As the cheers and chants for a sobbing Mariano Rivera shook Yankee Stadium, his long-time teammate Derek Jeter walked to the pitcher's mound and delivered the message no one really wanted to hear.
Baseball's most acclaimed relief pitcher made an emotional exit in his final appearance in the Yankees' home pinstripes when Jeter and Andy Pettitte came from the dugout to remove him with two outs in the ninth inning of a 4-0 loss to Tampa Bay.
During four minutes of a thunderous ovation from the sell-out crowd of 48,675, an overcome Rivera bawled as he buried his head on the shoulder of Pettitte, who is also retiring when the season ends on Sunday. Pettitte gave Rivera a 30-second bear hug, and Jeter followed with a 15-second embrace.
"I was bombarded with emotions and feeling that I couldn't describe," he said after the game, flanked by his wife and three sons. "Everything hit at that time. I knew that was the last time. Period. I never felt like that before."
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 as moments to cherish and remember.