The Two (and Only) Marianos


Going through some recent photos, I found this of Binghamton Rumble Ponies 1st base coach Mariano Duncan -- who just completed his fourth season with the Mets AAA club.  40 years ago as a 1985 Dodgers rookie, he became the first major leaguer ever with that first name.  A decade later, Mariano Rivera was promoted to the Yankees.  And the following season on the '96 Yankees, baseball's only two Marianos were teammates -- Duncan, the 2nd baseman and Rivera, the dynamic set-up reliever -- key cogs on the team that went onto win the World Series!

During his playing days, Duncan was a familiar October face: seeing post-season action with four different teams: his '85 Dodgers made it to the NLCS (where they lost to the Cardinals).  He also played on pennant winners with the 1990 Reds and '93 Phillies before switching leagues and winning a title with the '96 Yanks.




 

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