In any other year, Rivera wouldn’t at all be a stretch, but coming off a torn ACL at the age of 43, it was difficult to predict how he would come back.

Jason Grilli (Photo by Sports Crazy, used under creative commons license.)

But Grilli, who had never been a team’s primary closer in his prior 10 seasons, was not even supposed to be close to National League lead in saves at any point this season, especially with talented closers Craig Kimbrel, Aroldis Chapman and Jonathan Papelbon all in the same league.

Despite the unlikely circumstances, these two closers are leading their league in saves with 23 apiece. Rivera is tied at the top with last season’s AL saves leader Jim Johnson, but Johnson has blown four saves this season to Rivera’s one.

Meanwhile, Grilli is perfect in his save chances. He’s sporting a miniscule 0.98 ERA and has been dominant late in games for the surging Pittsburgh Pirates.

It’s extremely rare for a reliever to take over as a team’s closer for the first time at the age of 36 like Grilli. He had been a typical middling reliever over his career, with some good years and some bad years. Relief pitching is such a volatile position, and Grilli fit this mold.

However, he’s been able to reinvent himself in Pittsburgh. Once All-Star closer Joel Hanrahan was traded to the Boston Red Sox, Grilli assumed the closer’s role.

He used to be a four-pitch pitcher, but instead he’s ditched his curveball and change-up and has really focused on his power slider. That pitch has been extremely effective this season, which has led to Grilli’s success.

As for Rivera, the guy continues to amaze, even though he announced that he would retire at the end of this season.

The amazing thing with Rivera is that the opposing batter knows that he will be getting a steady diet of cutters. Yet, Rivera is so crafty and his ball moves so much that he still makes professional hitters look like Little Leaguers.

Based on how he’s returned from his injury, Rivera could probably pitch at least a few more seasons. But it appears he’s finally finished, especially since all the teams are honoring him during his last visit to a particular stadium.

Rivera has already cemented his legacy as the greatest closer in baseball history, so whatever he does this year really won’t affect that legacy. But Grilli has resurrected an otherwise mediocre career.

Let’s see how long these veterans can hold onto their league lead in saves, but either way, they’ve provided some first-half excitement in the ninth inning.

This famous cliché is always tossed around when a player has a hot start to his career. But to use another cliché, Yasiel Puig takes the cake.

Through his first nine games, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 22-year-old phenom batted .471 with four home runs and 10 RBIs, including a number of clutch hits. He became just the second player since 1900 to hit four home runs in his first five games, with the other being Mike Jacobs of the New York Mets in 2005.

Yasiel Puig (Photo by kla4067, used under creative commons license.)

Puig, who was scratched from Wednesday’s starting lineup with a sore shoulder, was rightfully named NL Player of the Week in his first full week of action.

The Dodgers needed some sort of jolt after sitting in last place despite spending an obscene amount of money in the last calendar year. Just as it seemed that hope was running out, Puig has resurrected the franchise.

It’s tough to shower praise upon a player after only a little over a week. And it’s foolish to think he’ll maintain his .471 clip. But he’s an extremely exciting player who has single-handedly saved what was turning into a miserable Dodgers season.

In fact, the Dodgers sold more Puig merchandise last week in a four-day period than the team had ever sold for any individual player. That’s impressive since the Dodgers have had some huge names including Mike Piazza, Hideo Nomo, Manny Ramirez and Fernando Valenzuela.

The Dodgers are still in last place by a pretty hefty margin of 7 1/2 games. Though he right now is carrying the team on his back, Puig will need some additional support from the rest of the team if the Dodgers plan on making a run.

Once opposing pitchers find his weakness — if there actually is one — he’ll come back down to earth. But for now, he is Hollywood’s brightest star.

With Matt Kemp and Carl Crawford on the disabled list, Puig has filled a gaping void in the outfield. Kemp also just suffered a setback with his strained right hamstring and will now not be back in a few days as expected.

Andre Ethier has been playing center field in Kemp’s absence with Puig in right field and hitting clean-up. But Ethier is only hitting .236, and already he seems to be the expendable one when Kemp and Crawford are ready to return.

Prior to last season, the Cuban native Puig signed a seven-year, $42 million contract, so it really was only a brief matter of time before he arrived at the big league level. He hit .526 this spring, but the team chose to send him to the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts to further develop.

