Ask yourself, loyal and learned B&C reader, how often have you heard the word elegant used to describe a baseball player? Now ask yourself this follow-up question — does Mariano Rivera qualify?
Recall the smooth entrance from beyond the center field wall, the fluidity and efficiency of movement, the grace on the mound. Rivera has been, and remains, the elegant closer of our national pastime.
The simple reality is that Rivera is the personification of what the Yankees have represented generation after generation: Professionalism, historical significance, domination, fear.
Such elegance and dominance culminated in the 602nd Rivera save, eclipsing the mark Trevor Hoffman had left in 2010.
There can be little dispute that whenever Mo enters a ballgame away from ...
