Asked for his favorite Yankee Stadium moment, the closer doesn't even need to think before beginning his response with "That's an easy one," because it also is his favorite moment from a spectacular career that will make him a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
"My favorite moment was the end of the World Series in '96," Rivera said. "Why? Because it was the first one. Winning the first one in my first full year in the big leagues (and) winning it and the way we won it. It was great.
"I'll always remember that one."
What did he think when he watched that final pop-up settle into third baseman Charlie Hayes' glove? "Absolutely the best," Rivera said. "It was a feeling like I'd never had before."
"Look at 1998 and that was a special year for our team," Rivera said last week. "In 1999 we had a great team and the players were just as great in 2000. But in 1996 we didn't have that great team. We had a good team, but not a superstar team.
"We went out and we had to fight and we won."
"It was about the way we won it, that made it a great year," Rivera said. "We played Texas, one of the best hitting lineups you ever had in the playoffs. Then we went and beat Baltimore, who I felt had the second-best lineup in baseball. And then there was Atlanta with so much pitching and also a strong lineup. And we went there, down by two.
"A lot of good things happened for us that year."
When asked to consider the feeling he had closing that 1999 World Series, also against the Braves, and how he was mobbed on the pitcher's mound afterward, he shrugs before saying "1999 was good, but it wasn't the first one, so it's not No.1 for me."
When asked why game 7 of the 2003 ALCS did not top the list Rivera said:
"It was a good game, but we lost the World Series. It was a good moment, but wasn't a finish where we won. So to me, it was not the best moment."
He also had this to say about moving to a new stadium:
"I love this park, but there's two feelings involved in this," he said. "One is that I'll be sad because I'm not going to be here no more. The other is happiness because you're going to new possibilities and everything is supposed to be improved.
"It will eventually have the character. It depends on how you see it. It becomes a new thing and with that I am sure a lot of good things are going to happen there."
I asked you guys the same thing about Tino, so I'll ask again; what is your favorite Yankee Stadium Mariano moment?
3 Comments:
Mine was definitely the 2003 ALCS, those three innings were classic.
i also say 2003, he gave us the opportunity to win that sereis. anyother pitcher would have given up runs in any of those innings and we would have lost the series.
I'd have to agree with you guys. That's probably my favorite moment as well. Although when he came into the game in game six against the Braves I knew the Yanks had the series, so that was a great moment too for me.
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