Mariano Rivera Disses Robinson Cano in New Book

In his new book The Closer, former Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera disses former teammate Robinson Cano by stating that Dustin Pedroia of the Boston Red Sox would be his ultimate choice as a second baseman because he doesn’t believe his former teammate “burns to be the best.”

Rivera’s thought on Cano were revealed in an excerpt of his book published by the New York Daily News.

“This guy has so much talent I don’t know where to start,” Rivera writes of Cano. “… There is no doubt that he is a Hall of Fame caliber [player]. It’s just a question of whether he finds the drive you need to get there. I don’t think Robby burns to be the best. You don’t see that red-hot passion in him that you see in most elite players.”

When it comes to Rivera’s favorite second baseman, he states that Pedroia is “at the top of his list” among the players he admires, continuing on to say that “Nobody plays harder, gives more, wants to win more.”

The former pitcher later writes, “If I have to win one game, I’d have a hard time taking anybody over Dustin Pedroia as my second baseman.”

Rivera played with Cano for the first nine seasons of his second baseman’s career. Before Rivera’s retirement last season, Cano left as a free agent to sign a blockbuster contract with the Seattle Mariners.