[eisenhower76]

My son asked me last night if Mo was one of the top 10 players of all time. I said, no. Then I said I will give him a list off the top of my head, excluding all players pre-1940s. He wasn't even in top 50.

Great guy, great reliever, won World Series. Personally, I think Whitey Ford was the better Yankess pitcher.

[muz0]

Before I give my opinion, let it be know that I grew up on the other side of the train tracks (a la I'm a Mets fan, not a Yanks fan). The hall of fame is for those who showed an "above and beyond" talent and performance during their "ERA". I can say that Rivera does belong in the hall of fame and I will tip my hat and bow down slightly to his performance over the years. He was the dominate closer for the 90s and the 00's hands down. If you want to break down pitch for pitch to everyone else then your being mathematically and scientifically anal and therefor half the members in the HOF should not be there. Stop, take a step back and just let it be. No need for smart asses who over analyze the situation. I'm not trying to be a bully, but I despise ignorance like I despise high fiber farts. True story.

[DrMitchJ]

I think the 'DH' and the "Closer" are going to be around for a very long time and 'old school writers" need to realize that. in fact everyone needs to remember that specialty players are nothing new to baseball and have been around for a long time. Managers used specialty pinch-hitters, pinch-runners, bunt specialists, defensive replacements, long relief, short relief and generic relief pitchers for a long time.
David Ortiz is one of the best DH specialists ever. He is feared, loved, respected, effective and responsible for helping his team get to multiple post season games. There's no doubt that he's important to the Sox and if given the chance, he might be WS MVP worthy ... And eventually HOF worthy. There's no reason to prevent him from attaining that goal because he's a DH.
Same thing with Mo. He was feared, loved, respected, effective and resposible for helping his team get to multiple post season games. No doubt he is HOF worthy. That's not even debatable .... The debate was, if Mo would get in the Hall unanimously. I say, he has the best chance of anyone I've ever seen due to the unbiased outpouring of love and respect from opponents, fans across the country and sports writers, sports commentators, sports announcers, etc, etc.

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My son asked me last night if Mo was one of the top 10 players of all time. I said, no. Then I said I will give him a list off the top of my head, excluding all players pre-1940s. He wasn't even in top 50.

Great guy, great reliever, won World Series. Personally, I think Whitey Ford was the better Yankess pitcher.

I guess that everything is relative, and comparisons are difficult. I guess why Stats were invented. Removes bias and like-ability factors out of the equation. But statistics don't tell the whole truth.
Is Mariano one of the 10 best pitchers or players? No. Probably not. I can name 10 legendary past icons and Mo wouldn't be there. Is he one of the 10 best in the last 20 years? That's up for debate. I think so.
Is Mariano one of the 10 best relief pitchers of all time? Yes, he's the best and that's a fact. Like it or don't.
My proposal of him being a first round unanimous inductee into the HOF is based on the fact above plus his like-ability factored into the equation. Some people don't like him because he is a Yankee and there is no shortage of Yankee haters. Some people don't like him because he's a reliever. Some people don't like him because he was successful at his trade, and there are those that dislike successful people. That will never change.
Everything need to be taken in context when looking at HOF players. Do you just award high batting averages and low ERA results??? Mantle hit lifetime .298 so should he be ejected from the HOF because he didn't hit .300? I'd rather have a 'past his prime' Mantle on my team than 75% of the current crop! Would you throw Koufax out of the HOF because he didn't have 300 wins? There was never any other pitcher more dominant than Sandy in his prime!
In a 20 year period of turmoil in baseball, scandals, senate committee hearings, PED witch hunts, HR records smashed and rebroken, Mariano crafted his trade and did it well, without problems, without steroids, with his abilities to throw one pitch and that one pitch was thrown remarkably well. Batters knew what he was throwing and still were ineffective against him. Unlike some of the greatest pitchers in the past, he threw to these steroidal monsters in ballparks that are statically hitter-friendly and kept a remarkably low ERA. Like him or not, he's deserving. Is he the best pitcher of all time? Did others pitch more innings? Have there been lower ERA stats? All debatable, but irrefutably he's deserving of the HOF.

