On Tuesday night, the World Baseball Classic made its return after a six-year absence.
Team USA won the title in 2017, when the tournament was last played.
It was set to return in 2021, but with COVID-19 running rampant, it was pushed back to 2023.
Finally, here we are, ready to enjoy some WBC baseball.
One of the first games of this year’s edition featured Panama and Chinese Taipei.
But before the game, a special guest made an appearance.
Legendary New York Yankees closer and Hall-of-Famer Mariano Rivera got a chance to throw out the first pitch.
MLB posted a few photos of the legendary closer experiencing an unforgettable moment.
What a moment at the #WorldBaseballClassic!
Legendary closer Mariano Rivera threw out the 1st pitch before the Panama-Chinese Taipei game. pic.twitter.com/rjxZiZZuQY
—MLB (@MLB) March 8, 2023
Rivera had quite an accomplished career.
He played his entire career with the Yankees and was a 13-time All-Star.
He also won five World Series titles with the team, earned five AL Reliever of the Year Awards, an ALCS MVP Award, a World Series MVP Award, and an All-Star Game MVP Award.
“Mo”, as he was affectionately known, made his MLB debut in 1995 and emerged as the Yankees closer in 1997.
He retired after the 2013 season.
Over the course of his 19-year career, he’s posted a 56.3 WAR, racked up a total of 652 saves, struck out 1,173 batters, and posted a 1,000 WHIP in 1,115 career appearances and 1,283.2 innings of work.
He also had a lifetime ERA of 2.21.
But no matter where he goes, he’ll be recognized as one of, if not the greatest closer of all time.
He is also a native of Panama, so to throw out the first pitch before Panama’s first game is quite fitting.
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