Joel Sherman

Joel Sherman

MLB

Core Four glory years now the good old days

Former player after former player and dignitary after dignitary was announced to honor Mariano Rivera in pregame festivities. Yet, if you listened closely enough, you could notice who was not called.

No Whitey. No Yogi. Reggie was actually in attendance, but was not part of the program.

The passing of an era has been front and center of late with Andy Pettitte and Rivera having both announced retirements, making more overt that the franchise is in its most significant transition in two decades.

But there also is another conversion underway, as well. For no team pushes and monetizes its history like the Yankees. And what we saw Sunday afternoon was a franchise saying good-bye to a legend and hello to what they will be selling relentlessly the next 20 years — the past 20 years.

The Joe Torre/Mariano Rivera/Derek Jeter Yankees are now the good old days, even if Jeter is still intending to try and play next year.

You can hardly have anything more stark linking the present with how you are going to celebrate the future than unveiling Rivera’s retired No. 42 in Monument Park while he is still active.

And, of course, this is just the beginning. Derek Jeter’s number is eventually going out there at some point in what seems now like a not-too-distant future. And then …

Well, you could bet if lean years are really ahead for the Yankees then you can expect that in order to sell seats at the Stadium we will see Bernie Williams Day. Maybe one for Jorge Posada, too. It seems Torre, who was in attendance Sunday, is back at something close to good graces with the Yankees power brokers. The hierarchy probably heard how long and sustained his ovation was Sunday — and the cash register has a way of salving old wounds.

Andy Pettitte? His Hall of Fame and historic perception is clouded by human-growth hormone ties, but not his standing with the home fans, as was again exhibited in the lovefest during his final Yankee Stadium start.

So before long No. 2 will be retired, and then maybe Nos. 6, 20, 46 and 51, as well. The Yankees will probably have to stop then or risk having to go to triple digits on some uniforms.

But whether it is Old-Timer’s Day or throwing first pitches (which some of the recent champions already have been doing) or a commemoration of any of the last five titles — 2016, for example, will be the 20th anniversary of the 1996 championship — this is what the Yankees will be exalting and selling, as surely as they had previously done with Ruth and Gehrig, DiMaggio and Mantle.

Rivera and Jeter, in fact, become DiMaggio and Mantle — the last names called at such events moving forward, the places of honor.

The Yanks showed they do know how to do such events in style Sunday with the high point not only having Metallica on hand to sing “Enter Sandman” live. But to have Rivera enter from the bullpen while the band played, walking slowly to the mound. It was a goose-bump moment.

And — here at the end of a great career — this was part of a new beginning. In the future, the Yankees will be celebrating this recent glorious past.

The closer opened this door.