Mariano Rivera - Personal Life

Personal Life

Rivera and his wife Clara have known each other since elementary school, and they were married on November 9, 1991. They have three sons: Mariano Jr., Jafet, and Jaziel. Over the course of his professional career, Rivera learned English, beginning in 1991 with the Greensboro Hornets, when he realized none of his teammates spoke Spanish. He is now a proponent of Latino players learning English and of American press members learning Spanish, in order to bridge the cultural gap.

Rivera is a devout Christian. During his childhood, neither he nor his family attended church, but after a born-again experience in his early 20s, Rivera—and subsequently his parents—became religious. He believes that God has a reason for everything that happens. For example, he found his failure in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series easier to deal with when he learned of the consequences it had for teammate Enrique Wilson. Had the Yankees won the series, Wilson would have remained in New York for a few extra days for the championship parade and would have departed for his native Dominican Republic on American Airlines Flight 587, which crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all 260 people aboard. Rivera told Wilson, "I am glad we lost the World Series, because it means that I still have a friend." Rivera's pitching glove is inscribed "Phil. 4:13", in reference to the Bible verse Philippians 4:13 ("I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me").

Rivera is involved with philanthropic contributions in his native Panama, which include building an elementary school and a church, providing Christmas gifts to children, and developing a program that provides computer access and adult mentors to youths. The Mariano Rivera Foundation annually distributes more than $500,000 to underprivileged children in the US and Panama through church-based institutions. Rivera intends to dedicate himself to philanthropy after retiring from baseball. In 2012, The Giving Back Fund estimated that he donated $627,500 to charity in 2010, ranking him as the 25th-most generous celebrity on a list that the fund compiled.

In 2006, a restaurant called "Mo's New York Grill" opened in New Rochelle, New York with financial backing from Rivera. He is also an investor in a Manhattan eatery called "Siro's" that opened in mid-2012 as an offshoot of the long-time Saratoga Springs restaurant. Rivera is signed to endorsement deals with Nike sports apparel and Canali, a premium men's clothing company. He is the first athlete Canali has used in a marketing campaign. A 2011 list by the marketing firm Nielsen ranked Rivera as the second-most marketable player in baseball. The list accounted for personal attributes such as sincerity, approachability, experience, and influence. Rivera had the 18th-best-selling MLB jersey that year, based on sales figures from Majestic Athletic.