AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: RED SOX v YANKEES

October 12, 2004

Mariano Rivera

MARIANO RIVERA: Well, I mean, it was tough, you know, leaving my family there. And I think what kept me -- prayers, God, first of all. I came here and my friends, my teammates treated me like a king, and that was something special and I appreciate that. I'm tired but my mind kept going. Like I said, my friends and my teammates helped me out big-time tonight and made this happen.

MARIANO RIVERA: Well, everything was done. I was trying to do everything as quick as possible, and once I did that, you know, I wanted to stay there, definitely I wanted to be with my family. But there's nothing that I can do, so I talked to my wife and I talked to the family, that I need to be here, and that's the reason why I'm here. Believe me, I wanted to stay home and stay with my family, but I have a job to do and I have 24 players that were waiting for me and a manager that are happy for me to be here and I'm happy to be here, also. It went well.

MARIANO RIVERA: I don't know, that's who I am. I think the blessings and prayers and being a man of God I think keep me humble. That's what I believe in, when you believe in God I think you can do anything you want and that helped me get going.

MARIANO RIVERA: No, I was coming here to pitch. I wouldn't be on site if I wouldn't pitch today. I wanted to pitch. I wanted to be there. My teammates, you know, needed me there.

MARIANO RIVERA: Well, like I said before, I think the reception that my teammates did helped me a lot. I was ready. I went to the bullpen in the fifth inning. I was ready.

MARIANO RIVERA: Actually I was happy. I was glad that the game was over. Yeah, I mean, it happened once. You have to put that behind you. If it would have happened today, well, you have to put it behind, too. So I don't think about it that way. Going against anybody if they hit me or they don't, I'm the same guy.

MARIANO RIVERA: The most difficult part of my day was leaving my family, knowing that they are still in pain. It was tough, it was tough, you know, coming on that plane alone. I was thinking, you know, just there's tears coming out of my eyes. It was tough. It wasn't easy, those almost five hours on that plane. But, knowing that the prayers were there and knowing that my wife, the family was praying for me, that kept me going.

MARIANO RIVERA: You know, Jeter was over there, but this time it's, you know, "get him out," "get him out," that's it.

MARIANO RIVERA: He said after the game -- well, after the game, I mean, he said, congratulations. Jeter is a guy that, you know, I've been with Jeter for so many years, since the Minor Leagues. We have that kind of relationship that, you know, I don't think nobody can break. Being the Captain of the team, he always is there for us, and I appreciate that. You know, he's my friend, my teammate and I love him. You know, he just congratulated me and was happy that I was here.