Mariano Rivera: The Hammer of God

Call him whatever you want to—Mo, The Sandman. The Great One. The Hammer of God. No matter what name baseball fans associate him with, Mariano Rivera, no doubt, is the best to have laced the glove played the game as a reliever, that type a player who merits a special place in Cooperstown, home baseball’s Hall of Fame.

Born on this day 48 years ago in 1969, Rivera spent most of his career as a relief pitcher and served as the Yankees’ closer for 17 seasons. A thirteen-time All-Star and five-time World Series champion, he is MLB’s career leader in saves with 652, and games finished, 952.