New York Yankees pitching legend Mariano Rivera said Monday at the White House that learning to speak English was the most important step he took as a young baseball player toward becoming an American.

Rivera, newly inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Donald Trump, who cited the aggressive but well-loved relief hurler for his bat-shredding cut fastball and his legendary humanitarian streak.

Trump praised him as the only Major League player ever elected to the Hall of Fame with unanimous support.

'Just out of curiosity, Babe Ruth was not unanimously elected?' Trump mused in the East Room of the White House. 'The Babe didn't make it? What was his problem? He did pretty good too!'

But Rivera's self-deprecating story of cultural assimilation stole the show on Monday.

President Donald Trump awarded New York Yankees great Mariano Rivera the Presidential medal of Freedom on Monday, citing his philanthropic work during and after his Major league Baseball career

Rivera set nearly impossible-to-beat records for postseason Earned Run Average and regular season saves

Trump called Rivera one of the greatest players of all time, and joked that not even Babe Ruth won his Hall of Fame slection unanimously

First lady Melania Trump arrived before the Medal of Freedom presentation on Monday, entering the East Room of the White House

He spoke no English during his first year on a minor league team in Tampa, Florida, he said, because 'there were a lot of players that spoke Spanish, so I got a little comfortable.'

A year later, playing in Greensboro, N.C., he found that 'most of the people didn't speak any Spanish, especially the teammates.'

'There were times that I would go to bed crying. Not because of the game, but because – I was frustrated because I couldn't speak the language. I couldn't speak English,' he recalled.

Rivera said he asked two of his teammates to teach him the language, and gave them permission to laugh at him as he learned.

But 'they never laugh at me, and they teach me,' he said Monday. 'By the end of the year I was able to communicate with my manager, with my teammates, and I was the happiest man in baseball.'

Rivera said his humanitarian work grew out of his understanding that 'I can do something for others because I knew the language.'

And he teaches other Latinos, he said, 'that, yes, learning English is the first thing that we should do.'

Rivera (right) said he spoke no english when he arrived in the U.S. in 1990, but by learning the language he was able to identify with people who his foundation now helps every year

Rivera was joined in the East Room by his wife Clara and their children and other family members

Rivera is known as one of the American sporting world's most prolific and cheerful philanthropists. His personal foundation provides underprivileged children with education funding, devoting more than $500,000 per year to the effort in the U.S. and Panama.

He has funded school construction and computer programs in his home country, and built churches in the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Panama and the United States.

One church, a Pentecostal congregation in New Rochelle, New York, employs his wife of 22 years, Clara, as its pastor.

She and their three children joined Rivera at the White House on Monday.

The Yankee legend has bucked a trend among professional athletes by embracing Trump from Day One, serving on his Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission from the earliest months of his administration. Rivera has also co-chaired the President's Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition.

Last year he drew criticism for co-hosting a political fundraiser with Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle, but fired back saying: 'I respect him, I respect what he does. I believe that he's doing the best for the United States of America.'

Rivera has supported Trump since before his election in 2016, and served on his Opioid Addiction Commission in the eary months of his administration

Rivera waved to the crowd as he left the field with his wife Clara during a ceremony marking his Hall of Fame indution on Aug. 17 at Yankee Stadium

President Trump praised the retired Yankee relief pitcher after his Hall of Fame election was announced in January

'Congratulations on this extraordinary achievement, Mo!' Trump tweeted Monday afternoon – referring to the golden medal he placed around the Panamanian-American's neck on a blue ribbon.

White House aides blasted 'Enter Sandman' through speakers in the East Room on Monday as Rivera was introduced. The Metallica rock anthem was his calling card, played in Yankee Stadium whenever he was called on to 'save' a game by shutting down opposition batters late in a game.

Rivera ended his pro career with 652 regular-season saves, a number that statisticians doubt will ever be equaled.

He saved 42 games in the postseason, and posted an Earned Run Average of just 0.70 during the playoffs.

Trump, a longtime Yankees fan, praised Rivera on Monday as 'maybe the greatest pitcher of all time.'