It’s amazing how fast the legend of Puig has grown this past week. From multi-homer games to grand slams to getting hit square in the nose and remaining in the game during the Dodgers’ recent brawl game with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

A baseball career is not built in one week, so to avoid just being a flash in the pan, Puig has a long way to go. But there’s no doubt he has infused a needed sense of vigor back into the Dodgers organization.

In 1987, Cal Ripken Sr. outdid Alou by one, as he became the first and only manager to coach two sons simultaneously in the big leagues – Hall of Famer Cal Jr. and Billy.

But at St. Edmund Prep, Sheepshead Bay, assistant varsity softball coach Ken MacBride just finished a season in which he coached three of his daughters on the same team.

The St. Edmund’s Eagles are fresh off capturing the GCHSAA Class ‘A’ Brooklyn/Queens championship over rival Bishop Kearney H.S., Bensonhurst. It took a total team effort under the leadership of head coach Rowena Motylewski to finish the regular season 11-1 and win the title, and all of the MacBrides were vital factors in that success.

Meet the MacBrides

Ken met his wife Ann at Nazareth R.H.S., East Flatbush, and he played varsity baseball for the Kingsmen. The family now lives in Mill Basin and attends St. Bernard’s parish.

Ken began coaching his daughters 10 years ago for the Brooklyn Cyclones summer travel softball program based out of Joseph T. McGuire Park, Bergen Beach. This past season was his second as an assistant varsity coach for St. Edmund’s.

Erin MacBride

The trio of MacBride players – senior second baseman Meagan, sophomore pitcher/outfielder Erin and freshman corner infielder Kristie – has loved baseball and softball since they were children. Kristie has a twin sister, Katie, who decided to join the school band instead of playing softball this year.

When the girls were younger, Ken coached two softball teams based on his daughters’ ages. His older daughters (Meagan and Erin) played on one team, while the twins (Kristie and Katie) played in the younger division. Only once did he get the chance to coach all four daughters on the same team.

Meagan played all four of her years at St. Edmund’s on varsity and won the Coach’s Award as a sophomore. That season, she was hit in the eye with a fly ball and missed significant time, yet she showed up to every practice and game as the Eagles’ biggest supporter. She has set the example for her younger sisters.“Meagan has provided the leadership being a senior,” Ken said. “It’s ‘do as I do, not do as I say’ with her.”

Erin had a successful season on the mound and showed her versatility by also playing the outfield.

“Erin wants to improve every single time either in the outfield or on the pitching mound,” Ken said. “She wants to be out there and be a part of it.”

Just like her dad – who still plays competitive softball on Sundays – Kristie wants to play softball all the time.

“Kristie will sleep in her uniform if she had the opportunity to,” Ken said. “She has a glove on all the time, and she just loves playing.”

Truly Unique Situation

Kristie MacBride

The girls agree that playing together and having their dad as a coach is truly a unique situation. The chemistry amongst these three was evident during the season, especially when the trio formed the “Mac Triangle,” in which Meagan played second base, Erin pitched and Kristie played first base.

“We always played together when we were younger, and now coming into high school, it’s just great knowing that I have a support system right there on the team with me,” Meagan said.

Ken is always sure to teach his girls the necessary adjustments to make them better softball players, but he also emphasizes adjustments in life, since he’s always looking out for his daughters’ best interests as their father.

“I feel more comfortable with him (Ken) always being there,” Erin said. “When we’re going home, he’ll always explain to me what I did wrong from both a dad’s perspective and a coach’s perspective.”

The family aspect exhibited by the Eagles this season undoubtedly helped the team win the championship. But it goes even a step further for the MacBrides.

Ken MacBride

“The rest of the team realizes that we’re all a family, especially because three of us on the team actually are a family,” Kristie said.

Since the MacBride girls are a family within the larger context of the Eagles’ softball family, Ken has been able to instill in his daughters the importance of teamwork and sportsmanship, more so than winning.

“It can’t just be all about the game,” he often tells his daughters. “But it is about the team. It is about all the girls around you, and that’s what it’s been their whole lives.”

Father’s Day may be a little extra special this year for Ken, as he and his daughters continue their celebration of a championship victory.

Years from now, the MacBride girls may forget the scores of the games or who got the winning hit, but they will always remember sharing the journey – not only with each other but also with their father.

About a week ago, Verlander discussed with reporters that he would participate in this year’s Home Run Derby at Citi Field if fans voted him in. He said he could probably hit about three or four home runs and called himself a batting practice hitter. In 24 at-bats this season, not only does he not have a home run, but he also doesn’t even have a hit.

Justin Verlander (Photo by Keith Allison, used under creative commons license.)

