Iwakuma 00740314

12/14/2007 10:55 PM ET
Rivera: Yanks not tarnished by Report
Closer says his club's accomplishments cannot be taken away
By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com







NEW YORK -- The accomplishments of the Yankees' last World Series dynasty were not tarnished by the release of the Mitchell Report, Mariano Rivera said on Friday.
Speaking publicly for the first time since agreeing to a three-year, $45 million contract to remain in New York, the future Hall of Fame closer agreed that the Report had been a "difficult" one for baseball, including its fingering of 20 current or former Yankees.

But its release could prove to be a turning point, Rivera said, especially if Commissioner Bud Selig is able to implement the recommendations provided and continue to strengthen baseball's stance against performance-enhancing substances.

"Now is the chance to clean it up," Rivera said. "I heard the Commissioner say that he is going to do whatever it takes to do things right. If you're going to try to do things right, just clean it up for good. Start it now."

Rivera was a member of four Yankees World Series championship teams from 1996 through 2000, considered by many to be among the top dynasties in the sport's recent history. Even though the names of several teammates from those clubs surfaced in Thursday's release of the report, Rivera said that the Yankees' October achievements should not be suspect.

"I don't think so," Rivera said. "It was a lot of players involved in that. It's hard for baseball."

Rivera, 38, became the longest-tenured player on the club in 2007, moving into Bernie Williams' corner locker at Yankee Stadium. That provided him with a front-row seat for much of the timeline described in the Mitchell Report, including this year with teammates Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte and Ron Villone -- all mentioned in the report.

Rivera said he did not know if the accused players used performance-enhancing drugs.

"I don't know if they did it or not, and that's not my business, either," Rivera said. "I'm just a teammate and I go out about my business to go play baseball. That's it.

"It's hard and it's difficult. I have a lot of people that I respect a lot. For me, it will be absurd if I say something. I cannot point fingers, I cannot say [anything] to anybody. We are old and we made decisions. Whatever happens, it was, I guess, for the best of them. I don't know."



Speaking at the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club in the Bronx, where he and teammate Bobby Abreu donned Santa hats and distributed toys to more than 400 area students, Rivera said he was pleased to be finishing his career with the Yankees.

He expressed excitement for playing under new manager Joe Girardi and supported his former batterymate as he prepares to replace Joe Torre after a largely successful 12-year run.

"It's going to be different," Rivera said. "Girardi wants to do the job. I know he's capable of doing the job. He's a great person. The job that he did with the Marlins was outstanding for that one year, he was absolutely great. I can't wait for Spring Training to come and see what's going to happen. I think it's going to be a great season."

The Yankees have not officially announced Rivera's new contract, but the team is expected to do so in the very near future. They finalized weeks-old agreements with both Pettitte and third baseman Alex Rodriguez this week, and soon Rivera will join them.

"It's great," Rivera said. "That's what I wanted. To me, it was important to finish with the Yankees, because that's the only team that I have played with. I wanted to wrap it up with the Yankees, and we were able to do it. The Yankees and I got to the agreement, and thank God it's done."


Bryan Hoch is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.