Gracious greatness: I will miss baseball’s ‘Sandman,’ Mariano Rivera

With the close of summer and the close of the yom tov season, came the end of baseball’s regular season, and the greatest closer closed his last game.

I’m a diehard Atlanta Braves fan, yet last week, when Mariano Rivera played his final game at Yankee Stadium and I watched clips of it after yom tov, I actually cried. Not because he had one the most iconic careers in major league history, winning more awards and holding more records than I could ever fit into this article, but because it was the close of a career of an amazing human being.

The son of a poor Panamanian fisherman, he became baseball royalty. He was signed to the Yankees in 1990 for $3,000, injured his elbow in ’92, was almost traded in ’95, then unexpectedly discovered his cutter and everything changed. He became “The Sandman,” because when he entered the game as a saver, he could be counted on to put it to bed.

A legend on and off the field, he treated everyone with respect and as an equal. He had impeccable consistency home and away. In public and private, with teammates and adversaries, he is the paradigm of immaculate behavior.

He always had a team-first mindset and turned most discussions about individual accomplishments to team goals and his teammates, thanking them for making his presence as a closer possible. When once asked to describe his job, Rivera put it simply, “I get the ball, I throw the ball, and then take a shower.”

Rivera’s well deserved reputation for excellent performance balanced with conspicuous humility and respect for the game on the field, coupled with his loyalty and empathy for teammates. He acted as a mentor, friend and role model in the clubhouse, along with providing guidance to his adversaries on other teams and going so far as to sharing the recipe for how to pitch his devastating cutter for all who asked (Mariano was actually fined in kangaroo court for teaching Roy Halladay “the cutter” and then being beaten the three times Halliday pitched against the Yankees right after). These are just a few elements of his public and clubhouse reputation. These behaviors were reinforced with the chessed that Mariano performed when the public spotlight was off. His compassion and concern for the disadvantaged, sick, hurt and other members of society were indelibly touched by Rivera’s compassion, blended with a radiant smile and spiritual belief and capacity to deeply affect all he met privately; perhaps the greatest saves he achieved, which will never be ensconced in any record books.

Of all the wonderful stories told about Mariano, one really touched me. It’s about a family that lost a young son in a tragic accident that also left the boy’s mother in a wheelchair. It was only a few weeks after the accident, when the family was invited to meet with Rivera before a game. When the family was introduced to him, everyone became emotional and Rivera addressed each sibling of the boy and told them that their brother would always be with them and that G-d had a plan for everything even though we are not be able to understand it. The part that never made it into the papers, until recently, was that the younger son asked if he could have the ball after the last out. The Sandman smiled and said “of course.”

After the game, having taken so long to get out of the stadium because of the mom’s wheelchair, they figured no one would be in the clubhouse anymore so they walked toward their car without the ball. At the same time, Mariano was returning to the dugout and his first question was “where is that boy and his family that I promised the ball to?” As the family was about to pull out of the parking lot, the dad received a call asking him to come back to the clubhouse. Rivera looked at the young boy, called him by name and handed him the ball. Weeks later, the family received another call informing them that it dawned on Mariano that he never autographed the ball and that they should send it back. Lastly, when telling the story, the dad said that when he put out his hand to shake Mariano’s, the closer instead gave him a hug, pulled him close and said “you’re stronger and braver than I ever could be.”

As we leave the friendly confines of our sukkah, where we treated our family and friends with chessed and cordiality, we emerge from our metaphorical home stadiums for the inevitable away games which we must play in between one Shabbat and the next, and one yom tov to another. Will our records be unblemished in our away games and will we pitch with the same consistency and grace as “The Sandman”?

Since we have just finished eating non stop the last few weeks, thought I’d share a light, refreshing fruit dessert with you. I’m calling it the MARIANOated fruit salad.

Marinated Fruit Salad

Ingredients:

3/4 cup honey

1/3 cup water

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/3 cup orange juice

1/8 tsp salt

3 cups pineapple chunks

3 cups cantaloupe

3 cups peach chunks

I cup blueberries

Combine honey and water in small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add lemon and orange juices and cool completely. Place fruit mixture in individual dishes and pour cooled marinade over it.