The Wall Street Journal reports on the unique nature of Mariano Rivera’s farewell tour. Rather than going to each park and letting people make him feel special and honored, he’s connecting with the unknown and unsung in each park to let them know how much he appreciates their contributions:
Like, stadium employees. Or, in the example that kicks off the article, the guy who beats the drum at Indians games. And Rivera praises that guy rather than takes his drumsticks away and threatens violence, which is more than I could do the time I met him.
There are people who have spent 20 years trying to find things to hate about the Yankees. And if you’re determined to do that kind of thing it’s not really that hard. But I’ll be damned if anyone can say a bad thing about Mariano Rivera. I’ve literally heard nothing bad about the guy ever. And this kind of thing makes you think like such a thing would be an impossibility.