By Jonah Sharf
On September 19, 2011, Yankees legend Mariano Rivera broke Trevor Hoffman’s record for most career saves with his 602nd save. He recorded the save in a 6-4 win against the Twins, closing out the game with a strikeout. Rivera would go on to extend his record to 652 saves by the end of his career, a record no one has come close to. He was a part of the Yankees’ “Core Four” of Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, Derek Jeter, and himself, who all made their major league debuts in 1995 and made major contributions to the Yankees dominance in the late 1990s and the 2000s. Rivera is considered one of the best closers and relievers of all time—he was selected to 13 All-Star games, won five relief man awards, an ALCS MVP, a World Series MVP, and five World Series titles—he was also the last major leaguer to wear Jackie Robinson’s number 42.