What Has Mariano Rivera Yet To Accomplish?

Mariano Rivera, returning this season after sitting out last year with a knee injury, is the all-time Major League Baseball saves leader with 608. He is also the post season saves leader with 42. Even so, three New York Yankee closers can each claim a career achievement that Rivera can not.

Rich ("Goose") Gossage helped the Yankees win the World Series Championship in 1978. But a dark cloud hovered over Yankee Stadium as the Yankees fell to 14 games behind the first place Red Sox on July 19. The resilient Yankees did march back to over take the Red Sox briefly, but the teams finished in a first- place tie at the end of the regular season.

The resulting American League East playoff game was played at Fenway Park on October 2, 1978. The game was the stage for two monumental events in Yankee history. The first was shortstop Bucky Dent's unforgettable seventh inning home run, which catapulted the Yankees to a 4-2 lead. The second unfolded when Gossage took the mound in the bottom of the ninth inning.

The Red Sox had two on and two out as Carl Yastrzemki settled in at home plate. Gossage stepped on the pitching rubber and scowled at Yastrzemski, like a bulldog spotting an intruder. Gossage got Yastrzemski to pop out to third baseman Graig Nettles to end the game. With the out, Gossage became the only closer in Yankee history to earn a save in a one- game playoff.

With all of his career records, one award has eluded Rivera, as he has never won the Cy Young. He finished third in the voting in 1996, 1999 and 2004. His closest call came in 2005, when he was the runner-up to Bartolo Colon of the Los Angeles Angels.

Another Yankee closer, Sparky Lyle, became the first relief pitcher to win the Cy Young in 1977. That season, Lyle posted a 13-5 record with 26 saves and a 2.17 earned run average. He was another in a long line of stars the Yankees have wrestled away from the Red Sox (others on the list include Wade Boggs, Roger Clemens, Babe Ruth and, of course, Kevin Youkilis this season).

Rivera, as always, remains humble when asked about the award and its importance to him.

"It's not that I hate talking about it, but I don't like talking about myself," he has said. "With all due respect, if you ask me, yeah, I would love to win the Cy Young."

The third Yankee closer that can claim something that Rivera can not is John Wetteland. Wetteland has the distinction of being the only closer to have Rivera as his set up man. Wetteland had a career high 43 saves in 1996, with the assistance of Rivera's dependable set up work. While Rivera has stormed out of the bullpen for both the eighth and ninth innings in crucial games, the Yankees have never ask him to do so on a consistent basis.

Certainly, it is easy to construct a case that Rivera perfected his craft under the tutilage of Wetteland. He no doubt learned the art of preparing himself to enter the game in high-pressure situations. Although this is more of a circumstance than an achievement for Wetteland, it is certainly noteworthy to be the only closer in Major League Baseball history to once have the all-time save leader as his set up man.

Of course, Rivera has had no control over any of these circumstances. It is conceivable that he would have handled these situations with ease, given the opportunity. He could have used his split-finger fastball to retire Yastrzemski to win the one-game playoff with the Red Sox, as Gossage did. He could have dominated American League hitters in 1977 and won the Cy Young Award, as Lyle did. Since it was early in his career, he could have pitched the eighth and ninth innings in 1996 and served as his own set up man.

So It is only fate that has denied Rivera of these opportunities. But a look at the few accomplishments that have eluded him only serves to shine the light brighter on his remarkable career.

Dan Dechenaux is a lifetime Yankees fan. He has written for four years for The Sports Ad-Visor.

Sources:

www.baseball-alm.com

www.greatquotes.com