[eisenhower76]

Here is 10th highest vote getter in history, someone else who was universally loved, respected and pretty good. Also he played everyday...

Roberto Clemente
92.69% HOF vote
Clemente, a native of Puerto Rico, spent all 18 of his MLB seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates and won 12 Gold Gloves, four batting titles and was named to the All-Star team 15 times. He is the first Hispanic player to win a World Series as a starter (1960), win a league MVP award (1966) and win a World Series MVP award (1971).

Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multime...z2gJlVQCWG

[DrMitchJ]

Before I give my opinion, let it be know that I grew up on the other side of the train tracks (a la I'm a Mets fan, not a Yanks fan). The hall of fame is for those who showed an "above and beyond" talent and performance during their "ERA". I can say that Rivera does belong in the hall of fame and I will tip my hat and bow down slightly to his performance over the years. He was the dominate closer for the 90s and the 00's hands down. If you want to break down pitch for pitch to everyone else then your being mathematically and scientifically anal and therefor half the members in the HOF should not be there. Stop, take a step back and just let it be. No need for smart asses who over analyze the situation. I'm not trying to be a bully, but I despise ignorance like I despise high fiber farts. True story.

I'm not sure who said it, (probably Joe Torre ).... "Mariano was the greatest security blanket in the history of Sports!" Or something quite similar! There was a sense of safety when Mo took the ball in the most stressful baseball situations!
Mo wasn't the goat too many times and sure, he was human and he blew a few crucial saves, but it never psychologically changed him, he didn't let it hang over him and affect the rest of his career. There are certain intangibles that you can't quantify or measure with a number. Mo had something immeasurable beyond his number of saves, his ERA, his post season stats, his 5 WS rings, etc, etc.
IMO, he is one of the greatest sports figures of the 21st Century.

[DrMitchJ]

Bump to the top from the past!

I just wanted to share my prediction / discussion thread from September of 2013 !


Mariano "Unanimous" Rivera was and will always be a class act and a great role model for all of baseball!
I can't wait to hear his induction speech! Congrats, Mariano!

[jack pfiester]

I'm not sure who said it, (probably Joe Torre ).... "Mariano was the greatest security blanket in the history of Sports!" Or something quite similar! There was a sense of safety when Mo took the ball in the most stressful baseball situations!
Mo wasn't the goat too many times and sure, he was human and he blew a few crucial saves, but it never psychologically changed him, he didn't let it hang over him and affect the rest of his career. There are certain intangibles that you can't quantify or measure with a number. Mo had something immeasurable beyond his number of saves, his ERA, his post season stats, his 5 WS rings, etc, etc.
IMO, he is one of the greatest sports figures of the 21st Century.

Allowing a bloop single to a roided up Luis Gonzalez isn't the end of the world. However, I was extremely happy to watch the Yankees lose for once!

[DrMitchJ]

Allowing a bloop single to a roided up Luis Gonzalez isn't the end of the world. However, I was extremely happy to watch the Yankees lose for once!

If you play baseball, you get acquainted with losing every now and again.

[rjcj2017]

This is my thought on the whole "unanimous" thing ...

It's not Rivera's fault that other players that deserved to be unanimous were not.

Ruth, Aaron, Williams, Griffey, etc. all should have been as well.

If Mario is the best to ever play his position - closer - he should be unanimous.

[DrMitchJ]

This is my thought on the whole "unanimous" thing ...

It's not Rivera's fault that other players that deserved to be unanimous were not.

Ruth, Aaron, Williams, Griffey, etc. all should have been as well.

If Mario is the best to ever play his position - closer - he should be unanimous.

Great point! Why wasn't Ruth unanimous? Who could argue that he wasn't the GOAT! In fact, who didn't vote for him? That person must have NOT been a very good sports writer !