Rivera is a Panamanian-American former professional baseball player who was a pitcher for 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, from 1995 to 2013. Nicknamed “Mo” and “Sandman“, he spent most of his career as a relief pitcher and served as the Yankees’ closer for 17 seasons.

A 13-time All-Star and five-time World Series champion, he is MLB’s career leader in saves (652) and games finished (952). Rivera won five American League (AL) Rolaids Relief Man Awards and three Delivery Man of the Year Awards, and he finished in the top three in voting for the AL Cy Young Award four times. In 2019, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, and is to date the only player ever to be elected unanimously by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA).

Raised in the modest Panamanian fishing village of Puerto Caimito, Rivera was an amateur player until he was signed by the Yankees organization in 1990. He debuted in the major leagues in 1995 as a starting pitcher, before permanently converting to a relief pitcher late that year. After a breakthrough season in 1996 as a setup man, he became the Yankees’ closer in 1997. In the following seasons, he established himself as one of baseball’s top relievers, leading the major leagues in saves in 1999, 2001, and 2004. Rivera primarily threw a sharp-moving, mid-90s mile-per-hour cut fastball that frequently broke hitters’ bats and earned a reputation as one of the league’s toughest pitches to hit. With his presence at the end of games, signaled by his foreboding entrance song “Enter Sandman“, Rivera was a key contributor to the Yankees’ dynasty in the late 1990s and early 2000s that won four championships in five years. He was an accomplished postseason performer, winning the 1999 World Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award and the 2003 AL Championship Series MVP Award, while setting postseason records that included lowest earned run average (ERA) (0.70) and most saves (42).

Mariano Rivera

Mariano Rivera signed Baseball New York Yankees (Steiner COA)