Sunday, January 19, 2014
Bernie Williams and Mariano Rivera attend hunger outreach benefit in Danbury, Ct. on Jan. 18
.
1/18/14, Former Yankees speak out against hunger," NewsTimes.com, Susan Tuz, Danbury, Ct.
"Two of baseball's greats, Mariano Rivera and Bernie Williams, lent their names and fame to the Speak Out Against Hunger benefit at The Matrix on Saturday.
Rivera, a pitcher, retired from the New York Yankees in 2013 after 19 seasons. Williams retired from the Yankees in 2007 after 16 seasons playing center field.
Both men have deep religious beliefs, and it is that sense of religious community that drives their commitment to charitable outreach. Saturday found them at a benefit for the Hillside Food Outreach.
"I had 19 years in the big leagues, but was always moving toward my new career of spiritual outreach," said Rivera, whose church, Refugio de Esperanza, is in New Rochelle, N.Y.
"Every time you see a sports figure doing this kind of thing, it is wonderful," Rivera said. "It's an honor and a privilege to be touching life in another way."
Williams noted that "a lot of players have a hard time adjusting to life after baseball. You do have to change grooves. I was blessed to be able to shift gears into music and Mariano had a plan as well."
Both men said they were doing exactly what they wanted to be doing at this point in their lives.
Williams, a jazz guitarist, has recorded several albums and published a book in 2011, "Rhythm of The Game: The Link Between Music and Athletic Performance."
"I'm doing exactly what I want to do," Rivera said. "No second thoughts at all. I'm done with baseball."
"There was a chance I'd play Houston (in the last series of the 2013 season), but my knees are all beat up. I knew I wouldn't be able to run and catch a fly ball. I want to remember my last game was in Yankee Stadium. I love the game of baseball. I'd never play unless I could give it my all," Rivera added, speaking of the end of his Yankee career." image above by Tyler Sizemore, caption,
"Former New York Yankees Bernie Williams, left, and Mariano Rivera laugh during dinner at the Speak Out Against Hunger benefit for the Hillside Food Outreach at the Matrix Conference & Banquet Center in Danbury, Conn. Saturday, Jan. 18, 2014. The event was hosted by former Yankee player and Grammy-nominated jazz musician Bernie Williams with special guest Mariano Rivera."
.
1/18/14, Former Yankees speak out against hunger," NewsTimes.com, Susan Tuz, Danbury, Ct.
Rivera, a pitcher, retired from the New York Yankees in 2013 after 19 seasons. Williams retired from the Yankees in 2007 after 16 seasons playing center field.
Both men have deep religious beliefs, and it is that sense of religious community that drives their commitment to charitable outreach. Saturday found them at a benefit for the Hillside Food Outreach.
"I had 19 years in the big leagues, but was always moving toward my new career of spiritual outreach," said Rivera, whose church, Refugio de Esperanza, is in New Rochelle, N.Y.
"Every time you see a sports figure doing this kind of thing, it is wonderful," Rivera said. "It's an honor and a privilege to be touching life in another way."
Williams noted that "a lot of players have a hard time adjusting to life after baseball. You do have to change grooves. I was blessed to be able to shift gears into music and Mariano had a plan as well."
Both men said they were doing exactly what they wanted to be doing at this point in their lives.
Williams, a jazz guitarist, has recorded several albums and published a book in 2011, "Rhythm of The Game: The Link Between Music and Athletic Performance."
"I'm doing exactly what I want to do," Rivera said. "No second thoughts at all. I'm done with baseball."
"There was a chance I'd play Houston (in the last series of the 2013 season), but my knees are all beat up. I knew I wouldn't be able to run and catch a fly ball. I want to remember my last game was in Yankee Stadium. I love the game of baseball. I'd never play unless I could give it my all," Rivera added, speaking of the end of his Yankee career." image above by Tyler Sizemore, caption,
"Former New York Yankees Bernie Williams, left, and Mariano Rivera laugh during dinner at the Speak Out Against Hunger benefit for the Hillside Food Outreach at the Matrix Conference & Banquet Center in Danbury, Conn. Saturday, Jan. 18, 2014. The event was hosted by former Yankee player and Grammy-nominated jazz musician Bernie Williams with special guest Mariano Rivera."
.
2013 Topps 'Postseason Heroes' includes Rivera
.
1/18/14, "2013 Topps Update ‘Postseason Heroes’ Subset – Mariano Rivera," bapple2286
"The 2013 Topps Update baseball card set includes a subset tagged as ‘Postseason Heroes. And with that theme, you would expect to find cards of modern players like Albert Pujols, Edgar Renteria, and Pablo Sandoval but none of these guys made the checklist.
