There's a certain calmness in the air when Mariano Rivera takes the mound. It is the quiet nature of a man who simply wants to finish games as quickly as possible.
That's why when the bases were loaded in the ninth inning Sunday against Oakland, the feeling was the inning would end the way it started - with the Yankees winning. Even after he gave up a run, the sense was something good was going to happen and it did when David DeJesus lined into a double play.
That out signified the 15th straight season that Rivera has reached 25 saves. While it's not as significant as the others (500 saves, 600 saves when he gets it), it is still notable because of the testament to consistency, durability and calmness.
And here's the other 14 times that Rivera reached his 25th save.
1 - June 25, 1997 - Rivera had 43 saves in his first year as the full-time closer and reached 25 shortly before the All-Star break at Detroit's Tiger Stadium. The Yankees went up 3-1 in the top of the ninth on Charlie Hayes' two-run home run off Justin Thompson and Rivera faced Jody Reed, Curtis Pride and Raul Cassnova. Pride singled but Cassanova bounced into a 4-6-3 double play, giving Rivera 25 saves in the Yankees' first 43 wins.
2 - July 20, 1998 - Rivera would have reached it before the break but missed part of April but for the second straight year it came against the Tigers. This time it was in the second game of a doubleheader and it occurred after Rivera recorded four outs in the ninth and 10th of a 17-inning loss. In the nightcap, Rivera came into a one-run game after Mike Stanton gave up two in the eighth and retired Paul Bako, Deivi Cruz and Brian Hunter, giving Rivera 25 saves in the Yankees' first 69 victories.
3 - July 21, 1999 - Almost a year later and three days after David Cone's perfect game, Rivera reached 25 by preserving another 4-3 victory. This time, it was the Rays and Rivera was responsible for the one-run game by giving up an RBI double to John Flaherty. Flaherty stayed at second because Wade Boggs flied to left and Terrell Lowery lined out to center field, giving Rivera 25 saves in the Yankees' first 56 wins.
4 - August 1, 2000 - This time Rivera reached it in August, doing so in a 5-4 victory over the Royals at the Stadium. The Yankees held a 4-2 lead before Jeff Nelson gave up a two-run double to Johnny Damon in the eighth. The Yankees regained the lead on Scott Brosius' leadoff home run off Ricky Bottalico and Rivera nailed it down with strikeouts of David McCarty and Todd Dunwoody and a groundout to Greg Zaun, giving him 25 saves in the Yankees' first 57 games.
5 - June 29, 2001 - Rivera reached the quarter century mark in a game that Roger Clemens improved to 11-1 in a game the Yankees started out with a seven-run lead. A save was created in the seventh when Tampa Bay scored four and Rivera nailed down his 25th save by striking out Brent Abernathy, Russ Johnson and Jason Tyner. The strikeouts gave Rivera 25 saves in the Yankees' first 44 victories.
6 - August 8, 2002 - Rivera returned from the DL in this weekday afternoon game against the Royals that I covered during a vacation week from SportsTicker. And he looked seamless in doing so by getting Aaron Guiel, Neifi Perez and Brent Mayne. The save was created after Andy Pettitte allowed an RBI single to Raul Ibanez that scored Carlos Beltran and that gave the Yankees' their 71st victory.
7 - August 15, 2003 - Rivera missed the first month of the 2003 season and the night he reached 25 saves whoever was paying attention in the New York area was probably doing so on a battery-powered radio and sitting outside while following along and waiting for the power to return. A day after a blackout struck the New York area, Rivera was in Baltimore, putting the finishing touches on an 6-4 victory. This one was not an easy one as Jack Cust led off with a home run and Brook Fordyce and Luis Matos singled. Rivera then finished off the Yankees' 73rd victory by fielding groundouts from Jose Leon and Jay Gibbons.
8 - June 9, 2004 - Rivera reached 25 early because the Yankees put together a stretch of 18 wins in 21 games that saw Rivera rack up 12 saves. This time, he did it in interleague play against the Colorado Rockies in a 7-5 victory. The Yankees were down by one going into the seventh but took the lead on home runs by Derek Jeter and Bernie Williams. Rivera opened by striking out Mark Sweeney but then gave up a base hit to Todd Greene. The Yankees' 37th victory was secured on groundouts by Choo Freeman and Aaron Miles.
9 - July 24, 2005 - For the first time, Rivera was on a team that struggled to go over .500. The Yankees did not go over the break-even point for good until winning improving to 40-39 on July 2, 2005. Rivera had 17 saves at the time and reached 25 in a 4-1 win at Anaheim. In the Yankees' lone regular season win there, Rivera recorded five outs. With two on in a 3-1 game, Rivera replaced Tom Gordon and retired Macier Izturis. After the Yankees added a run, Rivera struck out Juan Rivera, retired Bengie Molina and fanned Adam Kennedy to seal the Yankees' 52nd victory.
10 - July 26, 2006 - Rivera reached this point in 2006 shortly after notching his 400th save. He was needed after Jason Giambi hit a two-run home run off Akinori Otsuka that turned a one-run deficit into an 8-7 lead. The lead stayed that way when Rod Barajas and Gary Matthews Jr. were retired. Rivera gave up a base hit to Ian Kinsler but Michael Young grounded out and the Yankees had their 59th victory.
11 - September 9, 2007 - Rivera finished with 30 saves as the Yankees raced to make the playoffs after being a game under .500 at the break. He didn't get his 10th save until June 28 at Baltimore in a game that actually was suspended and completed a month later. Twenty-five was a preservation of Chien Ming-Wang's 18th victory in Kansas City and Rivera gave up a two-out hit to Jason Smith but then ended the Yankees' 81st victory by getting John Buck on a groundout.
12 - July 23, 2008 - The second half of Rivera's lone non-playoff season began well as the Yankees won eight in a row. Rivera had two saves, including number 25 in a 5-1 victory over the Twins. Rivera actually did not pitch the entire ninth but came on with two outs and two on in relief of LaTroy Hawkins. He faced Jason Kubel, who hit a grand slam off him May 16, 2010 but in this encounter Rivera nailed down the Yankees' 56th victory by striking out the left-handed slugger.
13 - July 18, 2009 - The Yankees were scorching through the summer of 2009, opening the second half with 10 wins in 12 games and 23 wins in 29 games. Rivera had 12 saves in that span and the 25th was in a 2-1 game against the Tigers on the day of an outstanding duel between CC Sabathia and Justin Verlander. The Yankees lost the shutout when Marcus Thames homered off Alfredo Aceves in the eighth but Rivera retired Ryan Raburn, Brandon Inge and Gerald Laird. That gave Sabathia his ninth victory and the Yankees their 53rd.
14 - August 21, 2010 - This one happened at home on a Saturday afternoon against the Mariners. A night after the Yankees were handcuffed by Felix Hernandez, Rivera relieved David Robertson with two outs and two on in the eighth. He retired Michael Saunders on a pop-out. In the ninth, Ichiro and Chone Figgins singled but with runners at the corners, Rivera preserved the Yankees' 76th victory by getting Russell Branyan and Jose Lopez on a groundouts.