Rivera also seemed to appreciate the gifts

Jimmy Crupi and John Colombo have been working the security detail in the Mets visitors bullpen for more than 20 years, so that means they were on duty the first time Mariano Rivera showed up for work at Shea Stadium on June 26, 1998, the night he would earn his first save in Queens.

For the next 15 years the two men, especially Crupi, developed a bond with Rivera, a player they both consider to be the finest gentleman, and among the most good-natured pranksters, they have encountered in their work.

Rivera has forged relationships with various bullpen security guards from New York to Anaheim, but he seemed to hold a special affinity for Crupi.

Rivera, the Yankees 43-year-old closer who has said he will retire after the season, noted Tuesday at a news conference held by the Mets to honor him that Citi Field if full of familiar faces, including Crupi’s.

“I have a lot of good friends, actually, here at the stadium,” he said. “I have one in the bullpen, Jimmy. Jimmy is my man, there.”

Colombo confirmed the special affinity that Rivera holds for Crupi, even in enemy territory.

“Mo loves him,” Colombo said. “You should see, when he sees Jimmy, he just lights up. Jimmy’s been his guy for years.”

Crupi first started working at Shea in 1980 when Rivera was a schoolboy in Panama. He moved into the bullpen a few years later and has been there since the inception of the Subway Series at Shea in 1998. He called Rivera, “a hell of a nice guy,” who always asks about his family and jokes around with him. He said he never once saw Rivera refuse an autograph request from a fan and always treated everyone around him with respect.

“He was never a guy with his nose up in the air,” Crupi said. “He’s a lot of fun to be around.”

Crupi and Colombo seemed especially taken with Rivera’s sense of humor and willingness to include the guards in his pranks.

One time Colombo said he had an encounter with a fan that could have escalated into an incident. He said the fan was throwing peanuts at him and they kept hitting him. After the first one Colombo looked up into the stands and issued the fan a warning to stop. He got hit a second time and in a more stern tone told the fan that if it happened again, he would have to come into the stands and deal with it directly.

By the time the third peanut hit him, Colombo noticed Rivera, sitting nearby, doubled over and laughing hysterically. Rivera had been the culprit all along, stealthily flicking the peanuts at Colombo while pretending to be looking at the field.

But Rivera also enjoyed being on the other end of lighthearted jokes. Crupi and Colombo recalled the story of the grounds crew worker, who was also friendly with Rivera during his time at Shea and Citi Field.

One day the worker asked Rivera if he would sign a baseball for him, and Rivera quickly agreed. In the back hallways where Rivera could not see, he assembled several dozen empty boxes of balls (each one holds nine balls), enough to have taken hours to sign. He piled the empty boxes on a cart and wheeled them into the bullpen when Rivera was not looking.

The worker then approached Rivera, standing in front of the boxes so that Rivera could not see, and handed the closer one pearly white baseball. Rivera signed it. He thanked him and then told Rivera he had a few more for him to sign, stepping aside to reveal the cart with the stack of boxes. Rivera’s jaw dropped at first before he realized the boxes were empty.

“He laughed and laughed for like 10 minutes,” Colombo said. “He thought it was great.”

Rivera also seemed to appreciate the gifts the Mets gave him Tuesday to commemorate what was expected to be his final game at Citi Field, a start delayed more than an hour by rain. Being called the greatest fireman of all time, Rivera was given a mounted nozzle from a New York City Fire Department fire hose, presented by Jeff Wilpon, the Mets chief operating officer; and a mounted fire call box, presented by New York City Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano.

Wilpon noted that Rivera usually throws the last pitch in games, but asked him to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Tuesday’s game. Rivera said he would be honored. He pitched to John Franco, and the scoreboard read, “Congratulations on a Hall of Fame Career.”

“Mariano, we’ve watched you for so many years,” Wilpon said. “It’s a great honor to have you here for the last time. I wish we could see you in the World Series, but I’m not sure that’s going to happen.”

The Mets were 10 games under .500 going into Tuesday’s game, but Rivera politely said, “You never know.”

Wilpon shrugged and said: “We could get on a run. The fact is it’s been great to watch you. We just really want to celebrate your last year.”

When Crupi heard that Rivera had mentioned him in front of about four members of the news media, he was humbled, but not surprised; nor was Colombo.

“I’ve been doing this for 25 years,” Colombo said, “and I can say without hesitation he’s the best man I’ve ever met in baseball.”