When Mariano Rivera is called on to close a game, he almost always does so successfully. The only difference between Rivera five years ago and Rivera today is his velocity. A few years ago, Mo was consistently hitting 94-95 MPH, but today it's more like 89-92 MPH, but he can still throw hard. Take Old Timer's Day for example. After seeing all of the Yankees legends, he showed why he is the greatest closer of all time. At age 41 Rivera struck out the side in order in the ninth inning, while consistently hitting 94 MPH. Rivera's velocity also increased on the day Derek Jeter got his 3000th hit. Finally, in the first game of the most recent series at Fenway, he struck out the final two batters, hitting 93 MPH with his usual pinpoint control.
Though he has struggled of late, these spikes in velocity show that Rivera still rises to the occasion.
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