has traditionally been measured by the number of saves he earns. A save is a statistic credited to a relief pitcher, as set forth in Rule 9.19 of the Official Rules of Major League Baseball. The rule states that the official scorer shall credit a pitcher with a save when that pitcher meets all four of the following conditions:
- He is the finishing pitcher in a game won by his team;
- He is not the winning pitcher;
- He is credited with at least ⅓ of an inning pitched; and
- He satisfies one of the following conditions:
- He enters the game with a lead of no more than three runs and pitches for at least one inning
- He enters the game, regardless of the count, with the potential tying run either on base, at bat or on deck
- He pitches for at least three innings.
Over time, closers have become one-inning specialists typically brought in at the beginning of the ninth inning in save situations. They enter the game facing the high pressure that comes with having to seal those last three outs and, thus, a win for their club, which makes their role a rather essential one to a team’s success.
Mariano Rivera is MLB’s all-time leader in regular season saves with 652.
Mariano Rivera
Hall of Fame, Class of 2019
Posted: January 23, 2019 Filed under: 21st Century | Tags: Baseball, Edgar Martinez, history, Major League Baseball, Mariano Rivera, Mike Mussina, MLB, National Baseball Hall of Fame, Roy Halladay, sports 2 CommentsCongratulations to Mike Mussina, Edgar Martinez, Mariano Rivera, and Roy Halladay on their election to the Baseball Hall of Fame! And bonus congrats to Rivera, the first ever elected with 100% of the vote.
This day in baseball: The Sandman starts
Posted: August 31, 2018 Filed under: 20th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: Baseball, Gulf Coast League, Gulf Coast Yankees, history, Major League Baseball, Mariano Rivera, MLB, New York Yankees, sports 4 CommentsThough he was usually used as a relief pitcher, on August 31, 1990, Mariano Rivera was given the start in a game on the final day of the season for the Gulf Coast Yankees. The opportunity allowed him to throw enough innings to qualify for GCL’s ERA title, an accomplishment that carries a contractual bonus. Rivera threw a seven-inning no-hitter against Bradenton to finish the season with a 0.17 ERA, 0.46 WHIP, 58 strikeouts in 52 innings, and $500 dollars richer.
Wikipedia
Mariano Rivera’s cutter
Posted: November 24, 2017 Filed under: 20th Century, 21st Century, Baseball 101 | Tags: Baseball, Major League Baseball, Mariano Rivera, New York Times, New York Yankees, sports, videos 4 CommentsHere’s a video from The New York Times I came across that describes what made Mariano Rivera such an effective closer. The video is wonderfully concise, yet explains the mechanics of Rivera’s cutter in an easy-to-follow manner complete with some excellent graphics.
Infographic: The Age of the Yankees
Posted: January 14, 2016 Filed under: 20th Century, 21st Century, Uncategorized | Tags: Baseball, infographics, Major League Baseball, Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees 8 CommentsI’m at an age where I’ve started noticing that many professional baseball players are younger than I am. As a Royals fan, virtually the entire team that I root for is younger than I am, and I actually find myself surprised to notice when a player is older than me.
This infographic is a few years old, but it does present an interesting perspective that I’m sure we can all relate to as fans.
Quote of the day
Posted: June 16, 2014 Filed under: Quote of the day | Tags: Baseball, Major League Baseball, Mariano Rivera, MLB, New York Yankees, quotes, sports 2 CommentsI see the hitter when he’s moved in the box, like when he’s moved closer to the plate or changed his stance. I see when the batter has moved his feet, and then I make my own adjustment.
~Mariano Rivera
Wikimedia Commons
This day in baseball: Picking up the pace
Posted: January 24, 2014 Filed under: 20th Century, Baseball 101, This day in baseball | Tags: Baseball, history, Major League Baseball, Mariano Rivera 1 Comment
Mariano Rivera in set position (Wikimedia Commons)
In an effort to speed up the pace of the game, in 1955, Major League Baseball announced a new rule that required a pitcher to deliver his pitch within 20 seconds of taking a pitching position.
By today’s rules, that time limit is down to twelve seconds:
8.04
When the bases are unoccupied, the pitcher shall deliver the ball to the batter within 12 seconds after he receives the ball. Each time the pitcher delays the game by violating this rule, the umpire shall call Ball. The 12-second timing starts when the pitcher is in possession of the ball and the batter is in the box, alert to the pitcher. The timing stops when the pitcher releases the ball.
The intent of this rule is to avoid unnecessary delays. The umpire shall insist that the catcher return the ball promptly to the pitcher, and that the pitcher take his position on the rubber promptly. Obvious delay by the pitcher should instantly be penalized by the umpire.
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“2012 Edition: Official Baseball Rules.” MLB.com. Commissioner of Baseball, 2011. Web. Accessed 24 January 2014. http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2012/Official_Baseball_Rules.pdf
Baseball 101: Earned Run Average
Posted: November 30, 2013 Filed under: Baseball 101 | Tags: Baseball, Earned Run Average, Ed Walsh, Major League Baseball, Mariano Rivera, sports, statistics 3 CommentsA pitcher’s Earned Run Average (or ERA) is the average number of earned runs that a pitcher gives up per nine innings pitched (as the typical game lasts nine innings).
An earned run is a run that is not scored as the result of a defensive error, such as a fielding error or a passed ball.
A pitcher’s ERA is calculated by dividing the number of earned runs he has allowed by the number of innings he has pitched, then multiplying by nine. For example, if a pitcher is charged with 21 earned runs over the course of 90 innings pitched, his ERA would be 2.10.
(21/90) x 9 = 2.1
An ERA under 3.00 is generally considered to be excellent. The lower a pitcher’s ERA, the better.
The lowest all-time career ERA in baseball history was 1.82, by Ed Walsh, who pitched from 1904 to 1917. The lowest career ERA during the live-ball era (that is, post-1920), belongs to Mariano Rivera, who pitched from 1995-2013 and posted an ERA of 2.21.
Ed Walsh, 1911 (Photo source: wikimedia.org)
