Card of the Week - 2/5/14

In the aftermath of the Seattle Seahawks drubbing of the Denver Broncos, I was both amazed and encouraged by the number of Facebook/Twitter posts by sportswriters and fans who posted about their excitement for football to be done and for baseball to start.  In a time period in America where the NFL gets more and more attention, I am glad to see that 'America's Pastime' hasn't gone the way of Netscape and completely fallen into oblivion.  Baseball fans are the greatest fans in the world!

With that said, it is time to move on to the first Card of the Week.  I wanted to pay homage to one of the retirees from this offseason.  I know there has been a lot of hullabaloo surrounding his retirement all season long, but, love him or hate him, Mariano Rivera is the G.O.A.T.

He had one job to do, and he did it better than anyone before, and will probably do it better than anyone to come.  And it wasn't a matter of getting the most saves year after year (he only led the league three times), but he was consistent.  Since becoming the closer full-time in 1997, he saved 28 or more games every season, sans the injury shortened 2012 season.  And he came back from that season-ending injury to save 44 games for a Yankees team that finished fourth in the AL East and had an ERA (2.11) below his career ERA (2.21).

His 2000 card was a one of my favorite CLOSER cards of all-time, and his 2013 shows few signs that he had lost anything on his game.  

So, in honor of a man who was able to have a triumphant, graceful, on-his-terms exit from the majors, this week's COTW is the 2013 Mariano Rivera.