Son of former Yankee legend dominates in debut

After being drafted by the Yankees in the 29th round of the 2014 draft, Mariano Rivera III didn’t sign with the Yankees. This year he was drafted by the Nationals in the fourth round.

Tuesday he debuted with the Auburn DoubleDays, A short season farm team of the Nats in the New York-Penn League.
When Rivera entered the game, the same song that was played when his father entered the game, blasted through the stadium speakers: Enter Sandman by Metallica.

Instead of nr. 42 Rivera jr. sported a jersey with nr. 44. Of course he will not be able to wear the famed number since his father was the last to wear it. The number is generally retired by MLB as the number worn by the legendary Jackie Robinson, the player who broke the colour barrier in 1947.

Rivera III entered the game in the  sixth inning when he retired the side. He returned for another inning in the seventh but got into some trouble as he gave up two consecutive singles to start the frame. But eventually he managed to pitch out of the jam. He had to get used to to pitch out of the stretch. Rivera claimed that he is accustomed to pitching out of a wind up, in other words, he hardly had allowed runners on base in his high school/ college days. In the two innings that he pitched, Rivera fanned four hitters and didn’t give up a walk.

The younger Rivera claims not to be a pitcher like his father, who heavily relied on his cutter. “I don’t have a cutter like he did. I have slider, I depend on and a fastball.” To become even more effective he will have to add other pitches to his arsenal.

The DoubleDays won the game vs the State College Spikes 9-5