2-out RBI: Rivera, Ma.

Mariano ducks out of the way to draw a walk.

Last night, we were blessed once again with an at bat from Saint Mo and it ended even better than his first. He worked a walk with the bases loaded against one of my most hated players, Francisco Rodriguez.

I’m sure he was once again told not to swing the bat, and just like his last appearance he…mostly listened. The one swing came on a 2-2 count to protect the zone (or, try to hit one out if you ask Mariano). The next two pitches were off the plate in classic BB-Rod style and now Mariano has an OBP of .500 for the year! It’ll stay that way unless the Yankees decide to pinch hit him at some point during the year. The Yankees pitchers have looked pretty good at the plate in 2009 even when they haven’t gotten hits, so maybe it’ll happen. You never know.

If you missed the glorious at bat, you can watch it here. It is a beautiful thing and highly recommended viewing.

Mariano also did something else not nearly as cool in this game; he notched his 500th career saves. Saves are a dumb stat, they are in many ways worse than RBI because of the many ways you can record one (see: Mariano’s one out save the other night when the Yankees were not exactly in peril of losing) but accumulating the amount Mariano has is very impressive because they highlight his longevity as a position where so many flame out quickly. I have been watching Mariano destroy batters since I was 15 in 1996 when he was first converted to relief and it has been an absolutely wonderful experience. I understand that had he been able to be an average starting pitcher we would never have seen this, but it is amazing to see a relief pitcher be so consistently excellent for as long as Mariano has.

And, to be honest, we’re all spoiled for it. The cries to keep Joba Chamberlain or Phil Hughes in the bullpen are because for the last decade and change we’ve watched Mariano come out and get the job done. No other team has had this luxury. The idea of a closer is overrated, for sure, but even when Mariano struggles we all feel that he’ll get it done. It’s not like watching Kevin Gregg or George Sherrill when you never know which version you’ll get on a night.

So thank you, Mariano Rivera, and congratulations on hitting your milestone. I am very grateful to have you around.