Mariano Rivera's first save was game one of the 1998 World Series. And it was not without a little drama.
The majors all-time leader in games finished (952) and saves (652) did not pick up a save in the 1996 Fall Classic vs. Atlanta, but was a solid contributor nonetheless. The Yankees prevailed in that one. But New York failed to reach the summit in 1997. Rivera was the closer on the Yankees in 1998 when they took on the San Diego Padres. The Series would open in Yankee Stadium, and the Yankees put on quite a show in heroics with their bats and on the pitcher's mound!
But it did not look like Rivera would get the save in game one. Actually, it did not look like the Bronx Bombers were going to win. Trailing 5-2 going into the bottom of the seventh inning, New York caught fire and scored seven times. Now with a 9-5 lead, it still didn't look like Rivera was coming in. But Jeff Nelson was! David Wells, the Yankee starter, hadn't pitched that well. But he was the pitcher of record as Nelson took the hill in the top of the eighth
But Tony Gwynn singled to lead off for the stubborn San Diego Padres. Greg Vaughn hit into a force at second. When Ken Caminiti walked, things must have gotten a little tense for Nelson and New York. Jim Leyritz fanned, but Jeff's night was over. Guess who came in?
Mariano hopped in from the bullpen. Because there were two men on, the tying run was on deck in this 9-5 game. So it was a save situation after all! The first batter Rivera faced was Wally Joyner. He hit a ground ball that seemed destined to get Mariano and the Yankees out of there. But an error by Chuck Knoblauch enabled a run to score and the inning to continue. Rivera needed to get the next batter out before it got too serious. Fortunately, Mariano got Steve Finley to ground out to first and end that. It was still 9-6 for New York.
And did Rivera ever get the job done in the 9th. Greg Myers pinch hit for Carlos Hernandez and Mariano K'd him! Then another pinch hitter, John Vander Wal batted and Rivera did the same to him. When Quilvio Veras popped out to third, it was the Yankees victorious, 9-6. And Rivera had his first World Series save!
Mariano Rivera was not about to stop there. New York took game two, 9-3 and the 1998 Fall Classic was off to San Diego. New York won game three, 5-4. Rivera came onto the hill in the top of the eighth inning and allowed an inherited runner to score. He also gave up three hits. But it went into the record books as his second career World Series save.
Rivera came into game four with the Yankees up, 3-0. Again, it was the eighth inning. Again, it was not easy. Ken Caminiti, the first batter to face him, hit a single. Mariano got Jim Leyritz out to end that. The Padres managed to get another hit in the bottom of the ninth inning before a double play and ground out gave the Yankees a 3-0 win. It completed a sweep of the Padres and Mariano had three saves in this series. Not a bad start to his World Series career as a closer.
Rivera had watched John Wetteland do all the closing in 1996. Two years later, he had climbed the mountain and brought the World Series home in the closer role. This is one that he would assume the rest of his career. While it had not been easy in 1998, Mariano had taken that big step towards immortality among closers in the Fall Classic! And Mariano would only get better after this!
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 19 Jun. 2014.
The majors all-time leader in games finished (952) and saves (652) did not pick up a save in the 1996 Fall Classic vs. Atlanta, but was a solid contributor nonetheless. The Yankees prevailed in that one. But New York failed to reach the summit in 1997. Rivera was the closer on the Yankees in 1998 when they took on the San Diego Padres. The Series would open in Yankee Stadium, and the Yankees put on quite a show in heroics with their bats and on the pitcher's mound!
But it did not look like Rivera would get the save in game one. Actually, it did not look like the Bronx Bombers were going to win. Trailing 5-2 going into the bottom of the seventh inning, New York caught fire and scored seven times. Now with a 9-5 lead, it still didn't look like Rivera was coming in. But Jeff Nelson was! David Wells, the Yankee starter, hadn't pitched that well. But he was the pitcher of record as Nelson took the hill in the top of the eighth
But Tony Gwynn singled to lead off for the stubborn San Diego Padres. Greg Vaughn hit into a force at second. When Ken Caminiti walked, things must have gotten a little tense for Nelson and New York. Jim Leyritz fanned, but Jeff's night was over. Guess who came in?
Mariano hopped in from the bullpen. Because there were two men on, the tying run was on deck in this 9-5 game. So it was a save situation after all! The first batter Rivera faced was Wally Joyner. He hit a ground ball that seemed destined to get Mariano and the Yankees out of there. But an error by Chuck Knoblauch enabled a run to score and the inning to continue. Rivera needed to get the next batter out before it got too serious. Fortunately, Mariano got Steve Finley to ground out to first and end that. It was still 9-6 for New York.
And did Rivera ever get the job done in the 9th. Greg Myers pinch hit for Carlos Hernandez and Mariano K'd him! Then another pinch hitter, John Vander Wal batted and Rivera did the same to him. When Quilvio Veras popped out to third, it was the Yankees victorious, 9-6. And Rivera had his first World Series save!
Mariano Rivera was not about to stop there. New York took game two, 9-3 and the 1998 Fall Classic was off to San Diego. New York won game three, 5-4. Rivera came onto the hill in the top of the eighth inning and allowed an inherited runner to score. He also gave up three hits. But it went into the record books as his second career World Series save.
Rivera came into game four with the Yankees up, 3-0. Again, it was the eighth inning. Again, it was not easy. Ken Caminiti, the first batter to face him, hit a single. Mariano got Jim Leyritz out to end that. The Padres managed to get another hit in the bottom of the ninth inning before a double play and ground out gave the Yankees a 3-0 win. It completed a sweep of the Padres and Mariano had three saves in this series. Not a bad start to his World Series career as a closer.
Rivera had watched John Wetteland do all the closing in 1996. Two years later, he had climbed the mountain and brought the World Series home in the closer role. This is one that he would assume the rest of his career. While it had not been easy in 1998, Mariano had taken that big step towards immortality among closers in the Fall Classic! And Mariano would only get better after this!
References
Enders, Eric. 100 years of the World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 19 Jun. 2014.
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