Hats off to Mariano Rivera for as classy a press conference to announce one's retirement as I have ever seen. While it's no surprise that the all-time leader in saves plans to call it a career this fall, the words he shared Saturday morning said so much about the man. Not so much that he wants his final season a World Series champion -- who wouldn't? Take note of the grace and modesty in these thoughts:
- Why 2013 will be his swan song: "The tank is almost empty. The little gas that I have left is everything for this year. And after that, I empty everything. There’s nothing left."
- His self-assessment: "I don’t feel I’m the greatest of all-time. The reason I say that is because I’m a team player. If it wasn’t for my teammates, I would never had the opportunities. But I would love to be remembered as a player who was always there for others. Trying to make them better."
- On what he hopes to do after retiring: "I love to work with the minor-leaguers. It’s a passion that I have. It’s a respect that I have for the game. And giving back to the organization, or to the game of baseball, is just giving the knowledge and the experience that I have within the game of baseball."
- "Being the last person to wear number-42, I carry, I would say, the legacy of Mr. Jackie for all these years. I tried to do my best to wear No. 42 and do it with class and honor. That’s what I’ve been doing... I will continue doing that to the end. Hopefully, the Lord gives me the strength to continue doing it. Because what Mr. Jackie Robinson did for us, as a minority, it was tremendous. He gave us the opportunity to come here and play. He opened doors for us. Being the last player to wear No. 42 is a privilege and an honor.”
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