Manny Corpas Following in the Footsteps of His Idol

Growing up a pitcher in Panama, Rockies' Closer Manny Corpas had one idol whom stood above the rest of Panamanian Baseball Players, Mariano Rivera. Corpas was only 13 when Rivera introduced himself to the world as the Electric Shutdown Setup man for the 1996 World Champion New York Yankees. Who else would a boy growing up in the same city idolize?

Over the course of the next 4 years Rivera would solidify his status as the greatest postseason reliever of all time and further the indelible impression he made on Corpas. Fourteen years after Rivera’s introduction to America, Manny Corpas is bursting onto the scene in a way only previously seen by his idol. Let’s take a quick look at some of Mariano’s greatest postseasons in comparison to Manny's thus far:

1998 NYY 0Ws, 0Ls, 0.00 ERA, 10 Games, 6 Saves, 13.1 Innings, 11 Ks
1999 NYY 2Ws, 0Ls, 0.00 ERA, 8 Games, 6 Saves, 12.1 Innings, 9 Ks
2000 NYY 0Ws, 0Ls, 1.72 ERA, 10 Games, 6 Saves, 15.2 Innings, 10 Ks
2001 NYY 2Ws, 1Ls, 1.13 ERA, 11 Games, 5 Saves, 16.0 Innings, 14 Ks
2003 NYY 1Ws, 0Ls, 0.56 ERA, 8 Games, 5 Saves, 16.0 Innings, 14 Ks

2007 COL 1Ws, 0Ls, 1.04 ERA, 7 Games, 5 Saves, 8.2 Innings, 6 Ks

If someone told you to strip away the year and the team info and look at those numbers and would you be able to distinguish a difference? Corpas's numbers flow smoothly in with those of his hero and even have the potential to be better. Through the first 2 rounds of the postseason Corpas has a combined 5 saves and one win, during Mariano’s illustrious postseason career his largest save total in a single postseason is 6. Thus a lone save for Corpas in the World Series will tie his hero’s high water mark and any additional save would set a mark not yet touched by his boyhood hero.

Only time will tell if Manny will join Mariano amongst the greatest closers of all-time, but for atleast this single October he can be mentioned in the same breath as his idol. So Manny the next time you are in the same stadium as Mariano, you can forego your shyness and introduce yourself to your childhood hero. You'll have some similar experiences to talk about.