Tag Archives: Mariano Rivera

Throwback Thursday: That Time AMF Was In Deadspin

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Once upon a time, on the annual slow sports period that’s the day after MLB’s All-Star Game, a post I wrote for Aaron Miles’ Fastball was featured on Deadspin.

It was on July 17, 2013, following Mariano Rivera’s final appearance as an All-Star the night before. To refresh your memory of what that had been like, check out the video here — and perhaps you’ll have the same reaction I did: Edward Mujica was an All-Star? Totally forgot that little tidbit …

Anyway, having watched the All-Star Game, the next day I’d been thinking about the time my Yankees fan friend Kat and I went to St. Louis to see two of the three games between our teams in June 2005. And because we went to Saturday and Sunday’s games early to watch the Yankees’ batting practice, we saw a group of relievers huddled together in left field both days and, led by Mo, realized just what their discussions were about. Thus, “The Tale Of Mariano Rivera And The Ball Thrown Out Of Busch Stadium.”

And, a little while later, this.

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Obviously, very cool — and resulted in a tremendous amount of traffic to AMF, though it’s only the second-most popular post in AMF history.

You can search Deadspin and still find it there, and it’s awesome that Kat’s photo lives on in the Deadspin archives. However, the link there to the post does not work since the demise of Aerys Sports, but is still available here.

Ah, memories … which might just be the same thing Tanyon Sturtze (second from the right in Kat’s photo) is thinking as well when he remembers his Yankees career.

 

Mariano Rivera, Skip Schumaker and Michael Wacha — Oh My!

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What do the just-retired greatest closer of all time, a Cardinal-turned-Dodger-now-turned Red and the Cardinals rookie sensation all have in common? Nothing, it would seem — yet posts we wrote about those three were what you read the most at Aaron Miles’ Fastball in 2013.

12-31 collageAfter looking at our picks for the top five stories of the year yesterday, we close out the year today with a look at the most-read posts. And, as you can already see, it’s certainly not a Cardinals only list — although of course they dominate the list. Just not at the top.

No, our No. 1 post of the year (in terms of readership numbers) is one about the man who is used to ending things instead of starting them, Mariano Rivera. Watching the All-Star Game tribute to Mo on July 16 reminded me of the time my Yankees friend Kat and I went to Busch Stadium in 2005 for the Yankees-Cardinals series. We had the opportunity to see something very few people probably even noticed before that Sunday’s game, which I wrote about in The Tale of Mariano Rivera and The Ball Thrown Out of Busch Stadium. It was a fun, entertaining post — and it ended up in Deadspin (which was a surreal moment, and one I had to capture via screenshot). So lots and lots and lots of people ended up reading about what Mo did that day, and it was by far our most read post of the year.

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The Tale Of Mariano Rivera And The Ball Thrown Out Of Busch Stadium

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Once upon a time, the New York Yankees played against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium II. Yes, it does seem like an interleague fairy tale since it was so many years ago — June 10-12, 2005, to be exact.

And, during the course of that three-game series, something seemed to intrigue Yankees closer Mariano Rivera — the very same one who received the amazing ovation and wonderful recognition during last night’s All-Star Game.

It had nothing to do with the one game he pitched in, which was the second of the three games and the Yankees’ only victory — Randy Johnson was the winning pitcher, Mark Mulder lost, Rivera (not surprisingly) got the save even though it was a 5-0 final. (Yeah, I had to look that up since I couldn’t remember all the details of the game. He entered in the bottom of the eighth inning — hmmm, sound familiar? — with the score 4-0, two outs, Abraham Nunez and Jim Edmonds on base and struck out Larry Walker looking. In the ninth, he retired That Guy Who Used to Play First Base, Reggie Sanders and Mark Grudzielanek. Thank you, Baseball Reference!)

Anyway, what was it that piqued Mo’s curiosity? Those arches that ringed the top of the old stadium.

Here’s a picture to remind you, taken from the vantage point from which I saw the greatest closer of all time pitch in person. (Tremendous view, I know — if I wanted to see the display of the retired numbers at the old ballpark. They were the section next to us. Not so great to see that cutter in action.)

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