Full Account

Cleatless and with a borrowed glove, that’s how Mariano Rivera showed up to his tryout with the New York Yankees. In this first episode of a four-part look into Rivera’s illustrious career, we take a trip to his hometown of Puerto Caimito, Panama and find out how the son of a fisherman unexpectedly received an offer to play professional baseball after a tryout that lasted fewer than 10 pitches.

Considered a fringe prospect at best, Mariano Rivera, who at the time spoke no English and had never left Panama, journeyed to the United States to begin his professional baseball career. In this second episode of a four-part look into Rivera’s career, we explore his initial experiences in the Yankees farm system and how in his first year managed to post a microscopic 0.17 ERA.

Mariano has called it his “gift from God.” In the third episode of a four-part series, we delve into the discovery of one of the most famous pitches in the history of the game, Rivera’s cut fastball -- including the moment it came to him, how he learned to control it and ultimately how he dominated opposing hitters with it.

In the fourth episode of a look at the life and career of Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera, we examine his rise to baseball immortality through many highs and occasional lows, and explain how a song he wasn't all that interested in became a part of his persona.

Cleatless and with a borrowed glove, that's how Mariano Rivera showed up to his tryout with the New York Yankees. In this first episode of a four-part look into Rivera's illustrious career, we take a trip to his hometown of Puerto Caimito, Panama and find out how the son of a fisherman unexpectedly received an offer to play professional baseball after a tryout that lasted fewer than 10 pitches.

Considered a fringe prospect at best, Mariano Rivera, who at the time spoke no English and had never left Panama, journeyed to the United States to begin his professional baseball career. In this second episode of a four-part look into Rivera's career, we explore his initial experiences in the Yankees farm system and how in his first year managed to post a microscopic 0.17 ERA.

Mariano has called it his "gift from God." In the third episode of a four-part series, we delve into the discovery of one of the most famous pitches in the history of the game, Rivera's cut fastball -- including the moment it came to him, how he learned to control it and ultimately how he dominated opposing hitters with it.

In the fourth episode of a look at the life and career of Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera, we examine his rise to baseball immortality through many highs and occasional lows, and explain how a song he wasn't all that interested in became a part of his persona.

In the sixth episode of this six-part look back to the 2009 Draft, Full Account takes you behind the scenes of Jeff Luhnow's days as scouting director for the St. Louis Cardinals. What role did analytics play in building a championship-caliber team and how have Luhnow's draft methodologies translated to his current role as Astros' GM?

In the fourth episode of this six-part look back to the 2009 Draft, Full Account takes you behind the scenes of Paul Goldschmidt’s origin story. How did Goldschmidt's parents convince him to play baseball and why did he fall to the eighth round?

In the fifth episode of this six-part look back to the 2009 Draft, Full Account takes you behind the scenes of J.D. Martinez’s origin story. How did Martinez fall to the 611th overall pick and what did he see in himself that scouts missed?

In the third episode of this six-part look back to the 2009 Draft, Full Account takes you behind the scenes of Nolan Arenado’s origin story. Why did scouts ask Arenado to suit up behind home plate and how did the Rockies land the six-time Gold Glove winner?

In the second episode of this six-part look back to the 2009 Draft, Full Account takes you behind the scenes of Stephen Strasburg’s origin story. How did a once undrafted high school kid wind up becoming the No. 1 overall pick?

In the first episode of this six-part look back to the 2009 Draft, Full Account takes you behind the scenes of Mike Trout’s origin story. What did scouts think of Trout in high school and how were the Angels so fortunate to snag the future superstar with the 25th overall pick?

In the sixth episode of this six-part look back to the 2009 Draft, Full Account takes you behind the scenes of Jeff Luhnow's days as scouting director for the St. Louis Cardinals. What role did analytics play in building a championship-caliber team and how have Luhnow's draft methodologies translated to his current role as Astros' GM?

In the fourth episode of this six-part look back to the 2009 Draft, Full Account takes you behind the scenes of Paul Goldschmidt's origin story. How did Goldschmidt's parents convince him to play baseball and why did he fall to the eighth round?

In the fifth episode of this six-part look back to the 2009 Draft, Full Account takes you behind the scenes of J.D. Martinez's origin story. How did Martinez fall to the 611th overall pick and what did he see in himself that scouts missed?

In the third episode of this six-part look back to the 2009 Draft, Full Account takes you behind the scenes of Nolan Arenado's origin story. Why did scouts ask Arenado to suit up behind home plate and how did the Rockies land the six-time Gold Glove winner?

In the second episode of this six-part look back to the 2009 Draft, Full Account takes you behind the scenes of Stephen Strasburg's origin story. How did a once undrafted high school kid wind up becoming the No. 1 overall pick?

In the first episode of this six-part look back to the 2009 Draft, Full Account takes you behind the scenes of Mike Trout's origin story. What did scouts think of Trout in high school and how were the Angels so fortunate to snag the future superstar with the 25th overall pick?

In the first installments of the Full Account podcast, MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince brings you a six episode mini-series that examines how the 2009 Draft shaped the current baseball landscape. Detailing the draft stories of superstars Mike Trout, Stephen Strasburg, Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt, and J.D. Martinez, as well as Jeff Luhnow's rise to becoming the ultimate modern GM, fans will get an inside glimpse into how the biggest names of the modern game made it to the top.

In the first installments of the Full Account podcast, MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince brings you a six episode mini-series that examines how the 2009 Draft shaped the current baseball landscape. Detailing the draft stories of superstars Mike Trout, Stephen Strasburg, Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt, and J.D. Martinez, as well as Jeff Luhnow's rise to becoming the ultimate modern GM, fans will get an inside glimpse into how the biggest names of the modern game made it to the top.