Former Yankees relief pitcher Mariano Rivera, who used to walk out onto the field to Metallica's "Enter Sandman", admitted in a new interview with the MLB Network that he has never listened to the band due religious reasons.
Rivera was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday in his first year of eligibility, making him the first player to ever receive a unanimous vote.
Metallica, who performed "Enter Sandman" at Yankee Stadium in 2013 as Rivera's number was retired, sent a congratulations video.
In an interview with the MLB Network, Rivera responded with gratitude, saying, "That is amazing. I’m telling you, it’s a blessing on top of blessings. I have so much respect for those guys. I met them and they’re great people, great great people. Thank God (for) everything they have done, being there for me at the moment that I retired was amazing.”
But Rivera also admitted in the same interview, "With all due respect to the guys, I’ve never been to one of (their shows). As a Christian, with all due respect to Metallica, I don’t listen to that kind of music.” In a separate interview, Rivera confessed, "If that was me, I would have never picked that song. It would’ve been Christian music . . . It should have been something that put people to sleep.”
Rivera will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 21st during a ceremony in Cooperstown, New York.