In Yankees news tonight, New York Yankees' future Hall-of-Famer Mariano Rivera has a surprising choice for who he believes would be the best current second baseman to have playing behind him if he was still the Yankees' closer.
Per Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe, "in his new book, retired Yankees star Mariano Rivera writes that Dustin Pedroia — not Robinson Cano — is the second baseman he would want most on his side."
"Nobody plays harder, gives more, wants to win more. He comes at you hard for 27 outs. It’s a special thing to see,” Rivera writes in his new book, The Closer.
“If I have to win one game, I’d have a hard time taking anybody over Dustin Pedroia as my second baseman.”
If you think that Rivera is skirting around is true feelings on Robinson Cano in this excerpt, this next quote proves that Rivera isn't afraid to call it how he sees it on Cano:
“This guy has so much talent I don’t know where to start,” Rivera writes in his memoir, co-written with Wayne Coffey. “There is no doubt that he is a Hall-of-Fame caliber (player). It’s just a question of whether he finds the drive you need to get there. I don’t think Robby burns to be the best. . . You don’t see that red-hot passion in him that you see in most elite players.”
The New York Times published excerpts from Rivera's forthcoming book late on Monday night.