Mariano Rivera learned he was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in the best way possible Tuesday: surrounded by his family and friends. And lucky for us, their awesome reaction was all caught on video.
The legendary relief pitcher for the New York Yankees was the first ever player to be unanimously voted into the Hall at Cooperstown, appearing on all 425 ballots.
In the video, Rivera, 49, is sitting in a living room surrounded by friends and family awaiting a phone call. After he places the call on speaker phone, we hear Baseball Writers’ Association of America secretary Jack O’Connell asking him if he remembers that five years ago, he told him he would be making this phone call.
“I don’t remember what I did yesterday,” Rivera admitted. O’Connell then goes on to inform him that he was elected unanimously, saying, “Amigo, you are the first person …,” only for the Rivera family to erupt in excitement before he can finish.
Rivera was elected Tuesday along with Edgar Martinez, Roy Halladay and Mike Mussina. The athlete who had previously received the most votes to be accepted into the Hall of Fame was Ken Griffey Jr., who was named on 437 of 440 ballots.
Rivera, also nicknamed “Mo” or “Sandman” and would always enter games to the tune of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman,” was a 13-time All Star closer for the Yankees who played for the team between 1995 to 2013.
Watch the video via Iona College above.