NEW YORK — Former New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera told reporters Saturday morning that he planned on speaking with Devin Williams before he left Yankee Stadium, but that meeting never took place.
A Yankees spokesperson told The Athletic that Rivera injured his Achilles during the team’s Old-Timers’ Day game, which made its return for the first time since 2019. His agent, Fernando Cuza, later confirmed that Rivera will undergo surgery to repair a torn Achilles.
Roger Clemens told WFAN that he believed Rivera was in the hospital getting examined.
“We all thought it was a hamstring, but I think it’s a little worse than that,” Clemens said.
Rivera smoked a single off Andy Pettitte and ran to first base with no issues, but in the bottom half of the inning, Rivera was in center field when he fell to the ground during a Willie Randolph at-bat. He took a step before crumpling down again.
Before the organization considered reviving the game, former Yankees captain Derek Jeter made it clear to reporters last year that he would never return to play.
“I would be afraid I would hurt myself,” Jeter said.
Not every former Yankee feels as strongly as Jeter does. Andy Pettitte, who pitched in Saturday’s game, said he was all for participating in the game. Jorge Posada, who was back behind the plate, said he understood that the game gives fans another opportunity to see their favorite players of the past suit up in uniform once again.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone didn’t play in the game and was not introduced to the crowd because of an overlap with pregame meetings, according to a team spokesman. Boone said before Saturday’s game against the Houston Astros that bringing back the Old-Timers’ Day game was the right call.
“It’s something that makes our Old-Timers’ Day unique,” Boone said. “Seeing these guys out there, seeing your heroes that are well past their prime going out and still flashing a little bit, that makes for a cool thing.”
Participation in the game requires players to sign waivers and release forms, thereby assuming all risk of injury and releasing the team from liability.
In 2012, Rivera tore his ACL in Kansas City while shagging fly balls during batting practice. That injury caused the 13-time All-Star to miss the rest of the 2012 season before he returned for a final run with the Yankees in 2013.
Rivera is the only player in MLB history to be unanimously inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
(Photo: Yuki Iwamura / Associated Press)
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