Seattle Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano is not letting the comments made by his former teammate Mariano Rivera bother him.
A day after it was revealed that the former Yankees closer took a shot at Cano in his new book, saying he would take Red Sox’s Dustin Pedroia over him at second base, Cano responded in stride.
“Everybody has a different opinion. That’s his opinion and I have to respect his opinion,” Cano said before Tuesday night’s game against the Oakland Athletics, via ESPN New York. “I’m not going to go too far into this. That’s the only thing that I can say. My focus right now is this team.
“I’m here, we’re winning,” Cano said. “I was over there already and now I’m here and now I’m focused on the team. I’m going to be excited for my teammates.”
In the book, “The Closer: My Story,” Rivera raves about Pedroia’s passion and work ethic, while he questions Cano’s desire and will to win. But Cano, who joined Seattle this offseason after signing a 10-year, $242 million contract, didn’t fire back at his ex-teammate. Instead, the superstar who has played in at least 159 games in the last seven years, chose to let the numbers speak for themselves.
“Everybody knows I play 160 games,” Cano said. “How does Mariano feel? I respect that and I’m always going to have respect for him, a guy that I spent nine years with and for me is always going to be the best closer. That’s how I feel.”
