Yankees manager Joe Girardi went onto the field to sign autographs. Mike Mussina and Alex Rodriguez posed for photos with rooters. Joba Chamberlain even took fans’ cell phones and shouted messages to their family and friends.

Larsen, David Wells and David Cone — the three pitchers who threw perfect games in Yankee Stadium — all stood on the mound during the ceremony. Larsen, whose gem was the only one thrown in a World Series, thought about his former teammates.

“I’m missing a lot of the guys who are gone and not able to join us,” he said.

Williams had his car circle the ballpark one last time before he walked in.

“All the memories that I have here, I know that I’m going to have to keep them in my head because this place is not going to be any longer,” Williams said. “There is a part of me that feels very sad about watching the stadium go.”

New York didn’t plan it this way as it prepared to move next year to a new Yankee Stadium, a $1.3 billion sports palace rising across 161st Street that will be filled with $2,500 seats, a martini bar, steak house and art gallery. The Yankees won 26 World Series championships after moving into their big ballyard in the Bronx, and had hoped to close the Stadium with another title.

Thousands of police and security filled the worn aisles to ensure the fans didn’t walk away with the ballpark’s guts — which will be sold piece by piece to collectors. Many fans have been arrested and screwdrivers confiscated during the past week.

“I’d like to try and get two seats,” said Bartow, the early-arriving fan. “They’re going for a couple thousand dollars. It’s going to be tough, but I may have to do it because, you know, we have to.”

The Bartows lingered on the field for 1 hour, 15 minutes, taking pictures they’re certain to cherish. When it was time to climb the steps back to the stands, father and daughter turned to exchange a final-day kiss.

Berra, a 10-time champion often considered the greatest living Yankee, didn’t really need any more souvenirs — although he said he wouldn’t mind leaving with the final home plate of the ballpark he loved.

“I hate to see it go,” he said. “It will always be in my heart.”

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