That does leave room for some nice surprises…
This is the card of Mariano Rivera from the set:
Mariano Rivera’s postseason resume is incredibly impressive. In 19 big league seasons, he made it to the postseason 16 times. He has played in 7 World Series match-ups, winning 5 titles.
Rivera has a postseason record of 8-1 with 42 saves. He has a postseason career ERA of 0.70 and has allowed a total of 13 runs in 141 innings of work."...
.
1/18/14, "2013 Topps Update ‘Postseason Heroes’ Subset – Mariano Rivera," bapple2286
"The 2013 Topps Update baseball card set includes a subset tagged as ‘Postseason Heroes. And with that theme, you would expect to find cards of modern players like Albert Pujols, Edgar Renteria, and Pablo Sandoval but none of these guys made the checklist.
That does leave room for some nice surprises…
This is the card of Mariano Rivera from the set:
Mariano Rivera’s postseason resume is incredibly impressive. In 19 big league seasons, he made it to the postseason 16 times. He has played in 7 World Series match-ups, winning 5 titles.
Rivera has a postseason record of 8-1 with 42 saves. He has a postseason career ERA of 0.70 and has allowed a total of 13 runs in 141 innings of work."...
.
Wednesday, January 08, 2014
Roto Hall of Fame names 2014 inductees Roy Halladay, Todd Helton, and Mariano Rivera-Gardner, USA Today Sports
.
1/7/14, "Halladay, Helton, Rivera earn place in Roto Hall of Fame," Steve Gardner, USA Today Sports
"Step back for a moment from what's become an annual battle of rancor and ill will surrounding the Baseball Hall of Fame election -- and picture a shrine where only the best players of their era are celebrated for their accomplishments on the field.
There's no discussion of whether or not steroid use disqualifies a player because of the character clause.
That's because numbers are the only things that matter in this alternative reality called the Rotisserie Baseball Hall of Fame.
Ron Shandler, the founder of BaseballHQ.com, has taken on the task of looking at each player's stats objectively and measuring them against the others in their era. That's what fantasy baseball owners have been doing anyway since the game was invented in 1984. (That also serves as the starting point for this Hall of Fame.)
The standards are simple: Players must have been in the majors for at least 10 seasons. Eligibility is based on their lifetime and peak Rotisserie dollar earnings, plus the number of times they were ranked among the top 15 batters or pitchers in a season over their career.
(The complete criteria are available at Shandler's website ShandlerPark.com)
One of the great features about this Hall of Fame is that there's no need for a five-year waiting period. A player is one of the elite or he's not, so he can gain admittance the season after he retires.
As a result, the overloaded ballot that has many baseball writers struggling to whittle down to a maximum of 10 candidates isn't a problem. In fact, 20 of the 36 players who are on the BBWAA ballot are already members of the Roto Hall of Fame.
BBWAA BALLOT: How the candidates fared in Roto Hall system
On Tuesday, Shandler revealed the three new members in the Rotisserie Hall's Class of 2014:
RHP Roy Halladay
(Toronto Blue Jays for 12 seasons, Philadelphia Phillies for four seasons)
During the 10-year period of 2002 to 2011, Halladay was one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball. He finished in the top 15 of all pitchers seven times during that span and posted an ERA of 3.25 or better in eight of those years. He posted five $30-plus seasons, including four straight from 2008-2011. Only four pitchers had more $30-plus seasons: Randy Johnson (9), Roger Clemens (8), Greg Maddux (8) and Pedro Martinez (6).
1B Todd Helton
(Colorado Rockies for 17 seasons)
It can be argued that had Helton played in a stadium closer to sea level and during a non-steroid inflated era, he might have been nothing more than Mark Grace. But the Roto Hall only considers a player's actual impact on his fantasy teams, and Helton was incredibly dominant during the first half of his career. He is one of only 17 batters in the Hall with multiple $40-plus seasons.
RHP Mariano Rivera
(New York Yankees for 19 seasons)
Rivera was the best relief pitcher in the history of the game. He becomes the 10th reliever during the Rotisserie era to be inducted in the Roto Hall. Rivera earned more Rotisserie dollars in his career, averaged more per year and finished among the top 15 pitchers more often than any other relief pitcher.
The addition of Halladay, Helton and Rivera brings the total Roto Hall membership to 86 players.
ROTISSERIE HALL OF FAME: Full roster of members
Incidentally, the player with the highest career Roto value won't be inducted anytime soon by the BBWAA. But fantasy owners sure enjoyed Barry Bonds' record $729 in fantasy value over his 22 seasons."
.
