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When Derek Jeter and Andy Pettitte pulled Mariano Rivera out of his last game at Yankee Stadium, it got me thinking about how the New York Yankees‘ fan base will react when No. 2 finally decides to hang his cleats up for good. Now, Rivera might have been the story of 2013 as his final season marked the end of an era in which the Yankees’ closer truly dominated.
However, Jeter’s retirement party is going to be twice as hyped as “Mo’s” considering this shortstop is undoubtedly the greatest player in New York’s history and its not even close. Not to mention, Jeter also has remained squeaky clean off of the field and was a perfect example of the “Yankee way.” I’ll save the rest of this for Jeter’s MLB Hall of Fame speech, yet Rivera’s retirement definitely opens our eyes to a career that was nearly twice as important as Rivera.
Now, we saw what other teams made for Rivera during his final season in the sun, which makes me incredibly interested as to what American League teams will cook up for Jeter when he finally puts his Yankees cap away.
So, as Rivera and Pettitte say goodbye to the Bronx, keep in mind that the 39-year old Jeter has only one year left on his contract. With injuries plaguing Jeter for the entirety of the 2013 campaign, don’t be surprised if the Yankees’ shortstop decides to have a farewell tour similar to Rivera’s next summer.
Devin O’Barr is the Content Commentator for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @DevinOBarrRS, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
