Mariano Rivera last night broke down in sobs after he made his final pitch at the Yankee Stadium - in what will no doubt go down as one of the most memorable departures in baseball history.
The acclaimed relief pitcher, 43, remained at the mound after his final pitch against Tampa Bay and wept uncontrollably when fellow Yankees Derek Jeter and Andy Pettitte emerged from the dugout to remove him.
Rivera, who has played for the team for 18 years, bawled during a thunderous ovation from the sellout crowd of 48,675 as he remained on the field for four minutes after the pitch.
'I was bombarded with emotions and feeling that I couldn't describe,' Rivera said after the game. 'Everything hit at that time. I knew that was the last time. Period. I never felt like that before.'
Overwhelmed: New York Yankees relief pitcher Mariano Rivera cries as he leaves the mound in the ninth inning of his final appearance in a baseball game at Yankee Stadium on Thursday night
The Panamanian joined the Yankees in 1995 and has since gained a reputation as one of the most dominant relievers in baseball history.
As he continued to weep on the field on Thursday, Jeter and Pettitte appeared on the mound and Jeter apparently told his old friend: 'It's time to go.'
Pettitte, who also is retiring when the season ends on Sunday, gave Rivera a 30-second bear hug, followed by a 15-second embrace from Jeter.
After the game on Thursday, Yankees manager Joe Girardi told the Associated Press that he had conceived the idea in the eighth inning of including Jeter and Pettitte.
Support: Derek Jeter, left, applauds as Andy Pettitte, back to camera, embraces Rivera as he cries
Applause: The crowd remained on their feet throughout the emotional moment on the field on Thursday
Sadness: Tears fall from Rivera's eyes as he hugs Jeter before leaving his last ever home game on Thursday
'I've never seen a player pull another player, so I had to ask,' 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 I think it made the moment even more special for Mo,' Girardi explained.
At first, Pettitte didn't think it was such a good idea but 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 minors 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.
Emotion: Rivera waves to the crowd after leaving the game against the Tampa Bay Rays in the ninth inning
Thankful: Rivera, 43, reacts to the fans at the end of his last home game before his retirement
Saying goodbye: He remained on the mound for four minutes before he was removed by his teammates
Memories: Rivera carries the ball after teammates Pettitte and Jeter removed him from the game
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.'
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 tears, came out again and doffed his cap to the crowd. All the while, the Rays remained in their dugout applauding.
And after Rivera came off, Pettitte came out for his own curtain call before the bottom of the ninth as the Rays waited in their dugout, not wanting to interrupt the moment.
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