Mariano Rivera Highlights

*
(NY Times): SAN JUAN, P.R. — "Mariano Rivera walked off a plane here Friday, strolled toward the baggage claim area and seemed edgy. Rivera, the normally stoic closer, was trying to plot the rest of a rare day apart from the Yankees.

“I need to work out, man,” he said. “I need to find a place to work out.”

• While Rivera traveled here to be an ambassador for Panama in the World Baseball Classic for two days, he is a Yankee 365 days a year. Rivera is slowly recovering from shoulder surgery, so he cannot pitch in the 16-team tournament. But he needed to toss a baseball to keep getting ready for another season.

“Do you know what time Panama is working out?” Rivera asked a reporter.

When Rivera was told that Panama’s workout had ended 30 minutes earlier, he cringed. It was too late for Rivera to join his Panamanian teammates — his teammates in spirit, at least. Rivera will wear Panama’s uniform for Saturday’s game against Puerto Rico, something he implored the Yankees to allow....

• Rivera knew that he could not pitch, but he explained why he wanted to be here as a proud Panamanian. At the age of 39, Rivera may not get another chance....

Rivera is revered in Panama, a place where he grew up using a cardboard box as his first glove

• and where he did not see a grass field.

The skinny son of a fisherman named Capt. Mariano, he was signed for $3,500 and has developed

• into the best closer in baseball history.

At Panama’s opener on Saturday, Rivera will be the flag bearer for the team and then act as a cheerleader. Héctor López, Panama’s manager and a former Yankee, would love to have Rivera as his closer. Instead, López noted how Rivera’s presence would help his players. Imagine Tom Hanks hanging out on the set of an independent film to encourage the actors. That is basically what Rivera is doing.

• Bernie Williams was unaware that Rivera, his former Yankees teammate, was here, but he nodded when told what Rivera was doing. Williams, who is playing for Puerto Rico, said Rivera was a caring person who knew how to be gracious and benevolent.

“He’s making a great example to the young kids on that team to show them that playing baseball is not about the individual,” Williams said. “It’s about the team. In this case, it’s about your country.”

• As a sweaty Williams sat on a golf cart, he spoke reverentially about Rivera. Williams watched Rivera act as a mentor to many Latin American players on the Yankees, and he predicted Rivera would do the same, in a condensed manner, for Panama.

“Those kids will remember it for the rest of their lives,” Williams said."..."Rivera Supports Panama with Presence but not a Glove," 3/6/09, Jack Curry

• From SI.com on Team Panama, 3/6/09

"The weakest of the Latin American entries, Panama was winless in the last WBC

• due largely to an impotent offense. That won't change much this year

as Astros left fielder Carlos Lee remains the only big bat on the team and is coming off a season ended early by a broken finger. A Panamanian team without Mariano Rivera is like a Taiwanese team without Chien-Ming Wang,

• but Rivera wouldn't make this team much better.

• Closers are of little use on teams unlikely to get many leads,

which makes it all the more unfortunate that relievers Manuel Corpas and Manny Acosta are two of the just three other active major leaguers on the roster (weak-hitting Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz is the third)."