In Game 5 of the 2001 World Series, Matt Williams was asked to bunt against Mariano Rivera, one of baseball’s indomitable closers. In a few years, Williams could be managing Rivera’s son.
On Tuesday, the Washington Nationals, who are in New York for a two-game series with the Yankees, selected Mariano Rivera III, a right-handed pitcher, in the fourth round of the Major League Baseball draft.
“It was uncomfortable,” Williams said of his plate appearance against the elder Rivera.
The younger Rivera showed great improvement in his junior season at Iona, throwing as hard as 97 miles per hour.