Mariano Rivera said his emotional goodbye to Yankee Stadium Thursday night, receiving one final raucous ovation as fellow Yankees stalwarts Derek Jeter and Andy Pettitte removed him from the game.
Rivera's amassed 652 saves, more than anyone else in the history of baseball, and won five World Series titles. However, there's still one thing he hasn't accomplished, that he said in 2011 was a dream of his.
"I would love to play center field at least for one inning or one out. I told my manager. I don't think it would happen, but I hope so," Rivera said. Rivera tore his ACL last season shagging fly balls in the Kansas City Royals outfield, though, so he may be more hesitant to man center these days.
"It may be something good, if I permit it, though," Rivera said. "One thing I will tell you -- if I can do it, I will do it. If I cannot do it, I won't be making a fool of myself there. I'm a professional. This is not a joke for me. This is serious."
Yankees manager Joe Girardi must permit it too; when asked whether he'd consider throwing Rivera out there Girardi responded, "Absolutely." He indicated he would've let Mariano do it at Yankee Stadium, but the games with Tampa Bay this week carried too much significance. "But not here, because these games are still meaningful for Tampa," Girardi said.
The Bronx Bombers' skipper is toying with clever ways for Rivera to get in there; now that the Yankees are out of playoff contention the opportunity to make these last contests meaningful is at the forefront.
"You know, I don't know how I would do it," Girardi said. "It's something I would have to talk to him about. It's a situation where I might bring him in in the eighth to play the outfield, and then have him close it out in the ninth, if we have that opportunity."
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