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 in the ballpark. 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 plate umpire Laz Diaz before the ninth, and Diaz consulted with crew chief Mike Winters.
"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," Girardi explained.
At first, Pettitte didn't think it was such a good idea. When he got to the mound, he quickly decided "it was awfully cool." 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.
"It's crazy how fast it went by," Pettitte said.
Rivera's demeanor caught Pettitte by surprise.
"I didn't say anything at first, and I didn't expect for him to be quite so emotional," Pettitte said. "He broke down and just gave me a bear hug and I just bear-hugged him back. He was really crying. He was weeping, and I could feel him crying on me."
Rivera had retired four batters on 13 pitches the overall 465th perfect outing of his big league career. He had gone to the trainer's room in the Yankees clubhouse after the top of the eighth instead of remaining in the dugout.
"Everything started hitting from there. All the flashbacks from the minor leagues to the big leagues, all the way to this moment," he said.
When he walked off the mound for the final time with two outs in the top of the ninth, he wiped his eyes with both arms and blew a kiss to the first row behind the Yankees dugout. He hugged a tearful Girardi in the dugout, grabbed a towel to dab his own teardrops, came out again and doffed his cap to the crowd.
After the last out, Rivera remained on the bench for a moment as Frank Sinatra's recording of "New York, New York" played. He paused before taking a last walk to the mound, a man alone, kneeling and gathering a bit of his workplace as a keepsake.
"I wanted to get some dirt, just stay there for the last time, knowing that I ain't going to be there no more, especially pitching," he said. "Maybe throw a first pitch one year, one day. But competing won't be there no more."
The oldest player in the major leagues, Rivera posted 314 of his record 652 saves at home during a 19-year big league career, and 18 of his record 42 postseason saves were at the old and new Yankee Stadium. He helped the Yankees to five World Series titles, getting the final out in four of them.
"It was amazing. A great, great night," he said and then paused. "We lost. I don't know how I'd be saying that."
