RIVERA’S HALL OF FAME CAREER A REMINDER OF THE GOOD IN SPORTS-LIFE

HOW RARE – especially in this age of rushing to judgment and building up to tear down – is it to have an athlete so beloved by teammates and foes alike? Former New York Yankees reliever Mariano Rivera may not register in the minds of many locally, but the fact he became the first player ever to be unanimously inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame elicited a sense of joy not only from Yankees fans, but also from players and fans who groaned upon each of his record 652 saves during his career. We have become more wary of looking at athletes as role models, yet for every rule, there is an exception. Rivera, the son of a Panamanian fish boat captain whose early experiences of the game he would eventually teach as a master class in the late innings came from using cardboard milk cartons as a glove and tree branches as bats. Only after ankle and knee injuries derailed his dreams of becoming a soccer player did Rivera begin to focus more on baseball, coming to America in early 1990 with a $2,500 signing bonus. The rest, as they say, is history. Rivera was a once in a lifetime performer who gave back to those less fortunate. He paid it forward, particularly in Panama, where his money went to building an elementary school, giving youngsters computer access while also launching a foundation that gives more than $500,000 a year toward scholarships to children who otherwise would have never had the chance to advance their education. His desire to make the world a better place was rarely publicized, just as we never heard of Rivera being caught in a negative light. Those traits are why Wednesday was a joyous occasion in a world filled with chaos and sadness. For a few moments, the news of 425 baseball writers joining in unison to confirm his induction was something you didn’t have to be a fan to feel good about it. For any young athlete who aspires to one day feel the spotlight of professional sports, Rivera is a beacon light to follow. For any of us whose best days of athletic accomplishment have since passed, Rivera is a reminder that we can all achieve our greater good. I don’t have kids, but I will challenge my two younger nephews – who are far from baseball fans – to look in Rivera’s direction to see how to not only strive to excellence on the field, but to exceed that excellence off it and to do so with the same stealth like manner Rivera’s cutter turned many a batter’s dream into an unspeakable nightmare. On his pitching glove, Rivera had inscribed Philippians 4:13. In both his Hall of Fame career and life, he has been a shining example of why we can do all things through Christ, who strengthens us. Amen.