Last night was the end of an era as the greatest closer in MLB history pitched his last game in Yankee Stadium.  Hopefully he doesn’t pitch again this weekend because what happened in NY was the perfect sendoff.  It couldn’t have happened any better.  Say what you will about the New York Yankees but they know how to do a farewell.  From Lou Gehrig to Mariano Rivera, they get it right.

The night began with Rivera entering one last time to Enter Sandman with 1 out in the 8th inning:

After recording four outs and having just 1 out left to go in the game, manager Joe Girardi set up the coolest moment in baseball that I have ever seen.  He sent Andy Pettitte and Derek Jeter out to remove Mo from the game.  All three were rookies for the Yankees in 1995 and while Pettitte left for a few years to go to Houston, Jeter and Rivera were teammates the whole time.  The only way it could have been better is if Jorge Posada (also a rookie in 1995) would have come out with them too.  Anyway, “There’s no crying in baseball” was thrown out the window when this moment happened:

The moment ended with the Captain…Derek Jeter telling him “It’s time to go.”  Rivera then left the mound to a HUGE standing ovation and emotional avalanche:

If you don’t get teary eyed looking at those gifs, then you are either a robot or you hate and don’t understand sports.  I despise the Yankees and even I get misty knowing that baseball has lost not only one of its greatest players of all time but also one of its greatest human beings.  They don’t come any classier than Mariano Rivera.

After the stadium had emptied, Rivera went back out to the mound to have a moment for himself and took some dirt from the mound as a keepsake for himself.  He deserves to have the whole damn mound relocated to his house.

Exit Sandman.  You will be missed by all true baseball fans.  Enjoy retirement #42.