NEW YORK -- The Alex Rodriguez era is over. It's definitely over in New York and most likely for baseball in general. A-Rod didn't sound like someone who wanted to continue playing before Friday's game, and the same was true after the game.

"It's going to be tough to top that. That's a memory that I will own forever," A-Rod said following Friday's send-off. "With all the things that I've been through, and to have an ending like tonight, I don't know what else a man can ask for. I'm extremely thankful for everything the Steinbrenners -- and especially the fans -- did for me tonight."

Rodriguez went 1 for 4 with a double against the Rays on Friday, which, coincidentally, is exactly what he did in his very first game as a Yankee in 2004. They were called the Devil Rays back then and the game was played in Tokyo, but otherwise A-Rod's first game as a Yankee mirrored his last.

Regardless of your feelings about A-Rod, I think it's safe to say we'll never see another player like him -- someone that talented, that productive and yet that flawed as a person. A-Rod made some terrible mistakes over the years, he's not afraid to admit that, and those mistakes bring the legitimacy of his career into question. It's a shame. It really is.

Like him or not, A-Rod was great theater for baseball. He was the polarizing figure every sport needs to stay interesting. Rodriguez was the perfect baseball villain.

Here are seven takeaways from his final game, a 6-3 Yankees win (box score).

1. The pregame ceremony was pretty much a disaster.

This is something that could only happen to A-Rod. During the team's planned pregame ceremony, the skies opened up and it starting raining on Rodriguez, his family and the Yankees contingent on the field.

Here's the video:

The tarp was on the field, so everyone knew the rain was coming. Why try to rush it in before it started pouring? The rain delay was only 30 minutes. The Yankees could have pushed the ceremony back and done it after the delay. Instead, A-Rod & Co. were rushing off the field before the public address announcer finished talking. That was botched big time.

"It was certainly biblical," A-Rod said about the rain. "Huge thunder crackle. At one point I said, 'Hal, we've got to take it in, let's go.' You can't make that up. I guess we went out with a bang."

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The sky opened up and rained on A-Rod's parade. USATSI

2. A-Rod still has some bat speed left.

There's zero doubt A-Rod is no longer the player he was in his prime. No one is at 41. He has been glued to the bench the past several weeks because of a lack of production, but when he got a chance to play Friday night, he showed right away he can still do some damage.

Rodriguez laced an RBI double in the first inning. To the video:

You could tell A-Rod was pretty pumped about that double. Check out the fist pump at second base:

"I haven't played a lot of baseball lately, and Chris Archer is not a guy I'm racing to go face. I saw him before the game and told him to take it easy on the old man, gave him a hug and he smiled. He's a great competitor. I was just glad to drive a ball, especially to right-center, where I've made my living."

A-Rod said before the game he planned to savor every inning and every at-bat. Rodriguez called the past few weeks "embarrassing," so I'm sure that first-inning double felt extra special.

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A-Rod's first at-bat ended in a double. USATSI

3. A-Rod left it all out on the field.

At age 41 and with two surgically repaired hips, running isn't exactly A-Rod's forte anymore. He's the very definition of a base-clogger. Zero speed and basically incapable of beating out an infield single.

And yet, during his fourth-inning groundout to short, A-Rod ran as hard down the line as he has in about five years now. Here's a look:

I know it doesn't seem like much, but for A-Rod, that's pretty much all the gas he has in the tank these days. There's a self-preservation aspect to running out grounders when you're a veteran, which often means jogging out routine ground balls. That was no jog. A-Rod busted it out of the box each at-bat Friday.

4. A-Rod at third base was really cool.

Because of his age and hip surgeries, A-Rod had not played the field since last May. He got one last chance to play third base in the ninth inning, when manager Joe Girardi sent him out to the hot corner for one at-bat.

Here's the crowd reaction to Rodriguez running out of the dugout:

A-Rod played only one out at third base and that was his idea. Girardi was planning to let him play two outs, then remove him from the game so he could get an ovation as he came off the field. Rodriguez said he asked for just one out. Here's his exit:

"I'm very grateful that Joe gave me the opportunity to play third for one out. I was actually excited," A-Rod said. "I was also stressed because once Joe made me the full-time DH, I retired my cup. So then I was very stressed. I screamed to [Dellin Betances] -- the same thing Cal Ripken screamed to Roger Clemens in the All-Star Game in 2001, when we switched, he said, 'Strike him out Roger' -- and I said exactly the same thing."

A-Rod got one final moment at third base. USATSI

5. Yankee fans showed A-Rod a ton of love.

A-Rod's relationship with the Yankee Stadium crowd over the years has been ... complicated. They love him when he plays well and despise him when he doesn't. It's a love-hate relationship to the extreme. He has been booed out of the ballpark and given multiple curtain calls per game. It has been quite a ride the past 12 years.

On Friday night, it was all love from the crowd. They cheered him during his pregame ceremony and during warmups, then gave him a huge Yankee Stadium roll call in the first inning. To the action footage:

"I just looked up and looked around," A-Rod said when asked about the pregame cheers. "It was a packed house. With all that I've been through, for them to show up on a night like tonight, and show me that type of love, is something that I'll never forget. It was overwhelming."

It didn't stop there either. A-Rod received a huge ovation when he was introduced before his first-inning at-bat. It was as loud in Yankee Stadium as it was during Derek Jeter's final game two years ago. Here's his first walk up to the plate:

It's not often A-Rod has received nothing but love from Yankee fans, but he certainly did Friday night.

6. Fans were NOT happy with Joe Girardi.

The past few week was not great for Yankees manager Joe Girardi. During Sunday's press conference he said "[if A-Rod[ wants to play in every game, I'll find a way," but that didn't happen. A-Rod was held out of the lineup Tuesday and Wednesday night at Fenway Park even though he said he wanted to play. He called it "disappointing" to be out of the lineup.

Based on social media, many Yankee fans were not happy A-Rod was out of the lineup those two days. They wanted to see him play as much as possible in his final week. So, when Girardi was introduced before Friday's game, he was booed rather viciously. They booed him like he was David Ortiz. That couldn't have felt good. The fans really let Girardi have it.

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Girardi heard it from the fans on Friday. USATSI

7. The Yankees won't be boring without A-Rod.

Let's face it: The 2016 Yankees are kind of dull. They've been hovering around .500 all season and they don't score very many runs, so their games don't feature a ton of excitement. A-Rod's farewell game was, by far, their most exciting game of the season based on the Yankee Stadium crowd.

Rodriguez's departure doesn't mean the team will be dull going forward though. The Yankees are making a concerted effort to play young players for the first time in a long time. Top catching prospect Gary Sanchez has been up for about a week now, and first baseman Tyler Austin is coming up Saturday to replace A-Rod on the roster.

The Yankees are also planning to call up top outfield prospect Aaron Judge when rosters expand in September. It's going to be a different type of team going forward.

For the past 20-25 years, their fans have been used to cheering for established stars, like A-Rod. Now they'll get to root for exciting young players, and that's fun too.