Mariano Rivera is a rare Yankees icon. As he approaches retirement, his career and character will be celebrated Sunday at the Stadium with fans cheering and bands playing. But in the often cruel culture of baseball, in the past, many of the most famous Yankees departed unhappily, if not sadly.

Beginning with the most famous Yankee of all, Babe Ruth.

At his best, the Babe was the Yankees. He put the words home run into baseball’s vocabulary, notably a record 60 homers in 1927. When asked if his salary ($80,000) should be more than President Herbert Hoover’s ($75,000), he said: “Why not? I had a better year than he did.” In his 15 seasons, his Yankees teams won seven American League pennants and four World Series.

As the Babe’s career wound down, he wanted to be the Yankees’ manager, but the owner, Jacob Ruppert, insisted on retaining Joe McCarthy. When the Boston Braves’ owner, Judge Emil Fuchs, offered to make the Babe a vice president and assistant manager with a $25,000 salary and a share of the profits to mostly pinch-hit in the 1935 season, the Yankees could not agree fast enough.

The only thanks the Babe got from the Yankees was thanks for the memories. And not long after hitting three home runs for the Braves in a game at Pittsburgh, he decided to retire, saying Fuchs had double-crossed him.