Mariano Rivera Highlights

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2/26/14, "Yankees great Mariano Rivera admits that he misses baseball already," NY Daily News, Christian Red

Rivera at Nets game 1/14

"Baseball’s all-time saves leader will play the part of host when the 'Legend Series' between Yanks and Marlins is played at Rod Carew Stadium March 15-16 in Panama City."
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Ed. note: The white background behind part of this post was put there by google hackers.

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2/17/14, "Open Thread: 2/17 Camp Notes," River Ave. Blues, by Mike Axisa

"Twenty-four years ago today, the Yankees signed Mariano Rivera as a 20-year-old amateur free agent out of Panama. He received a bonus somewhere around $2,500, so by today’s standards he was old and very cheap for an international player. Man, I’m really going to miss Mo. Here’s a recap of the day in Tampa:

• As usual, Chad Jennings has the day’s bullpen and batting practice groups. Michael Pineda threw a bullpen session while Adam Warren, David Phelps, Vidal Nuno, and several others faced hitters in live batting practice.
• Pineda is open to pitching out of the bullpen and said he is motivated to return this year because he wants to play with Derek Jeter before he retires. “When I heard I was traded to the Yankees, I was thinking, ‘I get to play with Mariano Rivera, with Jeter,’” he said. “That’s what I’ve always wanted.” [Dan Barbarisi, Buster Olney]
• Brian Roberts said the Yankees reached out to him even before Robinson Cano signed with the Mariners, but he didn’t expect anything to come of it because he assumed they’d re-sign Cano. Brendan Ryan, meanwhile, thinks he might be used off the bench to replace Jeter for defense in the late innings. The team hasn’t said anything about that though. [Jorge Castillo, Anthony Rieber]
• And finally, former head trainer Gene Michael Monahan was at the complex today and will spend Spring Training with the team. [Meredith Marakovits]"

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2/13/14, "BASEBALL-Two preseason games bring MLB back to Panama," Reuters via Chicago Tribune

"Major League Baseball will return to Panama for the first time in 67 years when the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins play two pre-season games in the Central American country, MLB announced on Thursday.

The "Legend Series" will be played at Rod Carew Stadium in Panama City on March 15-16 and will honor former Yankees great Mariano Rivera of Panama, MLB's all-times saves leader, who retired at the end of the 2013 season.

Panama has long been a breeding ground for baseball talent, producing 40 MLB players over the years, including four currently on major league rosters.

"As long as I can remember, it has been my dream to bring my team, the Yankees, to play baseball in Panama," Rivera said in a statement.

"I grew up playing in Puerto Caimito, where I developed my passion for baseball and began a journey that brought me to New York. It is my hope that this legacy series will inspire other young players to pursue their dreams."

MLB has increasingly eyed international markets over the past two decades, and will start the 2014 season with two regular season games between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks in Sydney, Australia, on March 22-23. (Reporting By Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina; Editing by Larry Fine)"


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2/4/14, ""We have to motivate us to do professional baseball": Mariano Rivera," La Estrella, Panama, by Sara Morales Gallego



"In his first public appearance after his retirement from the major leagues, Mariano Rivera called for a team that works for professional baseball in Panama...."I like to help and I want to do," said Maj. closer of all time at the American baseball.

Rivera said he would return to Panama for the opening of the largest baseball tournament.

He acknowledged that he has not yet felt the size of its decision to withdraw from the mound and will only realize it when the time spring training arrives. "I miss kick the ball. After 23 years, not is something new for me." confessed.

Former major league...arrived this afternoon to participate in a charity event sponsored by the Savings Bank.

The baseball Panamanian soil arrived accompanied by his wife and vice president of the Panamanian Football Federation (Fepafut), Ramon Cardoze.

Rivera left his position as closer for the Yankees, after 23 years and 652 career saves." google translation from Spanish. image Rivera and wife Clara in Panama, Oses

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2/4/14, ""We have to motivate us to do professional baseball": Mariano Rivera," La Estrella, Panama, by Sara Morales Gallego








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2/3/14, "Bad weather delays Rivera’s return to Panama," newsroompanama.com

"Winter storms in the United States have delayed the return of Major League Baseball’s greatest all time closing pitcher to his home town of Panama.

