Mariano Rivera’s last outing at Yankee Stadium

Mariano Rivera threw the last pitch he’ll ever throw in Yankee Stadium.

On Thursday night, Rivera entered the game in the eighth inning to perform some damage control, with the Rays up 4-0. He got Sam Fuld on a chopper back to the mound.

In the ninth, he got an out before Derek Jeter and Andy Pettitte came out to the mound to get him.

I ... my wife’s cutting onions, that’s all.

Rivera is not a lonely man. He just might be the most beloved player in baseball, possibly one of the most beloved players in history. Quite an accomplishment, considering he plays for a team that’s spent the last two decades winning everything and annoying folks.

But for some reason, after the game, this was the moment of the telecast that grabbed me. I call this GIF, “The Loneliest Man in the World.”

Again, he’s not a lonely man in the common sense of the word. But that’s a baseball icon so alone with his thoughts, he doesn’t notice the phalanx of photographers around him.

After the field cleared, Rivera walked to the mound, waved to the fans, kicked his cleats in front of the rubber, scooped up some dirt, and left.

There are probably still people at Yankee Stadium, looking toward the mound, wondering if he’s going to come back out.

He’s not. So long, Mariano Rivera.