September 26, 2013, saw one of the most emotional farewells in the game, when the New York Yankees’ then-manager, Joe Girardi, called Derek Jeter and Andy Pettitte in the 9th inning to take Mariano Rivera out of his final outing. Yankee Stadium erupted in a standing ovation, and we saw the greatest closer of all time unable to stop his tears. It was the end of his entire 19-year MLB career in the pinstripes. But did he “ever imagine pitching for another team?”

“No. I never did. I never imagined that I wouldn’t want to imagine that either,” Rivera said via WFAN Sports Radio. “I got offers, but for me, everything wasn’t about money. It was about loyalty… I think loyalty, we lose that part of the game.”

When Boomer Esiason asked Rivera, “What team gave you the biggest offer that you had to think about?” Rivera’s smile was probably enough for fans to understand.

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“It was the Red Sox.”

In December 2010, Rivera became a free agent after his contract with the Yankees. The Boston Red Sox aggressively pursued him by extending a two-year, $30 million offer. At the time, that was a record-breaking deal for a relief pitcher. The Red Sox were facing bullpen issues with their leading closer, Jonathan Papelbon. He was coming off a 3.90 ERA in the previous season. They were rumored to cut the ties with Papelbon if Rivera accepted the offer.

In 2010, Papelbon was the most expensive closer in MLB with an AAV of $9.35 million. Thus, the $15 million AAV offer for Rivera would have made him the highest-earning closer at that time.

“I was thinking about it…It was a hard decision,” Rivera said back then.

The Yankees immediately countered, refusing to let him go to their biggest rival. The front office matched Boston with the same two-year, $30 million deal. Rivera chose loyalty and stayed back in New York, where he eventually ended his career.

“I heard their offer and decided I wanted to stay in New York,” he added. “My heart is here. My family is here… In the end, I don’t think I would’ve been able to do it.”

And that loyalty has spoken for itself even today.

Mo launched his line of hot sauces at Latinos in Sports events on May 1, inspired by flavors from Panama. And it has been officially sanctioned by MLB and the Yankees. He has even given a nod to his defining pitches with his new venture by naming the flavors – The Cutter, The Sinker, and The Curve.

His cutters were usually at a speed around 90-95 mph, featuring a late, sharp, horizontal break that caused left-handed hitters to miss the sweet spot of their bats and shatter them on the handle. This cut fastball was established so effectively that in the latter half of Mo’s career, even though hitters expected this pitch, they couldn’t hit it. Riveral himself called his cutters a “miracle.”

He occasionally threw a sinking fastball to induce ground balls, particularly when he needed a double play.

Mariano Rivera secured his status as a Yankees legend by becoming the greatest closer in baseball history.

He accumulated an MLB record 652 regular-season saves and finished a record 952 games. Moreover, he pitched in 96 postseason games, yielding an absurd 0.70 ERA and recording 42 saves.

It is no wonder that any team would try to have their hands on such a player, and the Red Sox were no different. Especially when he was more dominant against Boston.

Against the Red Sox, he secured 58 regular-season saves (the most any pitcher has against them) with a 2.86 ERA across 115 games.

Mo was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019. He made history by becoming the first and only player ever to be elected unanimously, appearing on all (425) ballots.

But the current MLB free agency seems like the exact opposite of what Mariano Rivera would have hoped for.

MLB lacks Mariano Rivera presently

MLB is no longer a league driven by nostalgia and history, but money.

From Juan Soto’s $765 million to Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million deal, MLB is competing with the world’s biggest leagues in terms of monetary value. However, it comes at a cost, the cost of decreasing loyalty. Examples are ample where players are jumping from one franchise to another frequently.

Take Alex Bregman as an example.

The Red Sox signed Bregman on a three-year, $120 million deal in 2025. The contract included opt-out options. However, after ending 2025 with a .273 average, he exercised that option to seek long-term security. Boston made a competitive baseline offer of five years and $165 million, which was not acceptable to Bregman.

The Chicago Cubs stepped in and signed Bregman to a five-year, $175 million contract. The same story repeats for Edwin Díaz.

After spending 6 seasons with the New York Mets from 2019, he chose to leave the franchise this offseason and say yes to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 3-year, $69 million deal, instead of the Mets’ $66M.

According to Rivera, this is what he doesn’t like about the modern-day MLB.

However, the blame is not only on the players but also on how the modern-day franchises operate. Because reportedly, Díaz didn’t just leave for money.

The pitcher was apparently not happy with the NYM’s decision to dump pitching coach Jeremy Hefner after the season. Díaz also may have been influenced by his younger brother Alexis, who pitched for the Dodgers last season and spoke highly of the organization’s staff and infrastructure.

Then, look at Rafael Devers.

He made his debut with the Red Sox in 2017 and was dominant at the hot corner until 2025. But Boston signed Bregman and chose to shift Devers’ position. He struggled and protested, which led to his trade to the San Francisco Giants.

The game of loyalty works both ways, and in the current MLB world, it’s all about fielding a team for a single year over making a long-term investment. The reason why it is difficult for the current group of players to beat Mariano Rivera’s 5x World Series record with a single team.