He knew about the Yankees but never dreamed of pitching for them. His dad was a fisherman, but Rivera never wanted to follow in his footsteps.

"It was a job that was way too tough for me," Rivera says.

He became convinced of that at age 19 when he was on a 120-ton commercial boat filled with sardines that started to capsize. The engine stopped and the boat was filling with water when Rivera and others jumped onto another boat. "It was scary," he says. ...

Wetteland signed with the Texas Rangers and saved four consecutive games to start the '97 season. Rivera struggled in New York, blowing four of his first six opportunities. It earned him a meeting with manager Joe Torre and pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre.

"I told them I felt horrible because I wasn't doing my job," Rivera says. "The harder I tried, the tougher it got. It was like moving in quicksand. I kept sinking. Joe told me that, 'As long as you are here, you'll be the closer.' That's exactly what I needed to hear."