Rivera, Wakefield Reach Milestones

Veteran pitchers Mariano Rivera of the New York Yankees and Tim Wakefield of the Boston Red Sox both reached career milestones on September 13th.

Rivera had career save number 600 in the Yankees’ 3-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners.  His next save will tie Trevor Hoffman’s major league record of 601 career saves.

The 45 year old Wakefield earned his 200th career victory in Boston’s 18-6 rout of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Each of these players have built successful careers on essentially one pitch.  Rivera’s famous cut fastball is almost unhittable when he is on his game—and with 600 saves, he’s been on his game a lot over the years.  Rivera, who turns 42 in November, took over as closer for the Yankees in 1997 and has been there ever since.

Wakefield’s pitch is the knuckleball, a slow pitch that breaks in unpredictable ways.  It’s difficult to throw, but puts little strain on the arm and can extend a pitcher’s career well into his 40s.  Hall of Famer Phil Niekro won 318 games over 24 seasons before retiring at age 48.

Congratulations to a couple of oldies but goodies.