The Great Mo

by Travis G on Sep 30, 2009 7:00 AM EDT in New York Yankees News

God touched Mariano Rivera one June afternoon in 1997, and Rivera shrugged. Just three months into his new role as the closer for a budding Yankees dynasty, Rivera was suddenly unable to throw his signature four-seam fastball straight, not even during his daily toss with pitcher Ramiro Mendoza. Every catch a struggle, Mendoza told Rivera to knock it off, to quit making the ball dip and dart. Rivera assured his friend that he wasn't doing it intentionally. He was gripping the ball the same way he always had, releasing it the same way he always had. The wicked movement just ... happened.... Rivera didn't have an explanation, and though he says he ‘didn't have any idea where the ball was going,' his results did not suffer. He got the save in that game, then in the next three.

Still, for a month, he worked with [bullpen catcher Mike] Borzello and pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre to eliminate the cutting action. ‘We were trying to make the pitch stay straighter, [as it had] in '95 and '96,' Rivera says, referring to his first two seasons in the big leagues, ‘but it didn't work. Then I said, ‘I'm tired of working at this. Let's let it happen.' And since that day we didn't try to straighten it out anymore.' He smiles. 'And the rest is history.'

From next week's issue of SI.

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So...

It WAS Cervelli who gave MO the cutter.

When he retires, I’d expect the Yankees simply to make another stadium in honor of Cervelli. They cannot play there, only Cervelli’s children can.

But that’s a pretty amazing story that the ball just started to cut for no reason. Imagine they had figured out what was “wrong” and “fixed” the cutter? We’d be doomed!

What the f$%k is the internet?

by FreeBradshaw on Sep 30, 2009 7:36 AM EDT reply actions

Poor horse

You just keep beating and beating and beating it’s carcass. Stopped being funny like 4 weeks ago.

by HappyLuckyGoldenDragonNumber1! on Sep 30, 2009 11:00 AM EDT up reply actions

glad you still appreciate it.

What the f$%k is the internet?

by FreeBradshaw on Oct 1, 2009 6:34 AM EDT up reply actions

Awesome story!

by Fluke on Sep 30, 2009 11:00 AM EDT via mobile reply actions

Here's the whole thing, y'all:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1160757/index.htm

by .ryan on Sep 30, 2009 11:36 AM EDT reply actions

love mo!

rip nicky a!

by Static Shock on Sep 30, 2009 12:32 PM EDT reply actions

Verducci got it right. What is amazing is that the cutting action has stayed so constant when it was not originally planned — that Mariano has been able to repeat it consistently. He now has a second pitch to complement it, which he needed after 2001. But Mariano as well as the pitch is the gift from God. We all should be thankful.

by logiet on Sep 30, 2009 12:58 PM EDT reply actions

This...

Is the only thing that might make me religious. And on the last day the lord saw the man from Panama and he said “Lo, you shall have a cutter till the end of thine days” and he had a cutter. And it was good.

"Son, Nobody is half as good as Mickey Mantle"

by ntrokel on Sep 30, 2009 1:43 PM EDT reply actions