The Closer

By: Mariano Rivera, Wayne Coffey

Narrated by: Michael Kay

The greatest relief pitcher of all time shares his extraordinary story of survival, love, and baseball.

Mariano Rivera, the man who intimidated thousands of batters merely by opening a bullpen door, began his incredible journey as the son of a poor Panamanian fisherman. When first scouted by the Yankees, he didn't even own his own glove. He thought he might make a good mechanic. When discovered, he had never flown in an airplane, had never heard of Babe Ruth, spoke no English, and couldn't imagine Tampa, the city where he was headed to begin a career that would become one of baseball's most iconic.

What he did know: that he loved his family and his then girlfriend, Clara, that he could trust in the Lord to guide him, and that he could throw a baseball exactly where he wanted to, every time. With astonishing candor, Rivera tells the story of the championships, the bosses (including The Boss), the rivalries, and the struggles of being a Latino baseball player in the United States and of maintaining Christian values in professional athletics.

The thirteen-time All-Star discusses his drive to win; the secrets behind his legendary composure; the story of how he discovered his cut fastball; the untold, pitch-by-pitch account of the ninth inning of Game 7 in the 2001 World Series; and why the lowest moment of his career became one of his greatest blessings. In The Closer, Rivera takes readers into the Yankee clubhouse, where his teammates are his brothers. But he also takes us on that jog from the bullpen to the mound, where the game—or the season—rests squarely on his shoulders.

We come to understand the laserlike focus that is his hallmark, and how his faith and his family kept his feet firmly on the pitching rubber. Many of the tools he used so consistently and gracefully came from what was inside him for a very long time—his deep passion for life; his enduring commitment to Clara, whom he met in kindergarten; and his innate sense for getting out of a jam. When Rivera retired, the whole world watched—and cheered. In The Closer, we come to an even greater appreciation of a legend built from the ground up.

A story of a fisherman’s son becoming the best closer of all time

After hearing Mariano’s story, you can understand how he was able to tune out distractions and perform at the highest level in the most stressful situations.
Michael Kay was a natural to narrate this story for Mo.
loved it.

Excellent book!

Love the way he explains dealing with his faith throughout his career, I do believe and lost me going into sooooo much irrelevant details about games.

Worth the work to find Mariano's voice

I enjoyed listening to the audiobook very much even though it took a bit of work to find the Mariano's voice and heart through the co-writer and the narrator.

I've heard Mariano in press conferences. I have a bit of an idea of how he talks. I often felt that the book had phrasing that reflected a sports writer more than the athlete himself. Mariano also has a fairly strong accent that was not reflected by the narrator who sounded more like a sportscaster than a biography narrator. Not only did the narrator make no attempt at a Latino accent when appropriate, he actually mangled some Spanish names.

However, the story does reward the effort and perseverance. We get a behind the scenes look into the life, faith and skill of one of baseball's best and best-loved.

Amazing story!

Enjoyed this book a lot, Michael Kay did a great job narrating which doesn't surprise me.

A Humble Giant

My dad who knows a lot more about baseball than I do says Rivera might be the most valuable player in the history of the game. I don't know about that but after reading his autobiography I know he's the humblest.