Trump awards Medal of Freedom to Hall of Fame pitcher Rivera

President Donald Trump on Monday presented the presidential Medal of Freedom to Mariano Rivera, the Hall of Fame relief pitcher for Trump’s hometown team, the New York Yankees.

The medal was given in a 20-minute ceremony in the East Room of the White House.

The medal is the highest civilian award — a companion to the better-known Medal of Honor for military valor — and Trump used the moment to lavish praise on Rivera, a Panamanian immigrant who rose to stardom in the Big Apple as, in the president’s words, “maybe the greatest pitcher of all time.”

Rivera was the third former professional athlete to be awarded the Medal of Freedom in the past month, joining former NBA stars Bob Cousy and Jerry West.

In May, Trump bestowed the honor on golfer Tiger Woods, an occasional business partner of the president.

Since Trump awarded his first batch of civilian medals last November to a group that included former NFL greats Roger Staubach and Alan Page, seven of the 12 people who have received the award under Trump have been athletic heroes.

The president’s eagerness to honor ex-jocks was punctuated when he compared Rivera to another former Yankees star.

“This year, Mariano became the first player unanimously elected to the baseball Hall of Fame,” Trump read from his notes, before ad-libbing a question. “Out of curiosity, Babe Ruth was not unanimous?”

Trump had posthumously awarded Ruth the medal last year, presenting it to his grandson Thomas Stevens.