Andy Pettitte
From BR Bullpen
Andrew Eugene Pettitte
(Dandy Andy)
- Bats Left, Throws Left
- Height 6' 5", Weight 235 lb.
- School San Jacinto North Community College
- High School Deer Park High School
- Debut April 29, 1995
- Born June 15, 1972 in Baton Rouge, LA USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Andy Pettitte was one of the best pitchers in the history of the New York Yankees, but remains underrated: he never won the Cy Young Award or an ERA title, or led his league in strikeouts, and was only an All-Star twice. Although he never finished first in major pitching categories, he often was among the leaders. Pettitte achieved an extra measure of fame in 2004 when he moved from the New York Yankees to the Houston Astros, because it was he who gave Roger Clemens much encouragement to come to the Astros with him. After three seasons in Houston, he returned to the Yankees in 2007, winning a fifth World Series ring, and stayed there until his retirement following the 2010 season. On March 16, 2012, he ended his retirement after one year, signing a minor league contract with the Yankees with the understanding that he would be joining the starting rotation as soon as he had worked himself back into game shape.
Pettitte was born in Louisiana in 1972, and attended Deer Park (TX) High School. He was at San Jacinto North Community College for a while. In 1990, he was drafted by the Yankees in the 22nd round, but waited instead until 1991 to sign with the Yankees as a draft-and-follow.
From 1991 to early 1995 he played in the Yankees minor league organization, and never had a losing season. In the rookie league, he had an 0.98 ERA. At Oneonta and Greensboro, he had ERAs around 2.20. In 1993, in Single A and Double A, he had a record of 12-9. In 1994, split between Double A and Triple A, he went 14-4. In 1995, after 11 2/3 innings in Triple A without giving up a run, the Yankees brought him up. As a rookie that season, he went 12-9 and was third in the voting for the 1995 American League Rookie of the Year Award. In 1996, his second year in the majors, he was second in the Cy Young Award voting with a record of 21-8. In 1997, 2000, 2003, and 2005, he was in the top six in the Cy Young voting. He went 19-9 in 2000 and 21-8 in 2003. He was on the All-Star team in 1996 and 2001.
In his entire sixteen-year career in the majors from 1995-2010, he never had a losing season, coming closest in 2008, when he was 14-14 for the Yankees. He pitched in the postseason in 13 of his major league seasons. His last career appearance was a losing start against the Texas Rangers in the 2010 ALCS. Overall, he was 19-10 in the postseason for a .655 winning percentage, even better than his excellent career .635 winning percentage in the regular season.
In his return to the Yankees in 2007, he became the team's elder anchor on the mound, continually giving the team solid performances as teammates such as Mike Mussina, Chien-Ming Wang, Carl Pavano and Philip Hughes battled inconsistency and injuries. He passed the 200-inning mark in both 2007 and 2008. That season, he was given the honor of starting the last game ever played in Yankee Stadium on September 21 - a fitting tribute for one of the winningest pitchers in the history of the famed ballpark. He pitched five + innings against the Baltimore Orioles to earn credit for his team's 7-3 win. In 2009, he was a key figure in his team's conquest of another World Series title, going 14-8 during the season, and getting the series-clinching win in all three rounds of the postseason, including Game 6 of the World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.
His 2010 season was cut short by injury, as he went 11-3 in 21 starts, with a 3.28 ERA, his best since 2005. He came back in time for the postseason, but after the season said he was thinking about retirement. He hesitated for months before making his decision to retire known at a press conference on February 4, 2011. That lasted only a year, as he announced a comeback before the start of the 2012 season. He seemed not to have missed a step, as it barely took a month of extended spring training and a few minor league assignments to get him ready to pitch in pinstripes again. He was called up to New York on May 8th and handed the assignment as the team's starter for May 13th, against the Seattle Mariners. His return came at an opportune time, shortly after the Yankees had learned that prize off-season acquisition Michael Pineda would be lost for the season, and with Yankee starters truggling to a 5.54 ERA in the season's early going. He was a loser in his first start on May 13th, giving up 4 runs in 6 1/3 innings to the Seattle Mariners, including long balls to Justin Smoak and Casper Wells. He was then outstanding in his second start, pitching 4-hit ballm over 8 innings for a 4-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds on May 18th.
Having passed the 200-win mark in his mid-30's, Andy Pettitte still had a chance to reach 300 victories if he had continued pitching a few more seasons when he first decided to hang up his cleats in 2010. Even the 240 victories he had before his comeback, with his high winning percentage and experience with seven World Series teams, could have made election to the Hall of Fame a possibility. However, his comeback, if successful, may well help him accumulate the sort of career statistics that make election to Cooperstown a foregone conclusion.
In 2007, Pettitte was named by the Mitchell Report as having taken Human Growth Hormone. He admitted to having done so shortly thereafter, saying it took place in 2002 while he was trying to recuperate from an elbow injury. In February of 2008, he also admitted to using it in 2004 after getting some HGH from his father in an attempt to recover from a tendon injury. That February, Pettitte also made the news when he said that Roger Clemens had told him that he had used HGH. When confronted about it, Clemens said that Pettitte had not recalled the conversation correctly.
Pettitte and Mariano Rivera set the record for win-save combinations by a pitcher duo, with 58, breaking the mark held by Bob Welch and Dennis Eckersley.
[edit] Notable Achievements
- 3-time AL All-Star (1996, 2001 & 2010)
- 2001 ALCS MVP
- AL Wins Leader (1996)
- 15 Wins Seasons: 8 (1996-1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005 & 2007)
- 20 Wins Seasons: 2 (1996 & 2003)
- 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 10 (1996-1998, 2000, 2001, 2003 & 2005-2008)
- Won five World Series with the New York Yankees (1996, 1998, 1999, 2000 & 2009).
