MLB's most memorable final at-bats

There are few better ways to put a final stamp on your career than producing a memorable moment in your last MLB plate appearance.

Whether it's Derek Jeter's final at-bat at Yankee Stadium or Roberto Clemente reaching 3,000 hits in his final at-bat, there have been plenty of iconic endings for some of the all-time greats.

Here are some of baseball's most memorable final at-bats.

Joe Mauer: Sept. 30, 2018

Mauer's final career at-bat couldn't have been any more fitting. If you had to pick one image to represent one of the best hitting catchers ever, it would probably be of Mauer roping an opposite-field line drive. And that's exactly how he capped his 15 years with the Twins -- by lining a double into the left-center-field gap in front of 30,144 fans who'd come to Target Field to give him a deserving farewell.

The most memorable moment of Mauer's finale wasn't even hit No. 2,123, though. It was Mauer gearing up behind the plate for the first time since 2013 to catch one final pitch in the ninth inning, after his concussion issues had forced him to give up catching.

Derek Jeter: Sept. 25 / Sept. 28, 2014

The Captain conjured two memorable final-at-bat hits, displaying his clutch ability to the very end. The first moment might as well have been ripped from a Hollywood script: The Yankees led the Orioles, 5-2, in their home finale and Jeter trotted out to shortstop in the top of the ninth for what he assumed would be the final time. But Baltimore tied the game on Steve Pearce’s two-out homer, and the Yankees went to the bottom half with Jeter due up third. Jose Pirela singled and Brett Gardner bunted him to second, setting up Jeter for a dramatic walk-off single that sent reverberations throughout the Bronx.

It would have been the perfect ending for one of the most famous careers in recent history -- but the Yankees still had one final series in Boston. Jeter suited up for the final two games and went a combined 2-for-4, ending his career with an infield single and a sizable applause from the rival Fenway crowd.

Chipper Jones: Oct. 5, 2012

When Chipper came to bat with two outs and the Braves trailing by three in the bottom of the ninth inning of the 2012 NL Wild Card Game, the fans at Turner Field knew it might well be the franchise icon's final at-bat. Before he stepped in, the 40-year-old future Hall of Famer doffed his helmet to the crowd, as the 52,631 in attendance gave him a long ovation. Jones kept the Braves' hopes alive for one more batter with an infield single up the middle.

Mike Piazza: Sept. 30, 2007

Piazza wasn't a Met anymore when he wrapped up his Hall of Fame career at age 39, he was with the A's, but the 28,062 fans in attendance in Oakland for his finale showed plenty of appreciation. Piazza's last at-bat came leading off the bottom of the ninth inning of a tie game against the Angels, and he ripped a line-drive single to right. The A's pinch-ran for Piazza, prompting a nice ovation from the Coliseum crowd. Piazza's hit was the start of a game-winning rally, as pinch-runner Shannon Stewart scored on a Kurt Suzuki single to give the A's the walk-off.

Julio Franco: Sept. 17, 2007

Franco, incredibly, was 49 years old when he took his final Major League at-bat. That came as a pinch-hitter for the Braves in a mid-September game against the Marlins at Turner Field. Franco flared a line-drive RBI single to right field, making him one of just six players in MLB history to record a hit at age 49 or older.

Albert Belle: Oct. 1, 2000

The fearsome slugger was forced into early retirement at age 34 because of hip injuries. But his last at-bat was a big one. Belle crushed a homer to left field in the eighth inning of the Orioles' regular-season finale against the Yankees at Camden Yards, with 47,831 fans in attendance in Baltimore. It was the 381st home run of Belle's 12-year career.

George Brett: Oct. 3, 1993

Royals fans knew the 40-year-old franchise legend would be retiring at the end of the 1993 season, and he got a fitting farewell at Kauffman Stadium just before the Royals hit the road for their last series against the Rangers. In Arlington for the regular-season finale, Brett came up in the top of the ninth in front of a cheering crowd of 41,039. The Hall of Famer, who played all 21 years of his career for Kansas City, brought the fans to their feet with a single up the middle, his 3,154th hit. The announcer's call: "Base hit! George Brett singles in his last at-bat. Wow. Way to go, George."

