Happy birthday Mariano Rivera! Greatest closer of all time turns 46

Nov. 29 may be more affectionately remembered as the day that American Airlines started commercial service from New York to Los Angeles, or as the day the Beatles released "I Want to Hold Your Hand." But, around these parts, 11/29 is known as Mariano Rivera's birthday.

Rivera -- arguably the greatest closer of all time -- turned 46 on Sunday. Mo spent his entire 19-year career with the Yankees, appearing in 1115 games and finishing an MLB-record 952 of them. Over that time, Rivera made 13 All-Star appearances and tallied an MLB-record 652 saves. He received MVP votes in nine seasons and finished second or third in Cy Young voting four times. 

After 19 impressive seasons in pinstripes, Rivera called it quits in September 2013 as longtime teammates Derek Jeter and Andy Pettitte walked out to the Yankee Stadium mound to remove Mo from his final appearance -- in which he faced four batters and got them all out, obviously.

As we wish Rivera a happy birthday, please be sure to cross off another day on your calendars counting down to the day he's eligible for induction to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

This post was originally published Nov. 29, 2014 to celebrate Rivera's 45th birthday. But it's all still true.