Mariano Rivera suffers torn Achilles during Old-Timers' Day game, his agent confirms

Jorge Posada bounced a single into right with one gone in the top of the first. Mariano Rivera was next, and he stepped into the righty box to face Andy Pettitte out there on the mound, everyone dressed again in their pinstriped clothes.

Pettitte’s 53-year-old left arm that authored 256 regular-season wins came around and Rivera took a big cut. The 55-year-old Hall of Fame closer ripped a single into left on this sun-splashed Saturday.

This was only going to be seen in an Old-Timers’ Game at Yankee Stadium.

No one had seen one here since 2019. There was no Yankees Old-Timers’ Day for two years due to the pandemic. Then came the day without the game for three years.

The former players were out there now, though, throwing slower, moving slower, playing only an inning and a half, but out there playing again.

Yet there had been concern about these older guys possibly suffering injuries in the event, and a Yankees spokesperson said that Rivera did get injured in this one.

Old-Timer Roger Clemens said later on the WFAN broadcast of the Yankees’ 5-4 win over Houston that it was an Achilles injury. Rivera may have gotten hurt in the bottom of the first. He was playing center and was seen going to the ground on his own during an infield pop.

Rivera's agent, Fern Cuza, confirmed that the injury was a torn Achilles tendon and that Rivera will undergo surgery within a week.

Before the injury and before his Bombers got edged by the Clippers, 2-1, Rivera expressed his happiness over the return of the game.

“Love it, love it,” he said. “I think that’s what the fans want to see. All the players enjoy [it]. I believe that it’s something special.

“We grew up seeing that with the oldest [former players]. And then we are the oldest to the new generation. To me, it’s an opportunity to share with the youngsters and just have fun.”

The overall theme was a 25th anniversary celebration of the 2000 Yankees team pulling off a three-peat, beating the Mets in five games in the first Subway Series since 1956.

“I think it was just the anticipation and the buzz that was created by just having the Mets and the Yankees playing in the World Series,” Bernie Williams said, speaking of what stood out in his mind. “I think to me that was the one thing that I saw is like there’s two local teams in this city playing for the championship in the baseball world, the best baseball in the world.

“You have this sort of duality of playing a home game and at the same time the whole world of baseball is watching. To me, that was a showstopper. It was just great to be part of that.”

There were 17 players back from that 2000 team among the Old-Timers and so was the manager, Joe Torre. Derek Jeter, the Series MVP, wasn’t on hand but sent a video message.

“There was a lot of pressure on us in that World Series,” Tino Martinez said. “Not just the fact to win three in a row. It was more of beating the Mets for our fans here in New York… We had to do it for them and for us.”

Clay Bellinger was a utility infielder/outfielder for those Yankees. He played in this Old-Timers’ Game. Then his son, Cody Bellinger, started in leftfield for the current Yankees.

“Kind of crazy, right?” said Clay Bellinger, wearing his old No. 35, which is what his son wears now. “I haven’t been back for one of these in a while. So when I got invited and [with] the celebration of our 2000 win and him being here obviously, it’s definitely cool.”

Clemens, 63, was back as an Old-Timer for the first time.

Of course, he had his controversial moment in Game 2 of the 2000 Series, sawing off Mike Piazza’s bat into pieces on a foul ball and taking a jagged chunk and whipping it in Piazza’s path along the first-base line. That touched off a bench-clearing incident.

“There was obviously no intent,” Clemens said on Saturday. “It was weird because the bat took like two bounces. I had great fielding form. It was like fielding a ball to throw to first base. And I whistled it over there and everybody made a big deal.

“But it was a pretty good ways away from him. I didn’t know he was running. And Mike said the same thing, too. He didn’t know where the baseball was.”

Those Yankees weren’t playing good baseball at the end of the regular season. They won the AL East despite dropping 15 of their final 18.

Clay Bellinger remembered talking with Shane Spencer and Chuck Knoblauch and said this was the gist: “Somehow we’ve got to figure out how to get there and turn on the switch.”

“Even though it’s really hard to do that, it was exactly what happened,” he added.

The 2025 Yankees need to turn on the switch. Even with this latest win, they have still lost 30 of their last 50 and are 62-55.

“They can turn it around, but they’re just making too many mental mistakes,” Martinez said. “… You can’t do that in the regular season, much less in the postseason. It’ll cost you.”