The Boston Sunday papers featured – hold on now – very similar takes on New York Yankee immortal Mariano Rivera, who’s been on a unique farewell tour in this his final season.
Peter Abraham piece from the Boston Sunday Globe:
Yankees’ Mariano Rivera ending career in style
Retiring Yankees great Rivera meeting with special groups at every ballpark he visits
Mariano Rivera played his first game at Fenway Park on July 16, 1996. He was a setup reliever then and pitched two innings against the Red Sox. Joe Girardi, who manages the Yankees now, was the catcher.
John Basmajian can’t remember for sure, but he probably was at the game that day. The guy everybody at Fenway calls “Baz” has been working at the park for 46 years selling tickets.
In the years since, surely their paths crossed. If you count the postseason, Rivera has walked into Fenway Park more than any ballpark other than Yankee Stadium. Baz? He’s as much a part of Fenway as the Pesky Pole.
On Saturday, the two career baseball men finally met.
“Pretty special,” Basmajian said. “I’ve got tears in my eyes.”
Rivera is doing something special in his final run through the American League . . .
Read the rest at It’s Good to Live in a Two-Daily Town.
