Pettitte returns to the Yanks

2PLAYSMAX · Mar 16, 2012

Andy Pettitte returning to Yankees

Yankees Sign Andy Pettitte

Andy Pettitte is returning to the Yankees, after signing a 1-year, $2.5 million minor league contract.
Tags: Andy Pettitte, New York Yankees
TAMPA, Fla. -- Left-hander Andy Pettitte is coming back to the New York Yankees.

Pettitte, who retired before last season, has signed a one-year minor league contract with an invitation to spring training, the team said. The deal is worth $2.5 million, baseball sources told ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney.

Pettitte started 21 games in 2010 for the Yankees, going 11-3 with a 3.28 ERA. He was 14-8 with a 4.16 ERA in 2009, his last full season.

Pettitte, who is 39, had spent a couple days in Yankees camp as a guest instructor this spring. And last Friday, when he was in Orlando for a charity event for his church, Pettitte went to the Braves' facility and threw batting practice to the Yankees in uniform.

Pettitte was originally selected by the Yankees in the 22nd round of the 1990 amateur draft. He has the second-most strikeouts (1,823) and games started (396) in franchise history and ranks third all-time among Yankees pitchers in wins, with 203.

Pettitte announced his retirement on Feb. 5, 2011, saying he "didn't have the hunger, the drive that I felt like I needed" to continue pitching in the big leagues. He turned down a $12 million offer in the process.

Pettitte's Place

Andy Pettitte's back in pinstripes. Where does he rank among all-time Yanks?
50 Greatest Yankees Rank 'Em

That announcement came as a trial date loomed for Pettitte's former teammate, Roger Clemens, on charges he lied to Congress when he said he had never used performance-enhancing drugs.

Pettitte, who had admitted publicly to using human growth hormone on two occasions to recover from injuries, was expected to testify at Clemens' trial, which ended in a mistrial before he could take the stand. But Pettitte insisted when he retired that his potential role as a witness played no role in his decision.

Jury selection for Clemens' new trial begins on April 16.

Pettitte has compiled a 240-138 record and a 3.88 ERA in 13 seasons with the Yankees and three with the Houston Astros. He is a three-time All-Star, a two-time 20-game winner and a member of five Yankees world championship teams.

Betallsports · Mar 17, 2012

I'm Semi-Happy that he's coming back. Wanted him back Last year.

Akillies · Mar 17, 2012

His attitude and leadership worth the $2.5, even if he never throws one pitch

red007 · Mar 17, 2012

i thought he wanted to spend more time with his wife and kids.

douglas · Mar 17, 2012

red007 said:
i thought he wanted to spend more time with his wife and kids.

guess he realized how much that sucks

Doug · Mar 17, 2012

I think he will have a decent season and a winning record, maybe like 13-8.

5teamparlay · Apr 4, 2013

In line to win career start #246.

5teamparlay · Aug 24, 2015

### retired congrats:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/spor...veil-plaque-in-monument-park/article26067891/

<figcaption>Andy Pettitte waves to the crowd at Yankee Stadium on Aug. 23. The left-hander was 19-10 in the postseason throughout his career, collecting the most playoff wins by a pitcher in MLB history. (Kathy Willens/AP)</figcaption>[h=1]Yankees retire Andy Pettitte’s No. 46, unveil plaque in Monument ParkAdd to ...[/h]CHARLES O’BRIEN
NEW YORK — The Associated Press
Published<time datetime="2015-38-24T00:08:02Z" pubdate="">Sunday, Aug. 23, 2015 8:38PM EDT</time>

Andy Pettitte would often glare down opposing hitters from the mound, his hat pulled tightly over his forehead and his glove shielding his face from the batter, so only his eyes were visible to those watching the tall lefty from Texas.
That intensity was gone Sunday. Instead, Pettitte was visibly emotional as the Yankees retired his No. 46 one day after long-time teammate Jorge Posada was honoured by New York.
<aside class="entry-sidebar lt1322526 s2of12"><figure><figcaption></figcaption></figure>[h=6][/h]
</aside>Pettitte was surrounded by teammates, family, friends and cheering Yankees faithful as the organization unveiled his plaque in Monument Park at Yankee Stadium during a pregame ceremony.
He also made a nearly 12-minute speech.
“A little over 20 years ago, I sat in the old Yankee Stadium bullpen; we were playing the Texas Rangers,” Pettitte said. “I had made the team out of spring training as a left-handed reliever and I sat there and looked around and said ‘Wow, this is absolutely amazing.’ Looking back on that day, I could never have imagined, 20 years later, the most storied franchise in sports history would be honouring me in such a way.”
The Indians weren’t nearly as accommodating to the Yankees on Sunday, however. Francisco Lindor homered off Dellin Betances in the eighth, Trevor Bauer threw 6 1/3 strong innings and CC Sabathia exited with an injury as Cleveland defeated New York 4-3.
Carlos Santana homered off Sabathia for the Indians, who have won five of their past six games at Yankee Stadium. Sabathia departed in the third inning with right knee pain.
Although Pettitte was the only member of New York’s “Core Four” not to spend his entire career in pinstripes – he spent three seasons with the Houston Astros – Pettitte was with the Yankees for 15 years, building a 219-153 record with a 3.85 ERA. Pettitte has the most wins of any left-hander in the franchise’s illustrious history and his 2,020 strikeouts are the most for any pitcher. Despite his outstanding regular-season numbers, Pettitte was even better in the postseason, going 18-10 with New York during their brilliant stretch in the late 1990s and 2000s.
When combined with the one victory Pettitte had in Houston’s 2005 playoff run, his 19 postseason wins are a major league record.
New York was without a championship team since 1978 before winning one in 1996, Pettitte’s second season in the majors, and then won three in a row from 1998-2000. Pettitte won his fifth championship with the Yankees in 2009.
“He had that ability to always dial it up when we needed him and I tell you what, that’s a guy that you want to be around and that’s a guy that you want on the mound in pivotal games,” said Yankees manager Joe Girardi, who was a teammate and manager to Pettitte.
A 22nd-round draft pick by New York in 1990, Pettitte – whose No. 46 was also briefly worn by Don Mattingly – retired as a three-time all-star and the most valuable player of the 2001 American League Championship Series.
Pettitte is linked with Mariano Rivera, Posada and shortstop Derek Jeter in the “Core Four,” so it was fitting that Pettitte share his weekend with Posada. Those two came up through the organization together and made their major league debuts during the 1995 season. According to a tweet sent out by Elias Sports, they combined for a 100-51 record as the starting battery for New York.
“What makes today even more special for me is to be able to share this weekend with my teammate, my catcher and my friend Jorgie,” Pettitte said. “Do you remember back in Oneonta, 24 years ago? That we’d be having a weekend like this is absolutely crazy.”
Among his many gifts, Pettitte received a jewelled base, signed by all of the on-field attendees of the ceremony and presented by Rivera. According to STATS Inc., the 72 victories earned by Pettitte that ended in a Rivera save is a major league record. The pair also combined for 11 in the postseason.