When the driving drums, guitar riffs and opening lines of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” rang out in Yankee Stadium as closer Mario Rivera walked towards the mound, the stadium shook while opposing teams felt the game shift in favor of the closer.
Tuesday night, Rivera became baseball’s first unanimous Hall of Fame selection, receiving all 425 votes in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
Metallica took a few minutes to say congratulation to Rivera. Frontman James Hetfield said, “We, Metallica, took a vote here, and it’s unanimous — congratulations from the entire Metallica family, Mariano, on your induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Mariano for his part was flattered by the band’s message, though beyond “Enter Sandman” chances are he’s not a big fan of the music.
When asked if he’s been to Metallica show, he responded, “With all due respect to the guys, I’ve never been to one of them. As a Christian, with all due respect to Metallica, I don’t listen to that kind of music.”
Watch Mariano’s reaction to Metallica’s message in the clip below. MLB posted the full interview with the pitcher here.
And watch a clip of Rivera’s final appearance at Yankee Stadium.
Frank Carnevale is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Frank at 412-380-8511, fcarnevale@tribweb.com or via Twitter @frnkstar.
