Dan Oswald, CEO of BLR®, offered his thoughts on what leaders can learn from Mariano Rivera in a recent edition of The Oswald Letter . Here are his thoughts.
Either you love the New York Yankees or you hate them. I’m a hater. I grew up hating them. They were the antithesis of my beloved Chicago Cubs. That is to say they were winners. But I didn’t hate them because they were winners—well, maybe a little. I hated them because of the way they went about it. They were brash and flamboyant with personalities and egos as large as the city they represented.
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But in recent years, I have found the Yankees harder to hate. Their last two managers, Joe Torre and Joe Girardi (a former Cubs player), are both great leaders and classy individuals. And they have had star players, including Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, who haven’t acted like so many spoiled athletes do today. Thank God the Yankees have Alex Rodriguez or else I might become a fan!
On Thursday, September 26, Rivera pitched his final game in Yankee Stadium. He came in with one out in the top of the eighth inning and recorded the two outs necessary to close out the inning. He came back to the pitcher’s mound for the top of the ninth and again recorded two outs. But instead of letting Rivera retire the final Tampa Bay Rays’ batter of the night, Girardi did something that reminded me of why I respect him so much.
Instead of allowing his star pitcher to record a final out in the top of the ninth and walk off the field with his eight teammates while the opponents took the field for the last half of the inning, Girardi decided to pull Rivera from the game. But instead of making his usual trip to the mound to retrieve his pitcher, he sent two of Rivera’s teammates—Jeter and Andy Pettitte. These three Yankees had played together for nearly two decades.
If you watch the video of this moment, you’ll see that when Rivera notices who is coming to the mound to remove him from his final game, he first smiles and then embraces Pettitte, and the emotion of the moment brings him to tears. When he finally walks off the field, it’s to a standing ovation from thousands of Yankees fans. It’s really something to see.
Rivera has played for one—and only one—organization for the past 19 years. Since his career began with the New York Yankees in 1995, his success has been unparalleled. Now the 43-year-old father of five is retiring after pitching in more than 1,000 games. In his 19-year career with the Yankees, he recorded a Major League record 652 saves, was an All-Star 13 times, won five World Series Championships, and was named the 1999 World Series MVP.
But more important than all the records and accolades, Rivera has represented himself, his family, and his team with nothing but class. Despite his incredible talent and success, he has remained humble and likable. Just listen to what Rivera himself had to say when asked about how he has handled his success: “The Lord brought me here and has blessed me in an amazing way. You are going to tell me that because now I have this [skill] that I’m better than you? Unacceptable. I know where I came from. And my father [taught] me the right way. He says, ‘Respect, help, and support.’”
If you want a lesson on how to compete and succeed, look no further than Mariano Rivera. If you want a role model for handling success with grace and class, look no further than Mariano Rivera. The man is a master of his craft, but the example he has set for others exceeds any of his on-field accomplishments. For a man who is the best to ever play his position, I can think of no greater compliment than that.
That was a memorable night for MLB. I was watching my Rays as they were deep into the hunt of a play-off spot and cried myself when Jeter and Pettite came to meet him. It was a classy way for Joe Girardi to “Exit the Sandman”. His thoughtfulness allowed the fans and Rivera to honor each other.
And being a die-hard Rays, I certainly have no love of the Yankees or Red Sox, but two other classy moves happened this year between those two teams. The Boston Red Sox fans gave Rivera a standing ovation during his last series in Fenway. I doubt any other player (except maybe Jeter) will get that kind of respect from their rivals. Also, listening to the Yankee fans sing “Sweet Caroline” in Yankee Stadium right after the Boston bombing was quite the classy move on their part.
You can’t let sentiment rule ovligoerc. Mariano is great and has been a superstar for the Yankees. But when his time comes- and that is not yet determined- the team has to move on. Sure, if his performance shows that he has any possible chance of breaking the record as time moves on,then of course you give him the shot. But if that goal appears unreachable, then you thank him for his great years of service and let baseball put him in the Hall, which is a well-deserved honor for one of the great ones.
The Truth February 5, 2013 12:28Gee you’re right I mean despite the fact that in three deiffrent postseasons for three deiffrent teams in a combined 11 series, Swisher batted over .300 twice and has a career postseason BA. 169 I was too quick to judge. Lets see in his Yankee career he over. 300 in one out of seven post season series and 8 RBI’s in 181 PA’s. In 2009 alone Alex had 18 RBI’s that Postseason. He also had an OPS of 1.253 in the 2000 ALCS with Seattle. Stop it. Nick Swisher was awful in the postseason as a Yankee. Since the brain dead fan base appears to judge your career on what you do in October in pinstripes, Swisher is as much to blame for the Yankees elimination as Alex. 3 3
The Truth February 5, 2013 11:39Uh Son I don’t know what Yankee games you have been watching in the pooasetssn over the last few years. Swisher was 0-15 with RISP over the last two playoff runs. Do you not remember him getting benched for Jerry Hairston Jr in 2009. Granderson was even worse. I had no issue with him benching Alex, but you know what Swisher & Granderson should have joined him on the pine. Alex carried the team in the 09 pooasetssn and should have been the ALCS MVP. Swisher or Granderson cannot make the same claim. Sorry Joe needed a scapegoat and found one and if Alex was injured that could explain his pool play what’s Curtis’ and Nick’s excuse? 3 3
Bustifarious Jimmelsticks February 5, 2013 10:12Mariano Rivera is the greatest colser of all time and a true Yankees legend, but that doesn’t mean he’s incapable of bad judgment. I agree with Derek’s coolness towards A-Rod, if that’s truly his intent with such guarded statements. Look at all the distractions Alex causes that we know about imagine what goes on behind the scenes that we don’t see. We all have coworkers who we dislike. Maybe Alex is that guy in the clubhouse.Above all, Derek and most of the Yanks just want to win. That’s all there is to being a Yankee, winning the World Series. Alex’s distractions don’t necessarily harm the team’s ability to win, but they sure as hell don’t help.What I’m trying to say is that A-Rod is like the clown at your office who tries to photocopy his bare ass and breaks the copier because he’s a stupid fat f*ck. Derek has to Xerox his TPS reports, but thanks to Alex, he has to walk ten blocks to Kinkos because the copier’s busted. 4 3