New York Yankees pitchers David Wells and Mariano Rivera (PETER MUHLY/AFP via Getty Images)
The Yankees nearly traded Mariano Rivera to the Detroit Tigers in 1995 for a familiar face.
Even the most bitter, biased Yankee fan has to admit, after a moment of cool, inward reflection: there is no dynasty without Mariano Rivera.
If George Steinbrenner had given up on Mo too soon, the shaky, sweaty ninth innings patented by John Wetteland in 1996 probably would’ve lasted another year before his inevitable further regression, and the 1998 Yankees — the greatest team of all time, otherwise — probably would’ve been without a closer.