Did Mariano Rivera deserve to be the only unanimous inductee into the hall?

[Rocko]

I say hell no. A few different reasons why I don’t believe he is worthy of his achievement.

A) He failed as a starting pitcher

B) He wasn’t an everyday player

C) baseball didn’t even have closers untill the 1960’s

D) Babe Ruth wasn’t unanimous and he’s the GOAT. Rivera wasn’t the best player of all time. C’mon.

 

[Rocko]

I’m sure Pogo will disagree. He thinks everyone and their mother should be in the hall of fame!

 

[rightwinger]

I say hell no. A few different reasons why I don’t believe he is worthy of his achievement.

A) He failed as a starting pitcher

B) He wasn’t an everyday player

C) baseball didn’t even have closers untill the 1960’s

D) Babe Ruth wasn’t unanimous and he’s the GOAT. Rivera wasn’t the best player of all time. C’mon.

I am sick of stupid HOF voters who will hold back a vote just so it is not unanimous

Yes, Babe Ruth should have been unanimous......so should Ty Cobb, Joe D, Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Griffey Jr and many others

Rivera defined the closer position and was as lights out as you can get. Yanks wouldn’t have won those championships without him. Rivera was more important than Jeter

 

[Oddball]

Closers are vastly overrated.

 

[rightwinger]

Closers are vastly overrated.

Not a lights out closer

 

[Rocko]

I say hell no. A few different reasons why I don’t believe he is worthy of his achievement.

A) He failed as a starting pitcher

B) He wasn’t an everyday player

C) baseball didn’t even have closers untill the 1960’s

D) Babe Ruth wasn’t unanimous and he’s the GOAT. Rivera wasn’t the best player of all time. C’mon.

I am sick of stupid HOF voters who will hold back a vote just so it is not unanimous

Yes, Babe Ruth should have been unanimous......so should Ty Cobb, Joe D, Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Griffey Jr and many others

Rivera defined the closer position and was as lights out as you can get. Yanks wouldn’t have won those championships without him. Rivera was more important than Jeter

Oddball just said it: closers are vastly overrated. Starting pitichers have the potential to outright win games. The function of a closer is to seal the deal. Was Mariano more important than Jeter? It’s a toss up to me. However neither of them should be unanimous first ballot hall of famers. And Now they’re talking about Jeter being the next guy to go in unanimously, which would be a joke. But back to Mariano. His role as a player isn’t as important than an everyday player or even a starting pitcher. Yes all of his saves were tremendous accomplishments, but he wouldn’t have had save opportunities if not for the success of his teammates, and if we’re going by ERA, Mariano doesn’t have the best ERA out of every pitcher in the hall. It’s bogus that he got in unanimously.

 

[Oddball]

Closers are vastly overrated.

Not a lights out closer

Yes, even a "lights out" closer....They come in and throw fewer than two innings, usually only one.....The inning gobbling workhorse and complete game are dead because of these 3-out wonders.

 

[Rocko]

Closers are vastly overrated.

Not a lights out closer

What would you rather have, a lights out starting pitcher or a lights out closer?

 

[rightwinger]

Closers are vastly overrated.

Not a lights out closer

What would you rather have, a lights out starting pitcher or a lights out closer?

A starter
But the complete game is a distant memory.

You want a lights out starter, look a Jacob DeGrom on the Mets
1.70 ERA got him an 11-10 record

 

[Rocko]

Closers are vastly overrated.

Not a lights out closer

What would you rather have, a lights out starting pitcher or a lights out closer?

A starter
But the complete game is a distant memory.

You want a lights out starter, look a Jacob DeGrom on the Mets
1.70 ERA got him an 11-10 record

Yet Rivera failed as a starter.

 

[edward37]

Closers are vastly overrated.

yeah vastly ,,,only the difference between winning and losing

 

[rightwinger]

Closers are vastly overrated.

Not a lights out closer

What would you rather have, a lights out starting pitcher or a lights out closer?

A starter
But the complete game is a distant memory.

You want a lights out starter, look a Jacob DeGrom on the Mets
1.70 ERA got him an 11-10 record

Yet Rivera failed as a starter.

So.....

Best closer ever
Almost certain....GAME OVER when he entered the game

 

[Rocko]

Closers are vastly overrated.

yeah vastly ,,,only the difference between winning and losing

How can a player that only impacts the game half of one inning be the difference between winning and losing?

He’s a part of wining and losing in the grand scheme of things, but there are positions that are more intricle than closers.

