Rivera primarily threw a sharp-moving, mid-90s mile-per-hour cut fastball that frequently broke hitters' bats and earned a reputation as one of the league's toughest pitches to hit.

With his presence at the end of games, signaled by his foreboding entrance song "Enter Sandman", Rivera was a key contributor to the Yankees' dynasty in the late 1990s and early 2000s that won four championships in five years.

[19] About a year later, at age 19, Rivera was forced to abandon his father's ship after it began capsizing due to a malfunctioning water pump and an overweight load of fish.

[26] The team permitted Rivera to start the season's final game in order for him to accumulate enough innings pitched to qualify for the league's ERA title (which carried a $500 bonus); his subsequent seven-inning no-hitter "put him on the map with the organization", according to manager Glenn Sherlock.

[31] Contrary to popular belief, the operation was not Tommy John surgery; Rivera's surgeon, Frank Jobe, determined that ligament replacement was not necessary and instead repaired the frayed UCL.

[61] Commentator and former player Tim McCarver said that the Yankees "revolutionized baseball" that year with Rivera, calling him "a middle reliever who should have been on the All-Star team and who was a legitimate MVP candidate".

[68] His first year as closer ended with a blown save in Game 4 of the AL Division Series against the Cleveland Indians; with the Yankees four outs from advancing to the next round of the postseason, Rivera allowed a game-tying home run to Sandy Alomar Jr.

[47] Rivera spent two weeks on the disabled list with a groin strain during the opening month of the 1998 season,[69] but following his return, he continued to establish himself as one of the major leagues' best closers.

[68][78] That summer, the Yankee Stadium scoreboard production staff began playing the song "Enter Sandman" by heavy metal band Metallica as Rivera's entrance music.

Staff members selected the song after witnessing in the previous year's World Series how enthusiastically San Diego fans reacted to closer Trevor Hoffman entering games accompanied by AC/DC's "Hells Bells".

[89] By that point in his career, Rivera had established a reputation as an exceptional postseason performer[47]—journalist Jack Curry called him the "infallible weapon" and "the greatest reason the Yankees [were] three-time champions".

In one of his most infamous moments, he blew the save in the ninth inning, in part due to his own throwing error, and later lost the series for the Yankees by allowing a bloop single to Luis Gonzalez with the bases loaded to score the winning run.

[68][115] Following the Yankees' victory in the AL Division Series against the Minnesota Twins, Rivera returned home to Panama to mourn two relatives who had died in an accident in his swimming pool.

Leading up to the 2008 MLB All-Star Game, which was held at Yankee Stadium in the venue's final year of existence, a few sportswriters proposed making Rivera the AL's starting pitcher as a tribute to him and his home ballpark.

[167] In 2010, Rivera and two of his "Core Four" teammates, Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada, became the first trio in any of the four major sports leagues in North America (MLB, NFL, NBA, or NHL) to play together on the same team for 16 consecutive seasons.

[185] After just nine appearances, his season was prematurely ended by a freak injury; prior to a May 3 game against the Kansas City Royals, Rivera was shagging balls during batting practice but his right knee buckled on the field's warning track, causing him to tear his right anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).

[186] Throughout his final year, Rivera spent time during visits to each ballpark meeting privately with fans and unsung team employees to hear their stories and thank them for supporting baseball.

Delta Air Lines dedicated a Boeing 757 airplane with Rivera's signature and uniform number 42 on the exterior,[198] while Hard Rock Cafe retired "Enter Sandman" from its song system at all locations except for its Yankee Stadium restaurant.

One day in June 1997 during one of his daily warm-up tosses with teammate Ramiro Mendoza, Rivera noticed that his fastballs were moving sharply and unpredictably, a problem that began to occur in games as well.

[227] Former teammate Alex Rodriguez expressed amazement at Rivera's athleticism and claimed that the pitcher completed a 35-inch (890 mm) vertical jump in Yankees training camp at age 41.

His ability to compartmentalize his successes and failures impressed fellow reliever Joba Chamberlain, who said, "He's won and lost some of the biggest games in the history of baseball, and he's no worse for the wear when he gives up a home run.

"[270] Presenting him with the Commissioner's Historic Achievement Award, Selig said: "Throughout his illustrious career, he has represented his family, his country, the Yankees and all of Major League Baseball with the utmost class and dignity.

Had the Yankees won the series, Wilson would have remained in New York for the championship parade and would have departed for his native Dominican Republic on American Airlines Flight 587, which crashed shortly after takeoff and killed all 260 people aboard.

[17] He also holds multiple events annually in Delaware, including giveaways of backpacks with school supplies to children, distribution of turkey dinners during the holiday season, and the "Mariano Rivera Foundation 5K & Kids Run".

[334] In January 2025, a civil lawsuit was filed in Westchester County against Rivera's church Refuge of Hope, in which he and his wife Clara were accused of failing to protect an underage female member of their congregation from multiple incidents of sexual assault.

According to the lawsuit, Clara convinced the girl's mother to allow her daughter to participate in a 2018 summer internship at Ignite Life Center, a fellow Assemblies of God church in Florida affiliated with Refuge of Hope.

The lawsuit also alleges that she was sexually assaulted by the same person later that summer in the Riveras' home in Rye while attending a barbecue, and by a male youth leader at Refuge of Hope in 2021.

[338] Later that month, the "Legends Series", comprising two MLB exhibition games between the Yankees and Miami Marlins, was played in Rivera's native Panama to "honor [his] legacy".

[350] At John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, Gate 42B at Terminal 4 was renamed for Rivera in a ceremony with Delta Air Lines, which also placed a sticker bearing his signature and uniform number on one of their airplanes.

[353] On September 16, 2019, President Trump, a long-time Yankees fan,[287] presented Rivera with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award that can be bestowed upon a person by the United States government.