© 2024 University of Missouri - KBIA
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Yankees' Mariano Rivera Becomes Top Closer In Baseball History

Alex Peluso, right,  and his friend Chris Filomio,  of Wappinger Falls, N.Y. show their support for New York Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera during batting practice.
Kathy Kmonicek
/
AP
Alex Peluso, right, and his friend Chris Filomio, of Wappinger Falls, N.Y. show their support for New York Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera during batting practice.

Yankees closer Mariano Rivera earned his 602nd career save, today, making him the top closer in baseball history. In a drama-free, 1-2-3 inning, Rivera surpassed Trevor Hoffman as the new record holder for most saves.

ESPN reports:

The always understated Rivera stayed on the field for a few minutes, after some nudging by long-time teammate Jorge Posada, and stood on the mound with a tipped cap as cheers rained down from the crowd in the Bronx.

Rivera, who will turn 42 on Nov. 29, also leads baseball with 42 career postseason saves (Brad Lidge is second on the list with 18). He has a 0.71 postseason ERA and has held opponents to a .176 batting average.

Monday's save was Rivera's 43rd of 2011. He has eight seasons of at least 40-plus saves, one behind Hoffman's all-time record of nine. Rivera and Hoffman are the only pitchers with more than four 40-save seasons in Major League history.

As The New York Timesputs it, the game was "just another day in the life of Rivera."

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Eyder Peralta is NPR's East Africa correspondent based in Nairobi, Kenya.