One Mo Time

The Yankees loss came second to the emotional night that the Yankees went through in their final home game of 2013. Mariano Rivera entered the game in the eighth with runners on first and second with one out and managed to wiggle out of the jam, which did not come as a surprise. When it came time for Mariano Rivera to enter the game in the ninth down 4-0 he retired the first two batters of the inning then the unthinkable happened. As a touching gesture, Joe Girardi let Andy Pettitte and Derek Jeter do the pitching chance honors. Mo, broke down as he said he would not do. He gave Andy Pettitte a bear hug and wept into his shoulder, realizing that he will never again step on the mound in a game for the New York Yankees. A true legend left the Bronx tonight, and there will never again be another like Mariano, both on the field and with as big of a heart. There are no other words for Mariano Rivera, a class act that will be remembered by all fans of baseball. He crossed team lines, fans of all teams admired him and he was thankful for that. In his final game in Boston, Mariano Rivera received a rousing ovation from the Fenway faithful; that's when you know you have achieved legendary status.

Mariano Rivera will retire as the all-time saves leader, and with his four outs recorded tonight, will also retire as the all-time ERA leader at 2.209, assuming he doesn't allow any runs in his appearences in Houston. Mariano Rivera will also achieve his lifelong dream of appearing in center field for the Yankees. I think he should play more than one inning in the outfield, as a way to pay homage to Rivera. Let him live out his lifelong desire and allow him to do what he would like to do as a final check off his bucket list. The moment Andy Pettitte and Derek Jeter came out to do the pitching change honors, my heart sunk and the feeling was one of sadness, but it was a happy sadness. I know that Rivera will remember this day for the rest of his life, and after the game Mo came to the mound one last time, collected dirt and stepped off to a standing ovation to the remaining crowd, many of whim stuck around to watch Mariano Rivera take his final trip to the Yankees clubhouse as an active player.