MLB Takes Out Full-Page Newspaper Ads To Honor Mariano Rivera

Tonight will be Mariano Rivera's final home game, a meaningless one since the Yankees were officially eliminated from postseason play last night. It'll be just the second time in his 19-year career that Rivera won't pitch into October. So today's the day for tributes.

MLB has chipped in, producing the above video, and taking out a full-page ad that will run today in four newspapers: the New York Post, the Daily News, Metro New York, and USA Today. (See the full-sized version here.)

MLB also announced today that Rivera's jersey is the best-selling in all of baseball since the all-star break.

There are lots of Rivera retrospectives, but I recommend three. Grant Brisbee examines an alternate history where the Yankees don't convert Rivera from a starter to a reliever. Jayson Stark wades through the absurd stats that Mo has racked up, and it's fascinating because Rivera, alone among those who have served in the hyper-specialized role, has amassed enough small samples to make a historically significant body of work. And on the other side of the coin, Jim Caple m akes the case that Rivera is one of the most overrated players of all-time—not a criticism of Rivera, but of the weight given to the closer role itself.