COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Every batter knew what was coming when they faced Mariano Rivera, so it was hardly necessary for the New York Yankees’ catchers to conceal their signs. They knew it was coming, perhaps the best cut fastball ever delivered by a big leaguer. And they still couldn’t hit it. Raised in the Panamanian fishing village of Puerto Caimito – about 15 miles from Panama City – Rivera began his baseball journey playing with cardboard gloves and tree-branch bats. A live arm and an athletic body brought him to the attention of the New York Yankees, with whom he signed as an international free agent for $3,000 on Feb. 17, 1990. Success, however, did not come overnight. At his...
