If you are a baseball fan, then you know that last Thursday Mariano Rivera tore his right anterior cruciate ligament while jumping to catch a fly ball during batting practice. Rivera is widely considered to be the best closer in the history of baseball, and at the age of 42, nearing the end of his career. If you watch the
video, you can see his knee "shift" when he lands from the jump. Basically, the tibia of the lower leg kept moving forward while the femur did not, which put excessive strain on the ACL that exceeded its strength and resulted in the tear. Rivera will have to have ACL reconstruction, and the typical recovery time for that is about 6-12 months, meaning it will be very difficult for him to pitch again this year. Rivera has promised to go through the lengthy rehabilitation process and pitch again next year. It will be difficult, because at 42 his body will likely take longer to heal than a baseball player in his 20s. However, I would not bet against him. Another issue that has been debated in regards to his injury is whether or not he should have been catching fly balls during batting practice. I am sure that Rivera has done this for over 20 years without incidence. Sometimes injuries happen, and there is little that can be done to prevent them. I wish him the best of luck in his rehabilitation and hopeful return to pitching.
