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March 12, 2013

Out of Left Field

The Letting Go

by Matthew Kory

This past week brought news that the greatest relief pitcher in baseball history has decided to retire following the season. Mariano Rivera broke into the major leagues with the Yankees in 1995. That season he appeared in 19 games for New York, starting 10, with an ERA of 5.51. That was the last season in his 18-year career that he started games and, other than 2007, the last in which he posted an ERA over the 3.00. He may not be a first ballot Hall of Famer, but if not it’ll be due to ridiculousness on the part of the voters.

While Rivera prepares for his graceful swan song, a coda to a certain Hall of Fame career, another all-time great is preparing for a very different postscript. This past weekend CBS’s Jon Heyman reported that Manny Ramirez signed a contract to play with the Rhinos. That would be the EDA Rhinos of Taiwan. The Rhinos play in the Chinese Professional Baseball League, which, I have been informed through a very special source COUGHwikipediaCOUGH, contains four teams. Including the Rhinos.

Here is the team’s logo:

Did you know Rhinos are baby blue and enjoy wearing purple clothing? Incidentally, that logo should be the basis of a system for rating team uniforms. How good is the Orioles spring training uniform?

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12 comments have been left for this article.

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Dig a Pony

(41677)

Even in my Taiwanese League draft Many didn't go until the 14th round as most suspect he's over there just to get away from his wife, the formidable Mrs. Manny, for a month or so.

Mar 12, 2013 06:37 AM

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rating: 7

fawcettb

(34177)

All very bitchy, but sort of fun anyway...

Mar 12, 2013 06:43 AM

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rating: 1

Shaun P.

(676)

"Some Yankee fans might even get misty when thinking about how much Rivera has meant to them."

Some Yankees fans might just be in outright denial, thank you very much. If I don't see it (it being any video of Mariano saying he's retiring), it isn't happening.

Mar 12, 2013 07:51 AM

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rating: 0

dodgerdan

(18355)

Wow! You have introduced new meaning to the term "...putting it into perspective".

Mar 12, 2013 08:17 AM

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rating: 1

Nathan Aderhold

(68572)

So is a four Rhino rating a good thing or a bad thing?

Mar 12, 2013 08:29 AM

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rating: 1

Matt Kory

BP staff

(17492)

I was thinking it's a five blue rhinos scale, so four out of five blue rhinos = pretty good.

Mar 12, 2013 11:30 AM

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jimcal

(24946)

It's worth noting that Brothers Elephants 's logo is somewhat close to A's mascot...of which I root for years grew up in Taiwan.

Mar 12, 2013 11:34 AM

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rating: 0

GrinnellSteve

(10174)

I think there is something noble about playing the game just because you love it and don't want to stop. Perhaps Manny thinks he can earn one more shot at Major League redemption, but perhaps he just loves to play. Rickey Henderson might be another example of this. He was playing in independent leagues. You know it wasn't the money that was motivating him.

Mar 12, 2013 12:20 PM

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rating: 4

JPinPhilly

(60369)

Two years ago I went to see a Camden Riversharks game with a group of friends on my birthday. Pedro Feliz was playing. Campbell's Field is a nice park but it is in Camden so there's not a lot of glamor involved and I'm sure he wasn't making much money. But there was a moment, maybe in the 8th or even the 9th inning, where Pete Happy came to the dish with the game on the line. It wasn't Game 5 of the 2008 World Series in South Philly but it was close enough that the memories came back even if only for a second.

I'm pretty sure I saw Rickey in a game at Campbell's Field a few years prior to that one. It's cool to see these guys in some game in the independent leagues. I'm sure it's pretty sweet for their teammates on those rosters too.

Mar 14, 2013 20:53 PM

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NYYanks826

(37443)

I heard on the radio this morning that Manny will be making $25,000 per month. Not sure what the source was, or how official that is, but over an eight-month season, that amounts to less than half the major-league minimum.

Mar 12, 2013 13:03 PM

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rating: 0

WaldoInSC

(26415)

To describe Ramirez as a "greater player" is to genuflect at the shrine of WARP without recognizing that it has never come to grips with reliever value.

Even if Mariano Rivera contributed less to his teams than Manny Ramirez, the fault is in his usage, not in his dominance. He is the greatest relief pitcher of all time; Ramirez is hardly the greatest outfielder of all time, the greatest rightfielder of all time, or even the greatest knucklehead rightfielder of all time.

Mar 12, 2013 14:28 PM

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rating: -3

bobcbucks

(64053)

isn't that something ihave a team in a keeper league for a few years now my name the rhino nine unreal eh

Mar 13, 2013 08:36 AM

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rating: 0

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