1/7/14, "Halladay, Helton, Rivera earn place in Roto Hall of Fame," Steve Gardner, USA Today Sports
"Step back for a moment from what's become an annual battle of rancor and ill will surrounding the Baseball Hall of Fame election -- and picture a shrine where only the best players of their era are celebrated for their accomplishments on the field.
There's no discussion of whether or not steroid use disqualifies a player because of the character clause.
That's because numbers are the only things that matter in this alternative reality called the Rotisserie Baseball Hall of Fame.
Ron Shandler, the founder of BaseballHQ.com, has taken on the task of looking at each player's stats objectively and measuring them against the others in their era. That's what fantasy baseball owners have been doing anyway since the game was invented in 1984. (That also serves as the starting point for this Hall of Fame.)
The standards are simple: Players must have been in the majors for at least 10 seasons. Eligibility is based on their lifetime and peak Rotisserie dollar earnings, plus the number of times they were ranked among the top 15 batters or pitchers in a season over their career.
(The complete criteria are available at Shandler's website ShandlerPark.com)
One of the great features about this Hall of Fame is that there's no need for a five-year waiting period. A player is one of the elite or he's not, so he can gain admittance the season after he retires.
As a result, the overloaded ballot that has many baseball writers struggling to whittle down to a maximum of 10 candidates isn't a problem. In fact, 20 of the 36 players who are on the BBWAA ballot are already members of the Roto Hall of Fame.
BBWAA BALLOT: How the candidates fared in Roto Hall system
On Tuesday, Shandler revealed the three new members in the Rotisserie Hall's Class of 2014:
RHP Roy Halladay
(Toronto Blue Jays for 12 seasons, Philadelphia Phillies for four seasons)
During the 10-year period of 2002 to 2011, Halladay was one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball. He finished in the top 15 of all pitchers seven times during that span and posted an ERA of 3.25 or better in eight of those years. He posted five $30-plus seasons, including four straight from 2008-2011. Only four pitchers had more $30-plus seasons: Randy Johnson (9), Roger Clemens (8), Greg Maddux (8) and Pedro Martinez (6).
1B Todd Helton
(Colorado Rockies for 17 seasons)
It can be argued that had Helton played in a stadium closer to sea level and during a non-steroid inflated era, he might have been nothing more than Mark Grace. But the Roto Hall only considers a player's actual impact on his fantasy teams, and Helton was incredibly dominant during the first half of his career. He is one of only 17 batters in the Hall with multiple $40-plus seasons.
RHP Mariano Rivera
(New York Yankees for 19 seasons)
Rivera was the best relief pitcher in the history of the game. He becomes the 10th reliever during the Rotisserie era to be inducted in the Roto Hall. Rivera earned more Rotisserie dollars in his career, averaged more per year and finished among the top 15 pitchers more often than any other relief pitcher.
The addition of Halladay, Helton and Rivera brings the total Roto Hall membership to 86 players.
ROTISSERIE HALL OF FAME: Full roster of members
Incidentally, the player with the highest career Roto value won't be inducted anytime soon by the BBWAA. But fantasy owners sure enjoyed Barry Bonds' record $729 in fantasy value over his 22 seasons."
.
Tuesday, January 07, 2014
For years the chant of 'S-E-C' haunted as the sounds of 'Enter Sandman' did for Mariano Rivera-Thamel
.
1/7/14, "'Noles turn page on era of SEC dominance in BCS championship," SI.com, Pete Thamel
"The familiar chant had evolved into the closing soundtrack of the Bowl Championship Series title game. It would emerge most years like the Southeastern Conference's rendition of Mariano Rivera's "Enter Sandman," a haunting fourth-quarter harbinger of inevitable victory.
As the SEC won seven consecutive national title games, a tradition evolved that saw whatever team's fan base that reached the title game serenade the overmatched foe with chants of -- "S-E-C! S-E-C!" As the SEC streak grew from Florida in 2006 to Alabama last year, the chant became an indelible symbol of the league's power and solidarity."...
1/7/14, "'Noles turn page on era of SEC dominance in BCS championship," SI.com, Pete Thamel
"The familiar chant had evolved into the closing soundtrack of the Bowl Championship Series title game. It would emerge most years like the Southeastern Conference's rendition of Mariano Rivera's "Enter Sandman," a haunting fourth-quarter harbinger of inevitable victory.
As the SEC won seven consecutive national title games, a tradition evolved that saw whatever team's fan base that reached the title game serenade the overmatched foe with chants of -- "S-E-C! S-E-C!" As the SEC streak grew from Florida in 2006 to Alabama last year, the chant became an indelible symbol of the league's power and solidarity."...
