Mariano Rivera

Living legend Mariano Rivera – also known by his nicknames “Sandman” and “Mo” – is a former professional baseball pitcher. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Rivera spent the majority of his playing career as a relief pitcher, spending 19 seasons playing in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees. He is a five-time World Series champion and a thirteen-time All-Star. He is the MLB’s most dominant relief pitcher of all time, recording an incredible 652 career saves as he revolutionized the closer role with the cutter, his unhittable pitch. In 2019 he was the first player to be unanimously inducted into the elite Baseball Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

Rivera grew up in a small fishing village in Panama where he played both soccer and baseball. After a series of injuries he was forced to quit soccer aged 17 and began to focus on baseball, joining local amateur team Panamá Oeste Vaqueros. His talent was spotted by his team mates who contacted a New York Yankees scout, and in Febuary 1990 Rivera signed with the Yankees Organization. After playing for several minor league teams over five years, he made his debut for the New York Yankees on the 23th May 1995 against California Angels.

Rivera went on to become one of the greatest ever players for the Yankees and his retired number and plaque are immortalized alongside those of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio in the Yankee Stadium’s Monument Park museum. Now retired, the Yankees legend has been involved in numerous philanthropic efforts across the globe, and established The Mariano Rivera Foundation in 1998 to help provide an education to underprivileged children.