A Record of "Saves":

A couple of weeks ago, Mariano Rivera (originally from Panama) reached a milestone in baseball history when he broke the all-time baseball “saves” record, getting his 602nd save.

If you’re not familiar with the game of baseball, a save is when the game is turned over to a pitcher called a “closer”. It is when the team is leading near the end of the game and the closer comes in to finish up the last inning or two without allowing the opposing team to go ahead and win. The closer is supposed to “seal the deal” and when he does, he gets a “save.” Rivera now has the all time record.

Now, getting a save might not sound like that hard of a deal. It only means pitching for one, or maybe two, innings. But when the game comes down to the last few outs, every pitch counts, every base runner is a potential score, every score is a potential loss then adrenalin kicks in making the art of being a “closer” a tricky one.

Mariano, however, makes his milestone even more unique with the fact that he usually only uses one particular pitch: the cut fastball, or “cutter.” Batters know what's coming—and they still can't hit it!

Rivera, affectionately known as “Mo” by loyal fans and teammates, has a reputation of being self-effacing, quiet, unassuming and thoughtful. In fact, after being congratulated by his team on the field after Monday's record save, he had to be coaxed back onto the mound so the more than 40,000 fans filling Yankee Stadium could applaud him.

During a post-game interview, when asked if he felt he was the greatest closer in MLB history, Mo replied, “I would never say that. You know me better than that, I would never talk about myself.”

Not to be trite, but the best part is that Rivera knows the One who truly saves. The One Whose record for saves could never be broken!

Mo is a born-again Christian; his pitching glove is reportedly inscribed: “Phil. 4:13.” (“I can do all things through Christ, Who strengthens me”)

In a post-game interview, Mo was asked about the impact of what he's achieved in light of how he grew up; a poor child in Panama. He said, “I couldn't dream about this. It's a tremendous journey. I have to thank God.”

Every week when we confess our sins and receive God’s forgiveness we are reminded that we know the one who “saves”, saves us from the ultimate defeat – sin, death and the power of the devil.