Rivera Yankees
Mariano Rivera finished his career with 652 saves. Getty Images

Despite retiring from professional baseball at the end of the 2013 MLB season, former New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera remains very close to the game he grew up playing. Ending his 19-year career with the Yankees after accumulating a total of 652 saves while helping New York claim five World Series Championships, No. 42 will easily go down as one of the greatest pitchers in the storied history of Major League Baseball. With Spring Training underway across the United States, each team will enter a series of preseason games before jumping into the 162-game regular season and Mariano Rivera has been active in setting up a very special two-game slate for his former team.

Fulfilling a dream of brining the New York Yankees to his native Panama, Rivera was pleased to learn this week that Major League Baseball and the Players Association have scheduled a two-game set in Panama City between the Yankees and Miami Marlins. The exhibition games will be played on March 15 and 16, marking the first time that Major League Baseball will participate in Panama since the Yankees and Brooklyn Dodgers played preseason contests in 1947. The games will serve as another honorary moment for the great Mariano Rivera, and the former closer could not be more thrilled.

“As long as I can remember, it has been my dream to bring my team, the Yankees, to play baseball in Panama,” Rivera said. “I grew up playing in Puerto Caimito, where I developed my passion for baseball and began a journey that brought me to New York. It is my hope that this legacy series will inspire other young players to pursue their dreams. I am very grateful to Major League Baseball, the Players Association, the Yankees and the Marlins in making this dream become a reality.”

Hoping to continue the trend of playing MLB games across the globe -- since professional clubs play regularly in the United States, Canada and in Japan at times -- Yankees President Randy Levine said Thursday that these exhibition games between well-known clubs will be another great way for Major League Baseball to show that this game truly is an international passion.

“The Yankees recognize that the sport of Baseball truly belongs to the world," Randy Levine said. "It makes our organization proud to support Major League Baseball and the Players Association in spreading the excitement of the game in the international community. Visiting Panama, the homeland of the great Mariano Rivera, will be a privilege for all those involved in this historic endeavor.”

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