His season likely over, Mariano Rivera unsure if he will pitch again

His head bowed and his eyes welling with tears, Mariano Rivera stood in the center of the visiting clubhouse at Kauffman Stadium tonight and said that he does not know if he will pitch in the Major Leagues again.

“at this point, I don’t know,” Rivera said, repeating softly, “at this point, I don’t know. I have to face this first.”

Rivera has been diagnosed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, suffered while chasing a batting practice fly ball near the center field wall this evening in Kansas City.

The torn ACL was diagnosed by the Royals’ team physicians after an MRI at an area hospital tonight. he will be evaluated by the Yankees’ team physicians in New York, but the club is not expecting a miracle — his season is almost certainly over.

Rivera acknowledged that his stellar, Hall of Fame caliber career may have also ended tonight on the warning track in Kansas City, playfully lunging for a line drive as he has done countless times before.

“if I had to do it over again, I would do it over again,” Rivera said. “no hesitation. There’s reasons why it happens. you have to take it the way it is and fight through it. now we just have to fight.”

His season likely over, Mariano Rivera unsure if he will pitch again