Retirement Tour? Mariano Rivera To Reveal Plans Before Opening Day
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Is this the final season for Yankees great Mariano Rivera?
Mo knows, but he's not telling -- yet.
Rivera spoke to reporters Wednesday for the first time this spring after a bullpen session at the Yankees' complex in Tampa.
"Yes, I have (made a decision)," Rivera said. "I won't give it up until I'm ready for that. Yes, I have. Yes, I have. But again, I will tell you guys when I think it's the right moment."
Mariano Rivera
Though he wasn't about to spill the beans Wednesday, the announcement on whether he's planning to retire could come soon. Rivera said he'd "definitely" announce his intentions before the start of the season.
The Yankees open at home against the Boston Red Sox on April 1.
"Don't worry, the time will come," Rivera said of his pending announcement. "Another day or a week, it won't hurt."
Rivera, baseball's all-time saves leader, had surgery in June to repair a torn ACL in his right knee. His 2012 season ended on May 3 in Kansas City, when the 43-year-old went down in a heap while shagging fly balls in Kansas City.
Rivera said his knee felt like a "nine for sure" out of ten.
"I feel good," he said. "The other point -- the 10 -- will be the running that I do here. The comebackers, the ground balls, covering first base, all that stuff, all the agility (exercises) that I have to do. But besides that, everything is great."
"I'll be a 10 when I'm finished," he added. "So I'm OK."
Meanwhile, 40-year-old starter Andy Pettitte isn't ready to decide on his future plans.
"I want to finish strong. I don't want to think that this is going to be it, or think this is the end," Pettitte said Wednesday. "I think whenever it is, I think it'll be an offseason and I'll just know. There may be an injury or something like that, that tells me you can't come back, you can't do it anymore. And if that's the case, that's the way it'll end."
Andy Pettitte
Think Rivera will hang it up or hang around for at least another year? Be heard in the comments...