Mariano Rivera who retired at the end of last season, was scheduled to take part in activities in Panama on Monday, February 3. They will be re-scheduled for Tuesday starting with a press conference at Tocumen International Airport, for the former New York Yankees closer.

Rivera retired from the majors after a successful 19 season’s career in which he became the all-time leader in saves with 652." image above, Oses, La Estrella, Panama

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1/28/14, "Mariano Rivera finally getting some recognition," Lohud Yankee blog, Chad Jennings

"About time someone did something to recognize the Yankees closer! It’s Iona College that’s stepping to the plate this time. Here are the details from the school.

New Rochelle, NY (January 28, 2013) – "A Yankees legend and future Hall-of-Famer and a highly successful business executive whose contributions have helped transform Iona College will headline the College’s annual awards dinner. Mariano Rivera and his wife, Clara, and Robert LaPenta will each be honored at the 52nd Annual Scholarship Awards Gala on Friday, April 11, at the Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan.

The Riveras, whose son Mariano Rivera Jr. is a pitcher for the Iona College baseball team, will receive The Blessed Edmund Rice Humanitarian Award for their extensive commitment to community service, while LaPenta will be presented with Iona’s Legacy Award, which recognizes an individual’s lifetime accomplishments.

“We are proud to celebrate the accomplishments of these outstanding individuals each of whom embodies Iona College’s mission of community service, scholarship and life-long learning,” said Iona President Joseph E. Nyre. “They are living proof that the mission of Iona’s founders remains a core value of our College and its community.”

Past honorees represent a who’s who of prominent and successful leaders including Francis Cardinal Spellman, New York Governor Malcolm Wilson, U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy, New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and the New York Police Department, and the 15 Iona alumni lost in the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center.

Rivera, a 13-time All Star and five-time World Series champion with the New York Yankees, and his wife started Refuge of Hope in their home in 2009. The organization quickly grew and the Riveras determined that they would organize a local church to provide programs to meet the needs of the less fortunate in the community. Currently they are expanding the church, where Clara is pastor, in the former North Avenue Presbyterian Church near the Iona campus in New Rochelle – the church is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Riveras are creating a learning center for area children as well as facilities for academic assistance, sports programs and other after-school activities for children and teenagers. The Riveras are residents of Rye, N.Y.

The Blessed Edmund Rice Humanitarian award named to honor the founder of the Congregation of Christian Brothers recognizes those who by their activities and service to others have reinforced Iona’s identity as a College founded in the tradition of the Congregation of Christian Brothers and American Catholic higher education.

LaPenta, a 1967 graduate of the College who received an honorary doctorate in 2000, will receive the Iona College Legacy Award for his lifetime achievements. He has held a variety of executive and senior level positions in private equity, technology and military communications companies. Until 2011, LaPenta was chairman, CEO and president of L-1 Identity Solutions, which he co-founded in June 2005. During his tenure, he built the firm into the largest biometric identity solution company in the world; Safran Morpho acquired the company for $1.6 billion. Earlier in his career, LaPenta had co-founded L-3 Communications and was a top executive at Loral Corporation for 24 years.

In addition to his business career, LaPenta owns and breeds thoroughbred horses at Whitehorse Stables, which he founded in 2001. His horses have won the Belmont Stakes, the Florida Derby twice and several other major graded stakes races. War Pass, one of LaPenta’s most successful horses, was the winner of the 2007 Breeders Cup Juvenile and was voted the Eclipse Award as the champion two-year-old. To date, his horses have earned in excess of $30 million in purses and sales.
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In addition to graduating from Iona, LaPenta is a member of the College’s Board of Trustees and has made significant contributions toward the construction of the LaPenta Student Union, the Ryan library, and the LaPenta-Lynch trading room floor in the School of Business. He and his wife, Laurie, live in Westport, Conn.

Proceeds from the Scholarship Gala will support student scholarships. For more information, visit the dinner website online at IonaScholarshipGala.org"" image of Mo above by AP

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Comment: I didn't know if Mo's son Mo Jr. was still a pitcher for Iona but their press release says he is.


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