It’s nice that the fans have a say in the All-Star voting — though usually that winds up being just a popularity contest rather than an actual judge of talent. But for the Home Run Derby, it really should just be whoever is hitting the most home runs in that particular season.

Instead, fans can now vote on whom they would like to see in the derby. The ballot comes out at the same time as the regular All-Star ballot.

So this year, the two guys who are leading their respective leagues in home runs — Baltimore Orioles slugger Chris Davis and the red-hot Domonic Brown of the Philadelphia Phillies — do not even appear on the ballot.

Frankly, it would be a shame if Verlander was voted in — as write-in candidate, nonetheless — and Davis was left out.

The whole point of the Home Run Derby is for the fans to be able to see home runs. Citi Field is a huge ballpark, so in order for the fans to actually see home runs, big-time home run hitters will need to participate.

This whole Verlander situation is just a group of fans thinking they can outsmart the league. Verlander is a competitive guy, so it’s fine that he said would participate if the fans selected him.

But there’s no way the Tigers let him take part in a competition in which he’s swinging as hard as he can. The All-Star Game is one thing, since now the outcome counts. Plus he’d be pitching, not hitting.

Verlander just signed a huge contract extension, and if he were to get hurt in the Home Run Derby, the same fans that would have voted him in would then be an uproar that they lost their best pitcher to a meaningless activity.

Maybe I’m reading too much in this, but there are enough crazy fans out there who will stuff the ballot box with Verlander ballots to try to get him elected. These fans probably just want to see what the league would do in that situation.

Would the league honor the fan vote? If so, would the league force the Tigers to have Verlander participate since he was voted in? Would the league not choose him, thus proving that the fan vote really doesn’t matter?

Most likely, we won’t have to worry about any of these questions, but before you vote for the derby, think about who actually deserves it rather than trying to handcuff the league into conundrum.

Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto has evolved into one of the best hitters in the game today. Yet, he’s recently come under scrutiny for his lack of power hitting.

He has just 10 home runs and 28 RBIs this season. During his NL MVP season in 2010, he blasted 37 homers and drove in 113 runs.

Joey Votto (Photo by Keith Allison, used under creative commons license.)

But so what if his power numbers are a bit down (though based on games played, he’s still on pace for around 30 home runs this year)? The guy is batting close to .330 and has walked a league-leading 47 times in 273 plate appearances, making his on-base percentage a league-leading .451.

What else do you want him to do?

He’s always on base, which has helped his teammate Brandon Phillips drive in the second most runs in the NL behind only Paul Goldschmidt.

Unfortunately, the sexy statistics like home runs and RBIs usually drive the MVP talk. That’s why Alex Rodriguez was able to win the AL MVP in 2003 with 47 home runs and 118 RBIs for a last-place team.

The team finished last with A-Rod; it could have just as easily finished last without him, meaning he really wasn’t all that valuable to his team.

As for this year’s Reds, Votto has been extremely valuable. The Reds are playing great baseball and are right in the mix for the division lead in the NL Central. They’ll almost certainly be fighting for either a division crown or wild card berth come September.

Some have said that Votto should be hitting more home runs since he’s a No. 3 hitter and plays in a bandbox at Great American Ballpark.

First off, No. 3 hitters do not necessary have to be power hitters. Look at Tony Gwynn, who hit for a very high average and let the guys behind him drive in the runs. So far that strategy has worked out well for Votto, as he’s tied for the NL lead with Matt Carpenter with 47 runs scored.

And as for the ballpark, routine fly balls that shouldn’t be home runs leave the yard at Great American. That benefits a deep fly ball hitter — like Adam Dunn when he played for the Reds — but a line-drive machine like Votto doesn’t hit fly balls or pop-ups. He sprays line drives all over the field rather than worrying about his home run numbers.

Votto is currently leading the All-Star voting for NL first baseman, so at least the majority of the fans understand that it’s not all about home runs or RBIs.

His RBIs will come. When you’re that good of a hitter — and a clutch hitter like Votto is — you’ll drive in your share of runs. Who is going to argue if he finishes the year batting .320-.330 with 20-25 homers and 100 RBI, all while sporting a league-leading on-base percentage?

The thing about Votto is that he likely doesn’t even care about this controversy over his lack of power hitting. He seems like the type of guy who is just focused on winning ballgames not matter how it’s done.

The Reds are winning right now, and it’s been Votto’s line-drive hitting and ability to get on base, rather than his power numbers, that has played a role in the team’s success.