Mariano Rivera salutes the crowd during his 13th - and final - All-Star Game.
Video: Mariano Rivera shows me how, as a boy in Panama, he used to make baseball gloves out of cardboard. (If you received this via email, please go to the online blog to watch.)
Needless to say, seeing Mariano Rivera's final All-Star appearance was an emotional episode for me; in addition to being one of the greatest Yankees ever, Mo was one of my first clients - and is one of my closest friends.
So I had to again share that amazing video of Mo showing me how he used to make his gloves out of cardboard (above), and I wanted to add a few more thoughts about him.
As you can read in this post I did about him in February, Mariano likes to credit his unparalleled success to the three steps he makes every time he takes the mound. He:
1. Quiets the noise. (Blocks out the distractions from his mind.)
2. Slows everything down.
3. Throws one pitch at a time.
But now I'd like to add a fourth:
4. With the help of his faith, he stays incredibly grateful and humble.
I’ve known Mariano for 16 years – I’ve seen him go from a pretty much anonymous pitcher to one of the greatest baseball players of all time – and he’s still the same.
His approach is still team-based and low-key. He's one of the most accomplished men I know, but he's also by far the most humble.
That’s why Mariano is who he is. That’s why even his competitors respect and love him. That's what moves people about him.
Mariano never thinks about his brand. He thinks about his family, God, people he can help, and baseball. That's pretty much it.
Good things happen when you stay humble, do right by people, and never forget your place in the grand order of things.
A lot of people don’t have the patience and trust to let that all play out – they want immediate results. Instant gratification.
But Mariano is living proof that when you lead a selfless, authentic life, success will find you.
So here's to Mariano Rivera - the most dominant & humble athlete we'll ever see.
PS - Here's >a sweet interview< I did with Mo in 2007. And here's my >Mariano Rivera podcast<.
