A friend and I sat talking about the music of Metallica yesterday: the brilliance of The Black Album, how we think that Master of Puppets is overrated, and so on.  When my lunch hour came around, I used the time to sit and listen to a handful of songs, including “Enter Sandman.”  By itself, “Enter Sandman” is a phenomenal song, worthy of recognition in the world of music until the end of time.  In the world of baseball, of course, it has the additional selling point of having served as the entrance song for a man who is touted as the greatest closing pitcher in Major League history, Mariano Rivera.

Rivera made his final appearance as a ballplayer just over a week ago, on Thursday 26 September 2013.  The ovation he received was tremendously emotional and moving — and well-deserved.  Few players in history receive a farewell like this one.  But, of course, few players in history have had the kind of career that he had.  Thank you for the memories, Mo.

Exit Sandman.