MLB

Boss & Voice honored with video, silence–and victory

The first game of the rest of the Yankees’ lives was preceded by a soundtrack of Frank Sinatra singing, “My Way.”

“My Way” as in George Steinbrenner’s Way — “My Way” as in the Yankees’ Way.

Their Way, as in winning World Series championships, the 27th of which in franchise history and the seventh of which under The Boss’ ownership came last year.

Their Way, as in winning games in the bottom of the ninth, the latest such triumph coming last night on Nick Swisher’s two-out single to right that drove in Curtis Granderson from second to lift the Yankees to a heaven-sent 5-4 victory over the Rays.

PHOTOS: YANKEES HONOR STEINBRENNER, SHEPPARD

PHOTOS: GEORGE STEINBRENNER

FANS REMEMBER THE BOSS

MORE STEINBRENNER COVERAGE

The pre-game tribute to Steinbrenner and Bob Sheppard, who passed away Sunday, was distinguished in its simplicity. The diamond was essentially bare between the lines when Mariano Rivera, elegance personified, walked purposefully from the dugout to lay a pair of long-stem roses on home plate in memory of the fallen Yankees icons.

“Oh, a lot of things were going through my mind,” said Rivera, who got the victory after he pitched a scoreless ninth in what was then a tie game. “I wasn’t expecting to do that, especially for [Steinbrenner]. I wanted to see him for a little bit more.

BOX SCORE

FIRST-HALF REPORT CARD

“It was a special moment and sadness at the same time.”

It was a special night and sadness at the same time throughout the game that was played without a public address announcer introducing each batter or broadcasting the lineup changes and without the Bleacher Creatures calling the roll.

It was a special night that included recorded video tributes from present and former Yankees — plus clips from the Boss guest hosting Saturday Night Live on Oct. 20, 1990 — displayed on the scoreboard between innings in place of the usual cacophony.

“It was on my mind the whole game,” said Derek Jeter, who addressed the crowd before the game, prior to going 0-for-5 with a strikeout in the ninth before Swisher delivered the game-winning blow. “There were the clips between innings and the lack of a PA announcer made it awkward.

“[That last at-bat] I couldn’t help but think about it. I probably tried too hard.”

This wasn’t the famous Thurman Munson game the Yankees played and won 5-4 on Bobby Murcer’s bottom-of-the ninth heroics just hours after flying home to The Bronx from Canton, Ohio, following the fallen captain’s funeral on Aug. 6, 1979.

That was a night filled with raw grief. This was a night marked by melancholy and a night marked by celebration of just what it was Steinbrenner had brought to the Yankees and to the City he commandeered as his own.

He demanded excellence. He demanded championships. He raised the bar for not only his own team, but for every other pro sports team in the vicinity.

“He wants perfection,” Rivera, as close as there’s ever been to reaching that standard, said, invoking the present tense. “He always wants that. He demanded that of himself.

“But I never saw him get angry [if we failed]. I lost the Series in 2001 and what he said to me was, ‘Get them next time.’ That was that.

“Everybody wants to win, but he always asked you for your best. He didn’t want 99 percent or even 100 percent. He wanted 1,000 percent.”

Steinbrenner wanted the impossible. He wanted to win every game, win every championship. There’s one team and one team only held to that standard, and that’s the team that Steinbrenner owned.

“He spoke his mind and he challenged his players,” Jeter said. “If you couldn’t take it, you couldn’t play here.”

The night began with Sinatra singing “My Way.” It ended with Sinatra singing “New York, New York.

It ended with the Yankees’ victory anthem on a night when nothing but victory would have sufficed.

larry.brooks@nypost.com