Why HAs Mariano Rivera Been Able to Maintain at a Dominant Level for 13 years, near uninjured....?

I really believe his success come from his nearly perfect mechanics. His delivery is as close to perfect as they come. Tom Seaver, in my opinion had the best mechanics of any pitcher I ever saw. Neither, certainly Seaver, never had arm problems during his hall of fame career.

He has taken great care of himself, and he has always had that compact delivery. Ever since Mo came up, you've heard hitters and broadcasters say that his ball "gets on top of you in a hurry". His longevity has everything to do with him staying in shape, and Mo makes everything look easy, he's a great athlete. How many 38-year old relievers are out there chasing fly balls during batting practice? I don't see Big Mouth "Look at Me Make and Idiot of Myself" Papelbon doing that in a few years.

What's interesting about Mariano is that he missed a season in the minors with Tommy John surgery, but hasn't had any major problems since. The pitchers you mentioned, especially, Gagne, Nen, and Percival all have or had, violent deliveries, like Rob Dibble used to have. That doesn't lend itself to a long career. The other guys most likely didn't work hard enough, or were fraile to begin with.

I don't remember seeing Mo hit 95 or 96 very often. It seems like almost every pitch has always been 93 or 94. When he was younger and blowing away the Braves in Game 6 of the '96 Series, the radar gun kept reading 94. It has been the movement of the cutter that makes hitters look ridiculous.

A lot of "experts" who said Mo's best years were behind him after last season, have no clue. He got off to a bads start last season because the Yankees stunk and he only pitched once a week. Then he had ONE bad game the rest of the season, in August. I think he is better than every this season.

The guy is the best ever. No disrespect to Trevor Hoffman, but he can't compare to Mo. Hoffman blows every big save opportunity that he gets. It's also easier to save games in San Diego, in a league with no DH. It's harder to face A.L. teams with DH's and teams that take pitchers to deep counts.

I believe it's a combination of factors that others have already mentioned. Fluid pitching motion, excellent mechanics, takes care of himself physically, and mental toughness or ability to manage high-stress situations are the main ones. The only thing I would add is that Mariano basically pitches with one speed, which minimizes the strain on his arm. He depends on ball movement and location rather than changing speeds. His cutter and fastball are basically the same pitch with a slightly different grip. I believe throwing sliders, curves, splitters, change-ups (pitches that require either some wrist motion or significant grip changes) put significantly more strain on a pitcher's arm.

BTW, Mo has been clocked at 95-96 on several occasions this year. He's still got it.

I would say Rivera has been VERY fortunate to avoid injury, but he also does a lot to keep himself healthy. Most of those other closers don' throw enough, but often times you see Mariano in the bullpen just keeping his arm loose, regardless of the score of the game.

As far as the intimidation factor, he has earned that rep. Being so dominant for so many years definetly puts fear into a batter. Just seeing him out on the mound puts doubt into a hitter's head, and that usually leads to swing and misses and easy outs.

A) The man is a "Routine-Freak."

Just like Michael Jordan hated when people complimented him on his "natural" abilities, I think a lot of people just think Mo shows up in a limo sometime around the 7th inning, warms up, saves a game and then goes downstairs and eats ice cream.

He is a work-out fanatic, and like a lot of guys with long careers, he has worked harder he older he has gotten.

B) One pitch

They say that "pitching is all about deception and making adjustments"...wrong!

With Mo you know EXACTLY what he's going to throw. There's no "set him up with fastballs and put him away with a slider" with Rivera. He's going to throw that nasty cutter over the plate and, if it doesn't break your bat, you're probably going to ground it weakly to Derek. Mo has not had to "reinvent" himself or become "trickier" with age.

When the time comes for Rivera to enter Cooperstown, his cut fastball should have it's own plaque right next to his.

I think he has the mental toughness that is key for a closer. He has succesfully avoided the yips which is something most closer can't say after a few years. He has the innate ability to move on after a blown save.

As far as the not throwing as hard and still getting the outs, he still locates the ball unlike any other closer so he can afford to lose a little velocity.

Well those Guys have just lost it because maybe they just dont have the stuff anymore. They are just a good couple years guys and the next they just Average

Mariano That guy takes care of himself and take pride in what he does, and like i always say he is Meant to be a Yankee for life, he is Christian and God gave him the Ability to succeed and above as a Closer and will be dominate until the day he Retires, which be a very say for me

I think it's a combination of factors. He takes care of his body, his pitching motion is fluid and doesn't put undue strain on his arm, his mental toughness, his astounding natural talent and luck. Of course in life sometimes you make your own luck. :-)

I'm not a Yankee fan, but the likes of Rivera come around about once every 30 years. As baseball fans we're blessed to be able to see him perform during our lifetime.

He is a hall of famer first ballot. HE is just mentally strong enough to get threw it. Plus he is on the yankees, the have a great medical staff.

growing up playing baseball, you are teaching yourself to play 9-10 innings, at a professional level you may have 6 strong innings, knowing that, pitching 1-3 innings would be your best game, rivera is just doing his job, you do your job do you get paid millions? this guy is overated, and over paid, all baseball players are over paid, imagine you making his salary for doing something he'd get paid few thousand dollars in the dominica republic