Former New York Yankees player Mariano Rivera is headed to Cooperstown after unanimously being elected into this year’s Baseball Hall of Fame class. The all-time saves leader was famous for walking out to the mound as Metallica‘s “Enter Sandman” blared through Yankee Stadium. The song is so closely associated with Rivera that Metallica shot a video congratulating him on his entry into baseball history. “Congratulations from the Metallica family Mariano, on your induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame,” James Hetfield says in the clip. Lars Ulrich closes out the video by adding, “It’s well deserved, and we look forward to watching you enter the Hall this summer.”
Alas, the Yankees star admitted to MLB Network yesterday that he’s never been a fan of the metal legends. After being asked how many times he’d seen the band perform, Rivera confessed that he’d never seen them live.
“With all due respect to the guys, I’ve never been to one of them,” he said. “As a Christian, with all due respect to Metallica, I don’t listen to that kind of music.”
Regardless of Rivera’s own musical preferences, he’ll always be tied to “Enter Sandman” in the hearts of millions. Watch Metallica’s tribute below.
Hey Mo, we’ve got some old friends that wanted to say congrats. pic.twitter.com/enlwrVpaCc
— Cut4 (@Cut4) January 22, 2019
