Legends attend Yankee Stadium's farewell party

NEW YORK -- The final farewell was left to Derek Jeter.

Microphone in hand, the New York captain stood on the mound and addressed the 54,610 fans who came to say so long to Yankee Stadium.

"So take the memories from this stadium, add it to the new memories that come with the new Yankee Stadium and continue to pass them on from generation to generation," he said Sunday night.

And with his words echoing throughout the 85-year-old ballpark -- eerily reminiscent of famous goodbyes from the past - he shut the door and turned off the lights.

The winning tradition that began with a 4-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox on April 18, 1923, ended with a 7-3 triumph over the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday night, a bittersweet evening in which the Yankees staved off postseason elimination rather than add another title to their vast collection.

Next April 16 they open a $1.3 billion palace nearing completion across 161st Street, which also will be called Yankee Stadium. But it will not be the same.

With a yellowish moon rising out beyond left-center, Mariano Rivera took his family out to Monument Park 40 minutes after the final out. The grounds crew filled dozens of white buckets with infield dirt -- multimillionaire players on both teams had knelt to scoop up the famous soil from the mound and home plate area, stuffing it into their pockets, much like a few fans did on the warning track earlier in the day.

Before the game, even Yogi Berra knew this was the end. One of the game's most beloved players stood beneath the stands in a full vintage uniform. Now 83, the man who coined the phrase "It ain't over till it's over" put his own stamp on the day.

"I'm sorry to see it over, I'll tell you that," Berra said.

Fans stayed around for 45 minutes, not wanting to walk through the exits one last time. Frank Sinatra's recording on New York, New York boomed out over and over. The organist played Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight. Two dozen mounted police galloped onto the field after the final out. The one fan who ran on the field was quickly tackled.

Johnny Damon and Jose Molina homered, Andy Pettitte got the victory and Rivera threw the final pitch at 11:41 p.m., retiring Brian Roberts on a grounder to first baseman Cody Ransom.

Appropriately enough, the final Yankees player to bat in the House that Ruth Built was Jeter, whose grounder to third ended the eighth. He was removed with two outs in the ninth and took the final curtain call.

But first, all the greats were remembered during a 65-minute pregame ceremony that included 21 retired players, six of them Hall of Famers.