And In the End

This was how it had all played out in our heads: the game on the line, the inside out swing, the ball darting into the outfield between first and second base, the arms raised high in triumph, the smile admitting to himself that this was indeed the completion of a job very well done.

It mattered not that this was the most meaningless of all games he had ever played at the Stadium. To those assembled and those watching it had two decades of significance and a weight that fully belied the circumstances.

It would be the last game he ever played at shortstop, and it would be but one more memory for all of us to store, to treasure. It was all over now, his time and that of the group that carried the team to repeated greatness.

Derek spoke of many likening it to a funeral, and in some ways he was right. But this was a moment of triumph and celebration even as it was wrapped in a sadness that this light was being extinguished. Our tears carried meaning on so many levels. But what better way for him to bid us goodbye.