Rivera becomes 1st unanimous inductee to Cooperstown
In his first year of eligibility, legendary New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera made history as the first unanimous inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. He received a vote from all 425 members of the Baseball Writers Association of America.
Rivera celebrated the news alongside his family with great cheer and a sense of emotion rarely seen as he dominated from his perch atop the pitcher's mound.
History! Mariano Rivera is officially the first player in MLB history to receive 100% of the votes! Truly remarkable experience for myself and his family! pic.twitter.com/WMrbFRsVAb
— Martino Puccio (@MartinoPuccio) January 22, 2019
The closest anyone had previously come to receiving 100 percent of the vote was Ken Griffey Jr., who received 437 out of a possible 440 votes in 2016.
Rivera is Major League Baseball's all-time leader in career saves with 652 over 19 seasons with the Yankees. As impressive as his regular-season resume was, he was on an entirely different level in the postseason.
Pitching in the heart of the Yankees' dynasty years, Rivera posted a superhuman 0.70 ERA with 42 saves over 141 playoff innings en route to five World Series championships and World Series MVP honors in 1999.
The master of the cutter appeared in more games than all but three other pitchers in MLB history, cementing his status as the greatest relief pitcher of all time.