Rivera: 'It would have been done'

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NEW YORK -- Yankees closer Mariano Rivera said that had he been in charge of his bobblehead night Tuesday, he would have gotten the save.

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AP Photo/Kathy WillensBobbleheads honoring Mariano Rivera arrived late to the stadium.

"No, I wasn't [in charge]. Because if I was, it would have been done," Rivera said Wednesday.

The first 18,000 fans attending Tuesday night's game were supposed to receive Rivera bobbleheads as they entered the gates at 5 p.m. ET. But the bobbleheads inexplicably weren't at the stadium yet, so fans received vouchers instead.

The bobbleheads ended up arriving in the third inning, at which point fans began lining up to redeem their vouchers. Lines extended around the ballpark, forcing many fans to wait several innings to finally get their coveted Rivera bobbleheads.

"There were so many things that happened, they couldn't get them on time," said Rivera, who asked the organization about it. "Not that they didn't want to get them on time. There were just so many things -- it's unfortunate so many things happened. Car broke, truck broke, never got here in time."

Rivera said he asked because he heard on television that fans were irate.

He was a bit taken aback by everyone wanting the plastic figurines.

"It's amazing, isn't it? I saw, they showed a view from the outside," Rivera said. "And my god, there were like 1,000 people there. Amazing. Amazing."

Rivera, 43, baseball's all-time saves leader, is retiring at the end of the season.

The Yankees announced that fans holding tickets for Rivera's bobblehead night can redeem them for complimentary tickets to any 2014 regular-season game at Yankee Stadium (subject to availability), excluding Opening Day and Old-Timers' Day.

Thursday night's game against the Tampa Bay Rays will be Rivera's last game in the Bronx.

The Yankees were eliminated from playoff contention with Cleveland's win against the White Sox on Thursday night.

Mike Mazzeo is a regular contributor to ESPNNewYork.com.

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