 

[G.T.]

Of course he deserved it, and Babe Ruth is a legend but def. not the Goat.

 

[Rocko]

Closers are vastly overrated.

Not a lights out closer

What would you rather have, a lights out starting pitcher or a lights out closer?

A starter
But the complete game is a distant memory.

You want a lights out starter, look a Jacob DeGrom on the Mets
1.70 ERA got him an 11-10 record

Yet Rivera failed as a starter.

So.....

Best closer ever
Almost certain....GAME OVER when he entered the game

I’m not debating that he’s the best closer ever, but there are clearly better players that weren’t unanimous HOFers, agreed?

So based on that alone he shouldn’t have been unanimous

 

[Rocko]

Of course he deserved it, and Babe Ruth is a legend but def. not the Goat.

Whoa....

Whose the GOAT then?

 

[edward37]

he spent most of his career as a relief pitcher and served as the Yankees' closer for 17 seasons. A thirteen-time All-Star and five-time World Series champion, he is MLB's career leader in saves (652) and games finished (952). Rivera won five American League (AL) Rolaids Relief Man Awards and three Delivery Man of the Year Awards, and he finished in the top three in voting for the AL Cy Young Award four times. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in its class of 2019, becoming the first player ever to be elected unanimously by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA).[3]

Raised in the modest Panamanian fishing village of Puerto Caimito, Rivera was an amateur player until signed by the Yankees organization in 1990. He debuted in the major leagues in 1995 as a starting pitcher, before permanently converting to a relief pitcher late in his rookie year. After a breakthrough season in 1996 as a setup man, he became the Yankees' closer in 1997. In the following seasons, he established himself as one of baseball's top relievers, leading the major leagues in saves in 1999, 2001, and 2004. Rivera primarily threw a sharp-moving, mid-90s mile-per-hour cut fastball that frequently broke hitters' bats and earned a reputation as one of the league's toughest pitches to hit. With his presence at the end of games, signaled by his foreboding entrance song "Enter Sandman", Rivera was a key contributor to the Yankees' success in the late 1990s and early 2000s. An accomplished postseason performer, he was named the 1999 World Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) and the 2003 AL Championship Series MVP, and he holds several postseason records, including lowest earned run average (ERA) (0.70) and most saves (42).

Rivera is regarded within baseball as one of the most dominant relievers in major league history. Pitching with a longevity and consistency uncommon to the closer role, he saved at least 25 games in 15 consecutive seasons and posted an ERA under 2.00 in 11 seasons, both of which are records. His career 2.21 ERA and 1.00 WHIP are the lowest in the live-ball era among qualified pitchers. Fellow players credit him with popularizing the cut fastball across the major leagues. Along with his signature pitch, Rivera was known for his precise control, smooth pitching motion, and for his composure and reserved demeanor on the field. In 2013, the Yankees retired his uniform number 42; he was the last major league player to wear the number full-time, following its league-wide retirement in honor of Jackie Robinson. Rivera has been involved in philanthropic causes and the Christian community through the Mariano Rivera Foundation.

 

[rightwinger]

Closers are vastly overrated.

yeah vastly ,,,only the difference between winning and losing

How can a player that only impacts the game half of one inning be the difference between winning and losing?

He’s a part of wining and losing in the grand scheme of things, but there are positions that are more intricle than closers.

Because once Mariano entered the game,opposing fans could start heading for the exit

 

[rightwinger]

Not a lights out closer

What would you rather have, a lights out starting pitcher or a lights out closer?

A starter
But the complete game is a distant memory.

You want a lights out starter, look a Jacob DeGrom on the Mets
1.70 ERA got him an 11-10 record

Yet Rivera failed as a starter.

So.....

Best closer ever
Almost certain....GAME OVER when he entered the game

I’m not debating that he’s the best closer ever, but there are clearly better players that weren’t unanimous HOFers, agreed?

So based on that alone he shouldn’t have been unanimous

I think it is insulting that our greatest players were denied unanimous selection because of a few petty writers

Ruth, Cobb, Joe D, Williams, Mantle, Mays.....

Hopefully it will remove the stigma and future superstars will be unanimous

 

[G.T.]

Of course he deserved it, and Babe Ruth is a legend but def. not the Goat.

Whoa....

Whose the GOAT then?

That's a hodge-podge of subjectivism, and even choosing which metrics to base it on would be subjective in and of itself.

There's no clear cut answer to these kinds of things.