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Rivera in tearful Yanks farewell
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As the cheers and chants for a sobbing Mariano Rivera shook Yankee Stadium, his long-time teammate Derek Jeter walked to the pitcher’s mound and delivered the message no one really wanted to hear.
“It’s time to go,” the Yankees captain appeared to tell his old pal.
Baseball’s most acclaimed relief pitcher made an emotional exit in his final appearance in the Yankees’ home pinstripes when Jeter and Andy Pettitte came from the dugout to remove him with two outs in the ninth inning of a 0-4 loss to Tampa Bay on Thursday.
During four minutes of a thunderous ovation from the sellout 48,675 crowd, an overcome Rivera bawled as he buried his head on the shoulder of Pettitte, who also is retiring when the season ends tomorrow. Pettitte gave Rivera a 30-second bear hug, and Jeter followed with a 15-second embrace. The three players have known each other since they were in the minor leagues in the early 1990s, and all three came up to the Yankees for the first time in 1995.
“I was bombarded with emotions and feeling that I couldn’t describe,” he said after the game, flanked by his wife and three sons. “Everything hit at that time. I knew that was the last time. Period. I never felt like that before.”
It was one of those special Yankees scenes that will join Lou Gehrig’s farewell speech, Babe Ruth’s last ballpark appearance, Mickey Mantle Day, the first game after Thurman Munson’s death and the finale at the old stadium across 161st Street as moments to cherish and remember.
There was hardly a dry eye. The Yankees and Rays stood in tribute while fans blinked back tears, honoring the closer who turns 44 in November.
His voice cracking after the game, Yankees manager Joe Girardi said he conceived the idea in the eighth inning of including Jeter and Pettitte.
“I’ve never seen a player pull another player, so I had to ask. And then one of them was on the DL,” he said.
Girardi conferred with the umpiring crew. “Then I said, ‘Well, can I send two?’ and they said, ‘Well, go ahead.’ And I really appreciate that because it made the moment even more special for Mo.”
Rivera had retired four batters on 13 pitches — the overall 465th perfect outing of his big league career. With the Yankees not in contention, normally he would not have pitched at all, but this was a special occasion for the last MLB player allowed to wear No. 42, the same number as Jackie Robinson, the first black player to compete in the majors.
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