Salute To The G.O.A.T.

It's time to officially place Mariano among the greats of the game. I say place him in the Hall of Fame right now, while he's still playing. Seriously, who's going to argue that? Every other player will be like "Yeah, that sounds about right."

The guy has amassed 600 saves with 1 pitch. Faced 4,800 batters in his regular season career.

His regular season numbers are a joke:

Number are up to date including last night.

ERA: 2.22

WHIP: 1.000

Compare those with his postseason numbers:

ERA: 0.71

WHIP: 0.766

What's the opposite of LeBron James? Mariano Rivera.

The most clutch performer in baseball's rich history. When this guy comes in the game, it's over. You can't even say "in his prime" because the guy is still doing it. He might have added a pitch, but you know what? He doesn't throw a 97 mph cutter anymore. But he's adjusting and he's still getting everyone out.

He's 41 years old this season and through last night here are his 2011 stats:

SAVES: 41

ERA: 2.05

WHIP: 0.930

SO/9: 8.7

The guy is outperforming his career averages at age 41. Besides Bonds who was using every juice on earth, this is the only guy I've seen dominate this late in his career, and no one suspects anything. He's been widely criticized about losing it, about being finished, about being past his prime - but look at the numbers, the guy is still the best in the game. There's no question about it. Besides Pedro Martinez, there's no one in the discussion as being the best of his generation. Guy is a true champion, and the best of all-time.