New York Yankees fans do not want to hear the words Mariano Rivera and retirement in the same sentence. Ever. The great Rivera, though, is 42 years old and when he arrived in Tampa, Fla. today for Spring Training the best reliever of all time told reporters he has already decided whether or not 2012 will be his last season.
Rivera, in the final year of his contract, just isn’t ready to tell anyone.
“I know now. I just don’t want to tell you,” Rivera said after arriving at spring training in Tampa. “I know now. I will let you guys know when I think I should tell you.”
So, now let’s look at what else Rivera said and play the read-between-the-lines game.
“It is hard when you have the ability to continue and you have to make that decision … baseball is not everything. There are a lot of more things than baseball. I’ve been blessed.”
“It doesn’t depend on how I’m going to pitch. Always I want to do my job, but I’ve made my decision already,” he said.
“It is important for me to leave the game on top if God allows me to do that."
I don’t know about you, Yankee fans. To me, though, that sounds like a man who has decided to walk away from the game after this season.