Top 5 Hall Of Fame: Mariano Rivera

Next Sunday, the Hall of Fame will induct 6 new members into its hallowed halls. In honor of this event, I'm going to do a daily series this week showing off my 5 favorite cards in my collection for each player.

It's finally time to pay tribute to the first unanimously elected Hall Of Famer, Mariano Rivera. Picking 5 cards from a collection is easy when you only have 6 to choose from. Oh well. As I have been doing all week, these are presented in chronological order:

1997 Upper Deck #69 Mariano Rivera (SF)

I apologize for the poor scan, but trust me when I say this card looks much better in hand!  Even today I'm amazed how he was bale to miss so many bats with only two real pitches. Batters knew what was coming and they still couldn't hit it!

2012 Panini Prizm #32 Mariano Rivera

As a Red Sox fan, I can't really say I miss the lack of the Yankees logo on this unlicensed Panini offering. At least the 42 is still prevalent. Rivera is the last player to wear that number regularly, after the "grandfather clause" allowed him to continue wearing it after it was retired by the league for Jackie Robinson.

2014 Donruss #184 Mariano Rivera

I actually appreciate the recent attempts to pay tribute to the Donruss borders of the past, but this one ended up being a miss. At least with this card you get a good shot of Mariano's cut fastball grip.

2015 Topps - Eclipsing History 

#EH-6 Whitey Ford/Mariano Rivera

Here's a cool little insert featuring two of the Yankee's greatest pitchers. This celebrates Mo passing Whitey in Pitching WAR, 56.6 to 53.9!

2019 Stadium Club - Emperors Of The Zone 

#EZ-22 Mariano Rivera

Another insert, from this year's Stadium Club set. Strangely enough, it's the only card listed here where you can see either "New York" or "Yankees" on his uniform. Not really a Red Sox fan's commentary, just an odd observation.

I join the Hall in welcoming the all-time saves leader! Congrats Mo!