Gary Carter: Sept. 27, 1992

Carter's exuberance and passion for the game endeared him to both Expos and Mets fans during his Hall of Fame career. At age 38, Carter returned to Montreal for one final season and tearfully announced his retirement two days before his final game at Olympic Stadium.

Carter came up to bat in the seventh inning of a pitchers' duel against the Cubs and, on an 0-2 count, lined a double to right field over the head of his former teammate Andre Dawson. The hit drove in Larry Walker with what would prove to be the game-winning run, and Carter had one last signature moment in front of the Montreal faithful.

Reggie Jackson: Oct. 4, 1987

Reggie had returned to the A's in 1987 at age 41 for the final season of his Hall of Fame career, and he finished it on a high note. His last game was on the road at Chicago's Comiskey Park, but there were plenty of A's fans among the crowd of 15,083 to see Jackson play for the last time.

The ovation was long and loud as Jackson stepped in for his last at-bat, and he tipped his helmet to the crowd as "Reggie!" chants broke out. Jackson knocked a clean single into center field, and saluted the fans one more time from first base as they gave him another ovation.

Hank Aaron: Oct. 3, 1976

Baseball’s longtime home run king ended his career with a single, and it was only right that it drove in a run for his club. The 42-year-old Aaron hit a two-out, infield single off Detroit’s Dave Roberts in the sixth inning to get the Brewers on the board, notching his 2,297th and final RBI.

Roberto Clemente: Sept. 30, 1972

Clemente joined the 3,000-hit club in his final regular-season at-bat. Only 10 players had previously reached 3,000 hits before Clemente dug in against Mets starter Jon Matlack at Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Stadium, and he had a chance to become the first Latin American player to join the club.

Clemente laced a double off Matlack in the bottom of the fourth and came around to score the first run of the game. None other than Willie Mays ran over to the Pirates’ dugout to congratulate Clemente during the next inning, and the Pittsburgh legend took the rest of the week off to rest for the postseason. Clemente went 4-for-17 in the Bucs’ National League Championship Series loss to the Reds, and he tragically passed away on New Year’s Eve while flying to Nicaragua to deliver goods to earthquake victims.

Stan Musial: Sept. 29, 1963

Legendary broadcaster Harry Caray was behind the microphone when Stan The Man smacked his final hit -- an RBI single that drove in teammate Curt Flood at Busch Stadium. Cardinals manager Johnny Keane brought in Gary Kolb to pinch-run for Musial, capping off a day in which the team retired Musial’s No. 6. Musial’s final hit added a bit of symmetry to his career statistics: 1,815 hits at home and 1,815 on the road.

Ted Williams: Sept. 28, 1960

This is the most famous send-off in baseball history. Though the crowd at Fenway Park on this rainy afternoon was only 10,000 or so, thousands more Bostonians would claim in the years to come that they were there to see Teddy Ballgame homer in his final at-bat.

Williams drove a 1-1 pitch from Orioles pitcher Jack Fisher deep to the canopy behind Fenway’s famous center-field triangle, eliciting cheers from the Boston crowd. There was even a four-minute delay as fans begged Williams to come out for a curtain call, but he remained in the dugout. Williams then trotted out to left field for the next half-inning before manager Mike Higgins summoned him back in for a defensive replacement, giving fans one more chance to cheer for the Red Sox hero.

Mickey Cochrane: May 25, 1937

Unlike many of the other names on this list, few recognized when Cochrane homered off Yankees pitcher Bump Hadley that it was his last Major League at-bat. Cochrane was just 34, regarded as the game’s best catcher and was set to log his ninth season with an average above .300. His career came to an abrupt end, however, two innings after his home run when Hadley’s pitch hit him in the head and fractured his skull in three places. Cochrane would make one exhibition appearance the following year, but would never appear in another regular-season game. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1947.