Last May, New York Yankee Mariano Rivera, the dominant closer of his generation, crumbled to the warning track in Kansas City, writhing in pain with a torn ACL. He was 42 then, and it was widely speculated that Rivera’s amazing career was over.
So, it was a quite a treat to see Rivera smiling and moving fluidly about the field at spring training Wednesday.
He said on a 1-to-10 scale to rate his health, he’d call himself a “nine,” which has to make opponents squirm.
“It was wonderful to be out there,” he said. “I wasn’t thinking about my knee. I was having fun, doing my job.”
Asked if he could pitch in his current condition, Rivera said, “Oh yeah, oh yeah. But I won’t be a nine. I’ll be a 10 when I’m finished here. So I’m OK.”
He said the rehab was difficult, but he was determined to end his career on the field, not the injured list.
“There were many times I had a lot of pain,” he said. “But it never went through my mind that I won’t do it. I was up for it. It’s not easy, but you have to find a way to get it done.”
He likely will pitch more this spring training than others in years past as he tries to strengthen his knee and gain more confidence in it.
“Maybe you’ll see a couple of extra live BP sessions, maybe a simulated game,” New York manager Joe Girardi said. “We’ll have to see how he does.”
Rivera injured his knee shagging fly balls before a game, something he had done for years. And he said he will continue to do so, and with the permission of the Yankees.
“That’s part of who he is,” Girardi said, “what’s made him great.”
