New York Yankees Closer, Mariano Rivera, Opens His Door To Fight Homelessness

Yankees closer Mariano Rivera hit a grand slam with children in need Tuesday when he opened up his Italian-American restaurant for an early Thanksgiving feast.

The event -- held at the Clubhouse Grill -- invited 42 children and their families to chow down and was organized by HOPE Community Services, an organization that provides food and assistance to families in need in Westchester County.

One of those children, Stephen Jaramillo, was eager to express his gratitude.

"My mom and my sister and me, we had so much fun. And it was a good day," he told New York Daily News. "It was like, the bestest day."

Rivera chose to help 42 children in honor of the number the player bears on his uniform, according to the news outlet.

"New Rochelle became my home when I joined the Yankees 17 years ago,"Rivera told The Daily New Rochelle. "To repay them for that warm welcome, and because I feel so close to this community, it feels great to be able help the young people of New Rochelle."

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Comments

[TruelyFedUp]

08:30 PM on 12/03/2011

Mo, get behind this, it is a permanent solution www.the-communal-solution.us

[duhtruth]

11:04 AM on 11/28/2011

I'm glad the children and their families had a good meal. But this dude would have done a better job if he would have shut his mouth about his "good" works. Many folks do much much more on a relative scale and are mum about it.

[Mulebone]

09:47 AM on 11/28/2011

Yawn ...

[jl4141]

05:57 PM on 11/25/2011

Mariano giving props to New Rock City -- former home of Willie Mays and Lou Gehrig, too!

[salamanca1]

09:08 PM on 11/24/2011

Mariano has always been a class act.

[Gilbert Albright]

01:32 PM on 11/24/2011

Rivera will probably get in the Hall Of Fame. What a Joke! Closers do not belong in the HOF!

Rivera has averaged 78 innings a year during his career, of the 1458 innings a team plays each year. THAT IS 5.4% of the total team innings per season. Hell untility players play more innings than that per season.

A player who plays SO FEW INNINGS does not belong in the hall of fame. It's a joke these when these guys get in!

[Ricky Sampson]

07:35 PM on 11/24/2011

The funny thing is: you would wet your pants being brought in under situations guys like him are brought in under.

[salamanca1]

09:12 PM on 11/24/2011

You're darn tootin' he'd be wettin' 'em.

[salamanca1]

09:11 PM on 11/24/2011

Considering some of the players who made it in there with the records they had, you don't think someone who rates as the best or one of the best closers of all time deserves a plaque? And don't forget, he does it with one pitch, the cut fastball. For 17 years. And batters still can't hit it.

[Absolute]

09:59 AM on 11/24/2011

I love Mo, he continues to be a class act.

[flacon]

07:42 PM on 11/23/2011

Classy guy. Glad he's aYankee!

[LibertarianCentrist]

07:03 PM on 11/23/2011

We people walked in did they have all the people behind the buffet scream WELCOME TO MO'S!

[Dfentz26]

05:52 PM on 11/23/2011

he needs to pay more of a fair share...he's not doing enough.

[Tater Salad]

05:15 PM on 11/23/2011

Mo is a class act. Need more people like him in the world and baseball.

[cookerman45]

04:23 PM on 11/23/2011

I HATE YANKEES, with that said he is the MAN.

[salamanca1]

09:14 PM on 11/24/2011

Good for you. I've liked and respected players on teams I couldn't stand, because they were great players, and some, because they clearly were also great people.