"This is a tricky argument I am about to try to make — that Mariano Rivera is the best baseball player I have seen.

After all, Rivera has managed just over 1,200 innings in his whole career, or fewer than Robinson Cano has — this year.

To even do his job, Rivera generally needs his teammates to excel for eight-ninths of a game. Which makes him sound like a field goal kicker, and no one would dare claim Jan Stenerud as the best football player of his lifetime.

Plus, there are legitimate questions if the modern closer is even used in a way to maximize his value, or if there is really that much difference between, say, the best closer and the 10th-best closer in any given season.

I recognize and accept the validity of these arguments. Yet, over the 40 years that I have been watching baseball — roughly from the tail end of great careers such as Hank Aaron and Willie Mays until now — I believe Rivera has elevated himself into the conversation. He has all the qualities that I want in determining the best player I have seen: He has not just greatness, but sustained greatness without deviation. He has performed best at the most critical times; you can argue he is the best postseason pitcher of all time."