Feature: What Everyone Will Remember of Mariano Rivera’s Final Game at Yankee Stadium as Closer Tipped Off His Cap [PHOTOS/VIDEO]
Tears flooded, hugs exchanged and everyone in the stadium got emotional as Mariano Rivera takes his final pitch at the Yankee Stadium in his bid for retirement from the game.
The crowd cheered for him, chanting Rivera’s name as he walked back to the dugout, taking his cap off and tipping it the whole way, noted New York Daily News. The final pitch saw Mariano Rivera crying all the time.
His final game at the Yankee Stadium saw four outs. But the record the Hall of Famer created on his final appearance was overshadowed by the sight of emotional Rivera as he tipped his cap to the crowd while walking to the dugout.
The uncontrollable tears he was unsuccessfully fighting as he ends his career will be in everyone’s memory and will surely have commentators talking in the next years to come.
As he bids for his final game, he embraced two Core Four teammates. His two teammates came out to get him in the ninth to mark the end of Rivera’s career in the game.
Joe Girardi gave Andy Pettitte and Derek Jeter the green light to get him out of the field and Rivera could not be happier when they did.
“They both came to get me out and I was thankful they came out,” Rivera said, according to the New York Daily News. “I needed them there and they were there.”
It could have been just another evening. It could have been a night that marked the Yankees “first meaningless final home game of the season” since 1993. But it turned out to be other than Yankees losing 4-0 to the Rays. An estimated 48,675 fans came to see the closer’s last night. And the NYDN noted the sellout crowd “have plenty to remember from the night.”
They will remember Rivera’s Bleacher Creature. They will remember Girardi bringing in Rivera with one out and runners at first and second bases. They will remember him jogging in from the bullpen while a pre-produced recording of Bob Sheppard announced his entrance.
They will remember the crowd standing for Mariano and giving him deafening applause. They will remember the crowd chanting “Ma-Ria-No” the whole time which gets louder every second, causing him to cry even more.
They will remember the Rays coming out from the dugout and giving Mariano a standing ovation. It was a sight one will hardly forget in the years to come.
“Amazing,” Rivera said upon seeing how the Rays reacted as he tipped off his cap. “It has been happening the whole year.”
“I was bombarded with emotions and feelings that I couldn’t describe,” Rivera said, according to the NYDN. “Everything hit at that time. I knew that that was the last time, period. I never felt something like that before.”
Rivera, 43, is beloved. It was a “magical moment” for Rivera and everyone in the stadium. It was an end of an era in the Bronx.
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