NEW YORK (AP) — Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera tore an Achilles tendon while going after a flyball at the New York Yankees' Old-Timers’ Day game on Saturday and needs surgery.
Agent Fern Cuza said the 55-year-old closer, baseball's career leader in saves, will have the operation within a week.
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Former New York Yankees' Mariano Rivera (42) walks back to dugout during the first inning of the Yankees Old-Timers' Day Game before a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Former New York Yankees' Mariano Rivera (42) enters the Yankees Old-Timers' Day ceremony before a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Former New York Yankees' Mariano Rivera plays during the first inning of the Yankees Old-Timers' Day Game before a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Former New York Yankees' Mariano Rivera (42) walks back to dugout during the first inning of the Yankees Old-Timers' Day Game before a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Former New York Yankees' Mariano Rivera (42) enters the Yankees Old-Timers' Day ceremony before a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
In his lone at-bat, Rivera singled off former teammate Andy Pettitte and easily ran to first base. During an at-bat by Willie Randolph, Rivera took a step and fell to the ground in shallow center field behind second base.
The Yankees restored the Old-Timers' Day game for the first time since 2019.
“It was a fun day until we heard about Mariano. Mariano hurt his Achilles,” seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens told WFAN broadcaster Suzyn Waldman. “I don’t know what was going on. We all thought it was a hamstring, but I think it’s a little worse than that. I think he’s at the hospital now. Unbelievable.”
Rivera was the second player to get hurt in the event since 2017. Eight years ago, former outfielder and current YES Network analyst Paul O'Neill strained a calf running to first base.
Rivera tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in May 2012 while shagging fly balls in batting practice in Kansas City. He returned for his final season in 2013 and finished as baseball’s career saves leader with 652 and posted 42 postseason saves.
In 2019, the 13-time All-Star became the first player unanimously inducted into the Hall of Fame by getting all 425 votes in balloting conducted by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. He helped the Yankees win five World Series titles and seven American League pennants.
Rivera took part in the Old-Timers' Game, played before the Yankees beat the Houston Astros 5-4, for the second time. He hit an inside-the-park homer in 2019.
The event commemorated the 25th anniversary of the 2000 championship team, the last team to win three straight World Series titles. Clemens was a first-time attendee at the event, which had captain Derek Jeter give a short video message when he was introduced following Rivera.
Before the event, Rivera said he intended to speak with struggling reliever Devin Williams, who allowed three runs in the 10th inning Friday. He has allowed nine runs in his last five appearances and 28 earned runs this year, two more than 2022-24 combined.
"Can’t do nothing about it,” Rivera said Saturday morning. “Once it’s done, it’s done. Just learn from it, move on and be confident. You have to be confident in yourself. If you’re not confident in yourself, you’re playing the wrong sport.”
AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Former New York Yankees' Mariano Rivera (42) walks back to dugout during the first inning of the Yankees Old-Timers' Day Game before a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Former New York Yankees' Mariano Rivera (42) enters the Yankees Old-Timers' Day ceremony before a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Former New York Yankees' Mariano Rivera plays during the first inning of the Yankees Old-Timers' Day Game before a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Former New York Yankees' Mariano Rivera (42) walks back to dugout during the first inning of the Yankees Old-Timers' Day Game before a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Former New York Yankees' Mariano Rivera (42) enters the Yankees Old-Timers' Day ceremony before a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean court sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to five years in prison Friday in the first verdict from eight criminal trials over the martial law debacle that forced him out of office and other allegations.
Yoon was impeached, arrested and dismissed as president after his short-lived imposition of martial law in December 2024 triggered huge public protests calling for his ouster.
The most significant criminal charge against him alleges that his martial law enforcement amounted to a rebellion, and the independent counsel has requested the death sentence in the case that is to be decided in a ruling next month.
Yoon has maintained he didn’t intend to place the country under military rule for an extended period, saying his decree was only meant to inform the people about the danger of the liberal-controlled parliament obstructing his agenda. But investigators have viewed Yoon’s decree as an attempt to bolster and prolong his rule, charging him with rebellion, abuse of power and other criminal offenses.
In Friday’s case, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Yoon for defying attempts to detain him, fabricating the martial law proclamation, and sidestepping a legally mandated full Cabinet meeting and thus depriving some Cabinet members who were not convened of their due rights to deliberate on his decree.
Judge Baek Dae-hyun said in the televised ruling that imposing “a grave punishment” was necessary because Yoon hasn’t shown remorse and has only repeated “hard-to-comprehend excuses.” The judge also restoring legal systems damaged by Yoon’s action was necessary.
Yoon’s defense team said they will appeal the ruling, which they believe was “politicized” and reflected “the unliberal arguments by the independent counsel.” Yoon’s defense team argued the ruling “oversimplified the boundary between the exercise of the president’s constitutional powers and criminal liability.”
Prison sentences in the multiple, smaller trials Yoon faces would matter if he is spared the death penalty or life imprisonment at the rebellion trial.
Park SungBae, a lawyer who specializes in criminal law, said there is little chance the court would decide Yoon should face the death penalty in the rebellion case. He said the court will likely issue a life sentence or a sentence of 30 years or more in prison.
South Korea has maintained a de facto moratorium on executions since 1997 and courts rarely hand down death sentences. Park said the court would take into account that Yoon’s decree didn’t cause casualties and didn’t last long, although Yoon hasn’t shown genuine remorse for his action.
South Korea has a history of pardoning former presidents who were jailed over diverse crimes in the name of promoting national unity. Those pardoned include strongman Chun Doo-hwan, who received the death penalty at a district court over his 1979 coup, the bloody 1980 crackdowns of pro-democracy protests that killed about 200 people, and other crimes.
Some observers say Yoon will likely retain a defiant attitude in the ongoing trials to maintain his support base in the belief that he cannot avoid a lengthy sentence but could be pardoned in the future.
On the night of Dec. 3, 2024, Yoon abruptly declared martial law in a televised speech, saying he would eliminate “anti-state forces” and protect “the constitutional democratic order.” Yoon sent troops and police officers to encircle the National Assembly, but many apparently didn’t aggressively cordon off the area, allowing enough lawmakers to get into an assembly hall to vote down Yoon’s decree.
No major violence occurred, but Yoon's stunt caused the biggest political crisis in South Korea and rattled its diplomacy and financial markets. For many, his decree, the first of its kind in more than four decades in South Korea, brought back harrowing memories of past dictatorships in the 1970s and 1980s, when military-backed leaders used martial law and emergency measures to deploy soldiers and tanks on the streets to suppress demonstrations.
After Yoon's ouster, his liberal rival Lee Jae Myung became president via a snap election last June. After taking office, Lee appointed three independent counsels to look into allegations involving Yoon, his wife and associates.
Yoon's other trials deal with charges like ordering drone flights over North Korea to deliberately inflame animosities to look for a pretext to declare martial law. Other charges accuse Yoon of manipulating the investigation into a marine’s drowning in 2023 and receiving free opinion surveys from an election broker in return for a political favor.
A supporter of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol shouts slogans outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs and flags outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A supporter of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol waits for a bus carrying former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs as police officers stand guard outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs and flags outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A picture of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is placed on a board as supporters gather outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
