Mariano Rivera tells his story for the first time: the championships, the bosses (including the Boss), the rivalries, the struggles of being a Latino baseball player in the United States, and of maintaining Christian values in professional athletics. The twelve-time All-Star will discuss what it's like to run up to that mound with the game, or the season squarely on his shoulders. The greatest relief pitcher of all time shares his extraordinary story of survival, love, and baseball. Mariano Rivera, the man who intimidated thousands of batters merely by opening a bullpen door, began his incredible journey as the son of a poor Panamanian fisherman. When first scouted by the Yankees, he didn't even own his own glove. He thought he might make a good mechanic. When discovered, he had never flown in an airplane.
I read it - I still find it hard to believe. We sometimes imagine sports heroes, and especially our greatest sports heroes, being zealously driven from birth to be top notch athletes, with a laser focus on getting to the professional sports leagues and making their mark. None of this describes Mariano Rivera, who almost by chance, found himself with the opportunity to achieve great things in baseball, in a country he had never even dreamed of visiting. Amazing story.
