Andy Pettitte to Retire

Over the last decade and a half, there have been a few players on the Yankees long enough to be remembered as this generations New York Yankees. Derek Jeter is one, Mariano Rivera is the second, and Andy Pettitte is the third. While Pettitte is probably considered to be the least of those three, he was still a good enough player to be considered a threat for every start. As a Red Sox fan, I was always weary of Pettitte. He seemed to always be a thorn in the Red Sox side. At least that thorn has been removed.

Andy Pettitte is set to announce his retirement on Friday ending his 16 year career. All but 3 years of that career was spent with the New York Yankees. He finishes his career with 240 Wins, 138 Losses, a 3.88 ERA, and 2251 Strikeouts. Impressive numbers for the long time Yankees pitcher. His image was marred at one point due to his name coming up in PED investigations. He would actually admit to his faults and ultimately be forgiven by the general public. Perhaps the most notable thing to him, he walks away from the game as a 5 time World Series Champion.

As for a Hall of Fame bid, Pettitte will not be chosen as a first ballot Hall of Famer. In my mind, he will be elected to Cooperstown one day but will have to wait for a number of years. He does not carry the ill will of the public as Barry Bonds or Roger Clemens do and he has the most postseason wins in MLB history with 19. Provided he was a New York Yankee but he still needed to perform during those games in order to get the win and win he did.