Once heard boos from Yankee faithful
19-year career. Gleyber Torres, who has made the AllStar team in both of his big league seasons has a marginally superior .845 OPS through his career. For two weeks, Mo’s opponents hit like superstars and the GOAT became a goat.
Web-savvy readers may be familiar with the irony-laden meme “What’s Wrong With Mariano Week” popularized by now-defunct Yankees blog River Ave Blues, which poked fun at the fan overreaction to Mo’s extremely occasional lapses that seemed to happen every year.
The fans were restless, but Boone immediately clocked how unfazed he was.
“He’s unaffected by all that goes around,” the Yankees manager saud. “The ability to in that [closer] role, just completely turn the page.”
WARNING: Spoilers ahead.
Rivera pitched better. His next 16 games, he pitched to a subatomic 0.50 ERA and saved all 15 of his chances. Mo threw three scoreless innings in Game 7 relief to set the stage for Boone’s legacydefining walk-off home run. Rivera won the ALCS MVP and continued to pitch OK for the next ten years.
Boone continued to heap praise on his former teammate on the eve of his Cooperstown enshrinement, noting his graciousness in the interactions they’ve had even during his retirement. But, Boone adds, underlying his soft-spoken nature and genial treatment is “an almost perfect competitor.”
“The ability to deal with everything that goes on in the season.” Even boos from the home crowd, defines Mo’s legacy.
BREAKING NEWS: IT’S HOT
As the heat in New York approaches Aroldis Chapman’s max velocity, Boone plans to “monitor guys a little more closely.”
“Once you get through this game you kinda evaluate and consider moving forward who you might have down tomorrow,” Boone said. He also noted that J.A. Happ dealt with cramps that he thinks were at least partially related to the heat during his Friday start.
“He texted me earlier this morning,” Boone said. “I told him to give me a heads up of how you’re doing. He said he’s fine.”