Mariano Rivera (born 1969) is a Panamanian right-handed baseball pitcher who has spent his entire Major League Baseball career with the New York Yankees. Rivera has served as a relief pitcher for most of his career, and since 1997, he has been the Yankees' closer. His presence in the late innings of games to record the final outs has played an instrumental role in the Yankees' success, particularly the team's late 1990s dynasty. He has won five World Series championships as a Yankee. Rivera has become regarded as one of the best closers in baseball history, and he has achieved his success by primarily throwing one pitch—a sharp-breaking cut fastball that has been called an all-time great pitch. Rivera is a ten-time All-Star, a five-time American League Rolaids Relief Man Award winner, and a three-time saves leader. He has recorded the second-most saves in Major League history, and in 2009, he surpassed 500 career saves. Recognized as an exceptional postseason performer, he holds Major League postseason records for saves and earned run average, among other records. Baseball writers expect Rivera will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame upon retirement.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariano_Rivera

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1613:

The original Globe Theatre in London burned to the ground after a cannon employed for special effects misfired during a performance of William Shakespeare's Henry VIII and ignited the theatre's roof. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globe_Theatre

1880:

Pomare V, King of Tahiti, was forced to cede the sovereignty of Tahiti and its dependencies to France. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tahiti

1889:

Hyde Park and several other Illinois townships voted to be annexed by Chicago, forming the largest United States city in area and second largest in population. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyde_Park_Township%2C_Cook_County%2C_Illinois

1967:

Actress Jayne Mansfield, her boyfriend Sam Brody, and their driver were killed in a car accident outside of New Orleans, while her children Miklós, Zoltán, and Mariska Hargitay escaped with only minor injuries. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jayne_Mansfield

1995:

Shuttle-Mir Program: During the STS-71 mission, Space Shuttle Atlantis became the first space shuttle to dock with the Russian space station Mir . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuttle-Mir_Program

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

tipple (v): 1. To sell alcoholic liquor by retail. 2. To drink too much alcohol http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tipple

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

What makes the desert beautiful ... is that somewhere it hides a well. --Antoine de Saint-Exupéry http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Antoine_de_Saint-Exup%C3%A9ry