A good book once said—come to think of it, it was the Good Book—that, when it comes to great men, “He who is last shall be first.”
And nothing could be more true when it comes to baseball great Mariano Rivera—who was the last person ever to wear the number 42 after it was retired by every team in honor of Jackie Robinson.
Well the Yankee great exemplified the class of Robinson on and off the field—and was one hell of a player, too, as many will say he was the greatest closer the game has ever seen was elected in to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
And is seems everyone in Cooperstown agrees, as Rivera became the firstplayer history to be unanimously elected into the Hall of Fame.
Some other great names were also voted in—Edgar Martinez, Mike Mussina, and the late, Roy Halladay.
Rivera received all 425 votes in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America—eclipsing the previous percentage of 99.32 scored by Ken Griffey Jr. when he grabbed 437 of 440 ballots two years ago.
The quartet will be enshrined in Cooperstown along with Today's Game Era Committee selections Harold Baines and Lee Smith on July 21.
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