Teammates forever.
Yankees fans and the world got to see Thursday night what made the Core Four so special when the remaining Core Three Yankees had such an emotional moment on the mound.
When Derek Jeter and Andy Pettitte walked out to the mound with two outs in the ninth inning of the Yankees 4-0 loss to the Rays to take out Mariano Rivera, so Rivera would have his final Mo-ment with the sold-out crowd at Yankee Stadium, it gave everyone a glimpse into what makes a true champion.
By the end of this special night we all realized the Yankees will never see these types of stars again, players willing to be the best they can be, not just for themselves but each other.
This was a living, breathing example of the heart of the game, something that can never be measured by numbers.
“We’ve all grown up together,’’ Jeter said. “It’s too bad good things have to come to an end, I guess, eventually.’’
Yes, they do, but what an end this was as Jeter and Pettitte came out to get Rivera, something manager Joe Girardi concocted and then asked permission from the umpires to implement.
“I’ve been coming to Mo at the mound, but I’ve been coming at a different angle most of the time,’’ Jeter said. “It was a little different coming from [the dugout], but I’m glad Joe let us be a part of it because we’ve been like brothers for 21 years.’’
[mlbvideo id=”30974179″ width=”680″ height=”400″ /]
Rivera gave Pettitte the kind of emotional bear hug that is only reserved for family and retirees.
“It was a really cool moment,’’ Pettitte said. “We had so many great moments here.’’
Pettitte’s initial reaction was that it would be a little “weird,’’ to take out Rivera, but then all of his teammates said it was something that had to be done.
“I’m so glad we did it. It was such a great moment,’’ Pettitte said. “Just the emotion to be able to share that with Mo, that was tremendous. It will be something I will never forget.’’
Pettitte also got to say goodbye to the 48,675 fans so in many ways it was a shared moment.
Jeter said Rivera was crying so much, “he couldn’t speak.’’
Noted Pettitte, “Mo broke down and just gave me a big bear hug and I just bear-hugged him back. He was really crying, I could feel him weeping on my shoulder and I just told him, “Man, you’ve been so awesome to play with.’
“I appreciate and love him, man.’’
There is crying in baseball. That’s what being a championship teammate is all about.
“I’m happy Mo was able to go out like this,” Jeter said. “I thought what the fans did for him this whole homestand was awesome. I’m happy that I’ve been able to be his teammate for 21 years.’’
Then Jeter unlocked the key to the success of the Yankees Core, saying of Rivera and Pettitte: “They’re professionals. They’ve been consistent. They’ve supplied a lot of great memories here for Yankees fans and baseball for parts of two decades.
“I think we’ve all gotten along so well throughout the years. I think we are all pretty similar when it comes to our attitudes toward the game and towards other people. I think that’s why we’ve been able to stay here this long and have success.’’
Jeter said the greatest closer of all has a way of bringing the best out of you as a player and as a person.
“That’s just who he is,’’ Jeter said. “You can’t act one way and be another way, especially in New York all this time without someone figuring it out.’’
Someone then asked Jeter about being the last Core Four player standing and he gave the perfect answer: “I’m happy for them, I’m not thinking about myself. This was special and what makes it special is the fans, the fans have been awesome here for our whole careers and we just have another moment.’’
What a Mo-ment, it was.