The Best Mariano Rivera Retirement Gifts
Mariano Rivera’s class has been on display his entire career, and never has his altruism shined through more than in his final season in the Majors.
At each stop on his farewell tour, Rivera puts others first, spending time with stadium employees and other locals, getting to know their stories.
Teams also have been honoring Rivera in a variety of creative ways.
Here are the top five gifts:
5) San Diego Padres – Retired closer Trevor Hoffman was on the field with Rivera to present him with a customized Yankees beach cruiser bike. This one was amazing because there were over 1,200 career saves standing side-by-side on the field.
4) New York Mets – Mounted fire hose nozzle from a FDNY truck, and an authentic FDNY call box for the “greatest fireman of all-time.” Rivera also threw out the first pitch at Citi Field, caught by the career saves leader for left-handers, John Franco.
The @Mets have asked Mariano Rivera to throw out the 1st pitch tonight...look for the cutter. #MoRiveraFarewellTour pic.twitter.com/exSJHt1eAJ
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) May 28, 2013
3) Cleveland Indians – A gold record of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman,” Mo’s iconic entrance song.
Between games, @MarkShapiro & the Rock Hall presented Mariano Rivera with an "Enter Sandman" gold record pic.twitter.com/Zyiy4fhEvA
— Cleveland Indians (@Indians) May 13, 2013
2) Multiple Teams – The Rockies, Royals, Mariners, A’s and Rangers all made donations to Mo’s charity, the Mariano Rivera Foundation, and the White Sox gave $4,200 to the Jackie Robinson Foundation in Rivera's name. Among the coolest supplemental gifts from those teams include a surfboard from Oakland and personalized cowboy boots from Texas.
1) Minnesota Twins – It’s going to take a lot to upstage the “Chair of Broken Dreams,” a rocking chair made of broken bats. There’s no telling how much lumber Rivera’s cutter has shredded over the last two decades.