Column: Play, then retire

Mariano Rivera is a Hall of Fame pitcher and one of the very few New York Yankees who people around the MLB and sports world universally admire. He also is responsible for a trend that is gaining traction among athletes everywhere that needs to stop.

Rivera tore his ACL in 2012, and while he was recovering from his injury he announced that his next season would be his last. Throughout 2013, baseball fans watched as Rivera was given parting gifts from nearly every team the Yankees played. At the time, the gifts, including a gold record of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman,” a rocking chair made of broken baseball bats and a painting, seemed like sincere gestures of appreciation for all Rivera had done for the game. It would not have been a problem until other athletes took notice, and now every star player seems to want some gifts of their own.

Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers announced in November that he would retire following this season. Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz admitted that the 2016 season would be his last during spring training. Not to be outdone, Alex Rodriguez, a Red Sox rival ever searching for the spotlight, announced that he would retire after the 2017 season — two years from now. A line needs to be drawn.

Yes, all three of those players have had careers worthy of the Hall of Fame — putting aside A-Rod’s steroid scandal — but this is too much. Not only do these early announcements cause a distraction and affect the team’s performance (Kobe’s Lakers are having the worst season in franchise history), but they also take away headlines from more deserving players and stories. Case in point: On Monday the Red Sox brought out several famous Boston athletes, Ty Law, Bobby Orr and Bill Russell, as well as several high-profile former Red Sox players to celebrate Ortiz’s final opening day at Fenway Park. Ortiz’s daughter sang the national anthem, and the ceremony was beautiful.

What people may have missed during all the festivities is that the Red Sox lost and the opposing team, the Baltimore Orioles, are off to the hottest start in baseball at 6-0.

Call me a traditionalist. Say I don’t have enough respect for some of the all-time greats, but I think that these players are committing an injustice when they announce retirement early. The game has given each of them all so much, there is no need to try and take away extra gifts and headlines. Announce retirement and ride off into the sunset, not ride the bus to the next game.