In today’s baseball world, there’s almost no such thing as a “franchise player,” at least if your definition of that term involves someone who spends the entirety of a lengthy career in the same uniform.

When Paul Olden announces the New York Yankees to the capacity crowd at Yankee Stadium on April 1, there will be two of those franchise players wearing pinstripes – and it will be the beginning of the end for the elder of the pair.

Mariano Rivera announced his pending retirement on Saturday, telling the world that his nineteenth season in the Majors will be his last. He’ll be leaving the game with an all-time best 608-plus career saves, but he’ll also leave it with a pair of longevity records; Rivera, Derek Jeter, and Jorge Posada were the first

Redemption, thy name is Pettitte.

As you’re likely aware, today is the one-year anniversary of Mariano Rivera recording career save No. 602. On Sept. 19, 2011 – a game I was lucky enough to be at as a ticketholder – the Yankees beat the Twins 6-4 to give Mo the record; two days later, they swept a doubleheader against the Rays to clinch the AL East, and Mo only recorded one more save that September.

Flash forward 366 days, and while Mo won’t be on the mound, his fellow hurler from the Core Four will, and he is tasked with a massive undertaking.

It has been exactly 12 weeks since Andy Pettitte walked off the mound at Yankee Stadium with a fractured ankle, courtesy of a Casey Kotchman line drive in the top of the fifth inning of the Bombers’ 5-4 win over Cleveland.