[Evil Vito]

Originally Posted by Supreme Olajuwon Has there ever been this much fanfare for a guy going out like Rivera before? Seems really weird to me. Like yeah he's the greatest closer of all time but the constant tributes and "moments" seem like a bit much.

Originally Posted by Supreme Olajuwon Can't imagine what will happen when Jeter leaves.

To be honest I can't really think of any other player who would deserve a sendoff like Rivera. He's just been ludicrously good his entire career, probably could go another few years at a high level if he really wanted to. But moreover he's always been so humble and such a huge class act. I hate the Yankees and so do a lot of people, but Rivera is the one guy there isn't a bad word to say about.

I don't even know if Jeter would get this kind of sendoff. Then again I'm not sure he's the type who would pre-announce his retirement. He'll turn 40 during next year but if he goes back to putting up Jeter-esque numbers I think he'd just keep going on a year-to-year basis and retire in the offseason when he does hang 'em up.

If he did announce retirement ahead of time I'm sure he'd get honored at each park and everything but it'd probably be more like Chipper Jones' sendoff than Rivera's. The biggest Jeter "moments" would probably come during the ASG and at Yankee Stadium, where he'd almost definitely get the same honor as Mo in having his number retired while still active.