Mariano Rivera Tears His ACL, Career in Jeopardy

Yankee fans are holding their collective breath.

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It doesn't matter if you love or hate the New York Yankees, everyone has to respect the game of Mariano Rivera. Throughout his career, Mariano has established himself as the best closer to ever play in the majors. With 608 career saves, many wondered if this season would be the last for Mo. After tonight's unfortunate incident, the 18-year veteran may have had his mind made up for him.

While shagging fly balls, a drill he normally does to keep in shape, in the outfield of Kauffman Stadium, Rivera went down at the warning track in obvious pain. After being tended to by both the Royals and Yankees team trainers, Mariano was carted off the field. An MRI was taken during the team's game and the results revealed that the Yanks closer has a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee. 

Clearly dejected by the news, manager Joe Girardi addressed Mo's injury stating, "It's not what you want, but it's not season over." Girardi also added that the diagnosis is a  "preliminary report," but it could be "as bad as it gets." New York will probably lean towards giving David Robertson the closer role and keeping Rafael Soriano as the set-up man. But as any MLB fan knows, The Sandman's cleats will be extremely hard to fill. 

[via ESPN]

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