Andy Pettitte To Announce Retirement After 16 Years

Baseball, Misc | admin | February 4, 2011 at 8:24 am

Andy Pettitte is announcing his retirement from professional baseball at the Yankee Stadium Friday after 16 years and five World Series championships.
Andy Pettitte is not returning to the New York Yankees next season as he is set to announce his retirement at Yankee Stadium Friday.
Pettitte has made known his decision not to play in 2011 to the Yankees at the end of the 2010 season. He became a free agent and did not negotiate for any contract. He played 13 seasons in pinstripes, briefly leaving the team to pitch for his hometown team, the Houston Astros from 2004-2006.
In the 2010 season, Pettitte had an 11-3 record with an ERA of 3.28 in 21 starts. However, a strained left groin sidelined him for a couple of months from July 19 to September 19. He was a three-time All-Star getting a slot in 1996, 2001, and 2010. He won 20 games in 1996 and 2003 when he had a 21-8 record twice.
Pettitte’s desire to be with his family in Texas was the primary reason for his decision to finally retire. The distance from his family has distinguished whatever is left of his desire to establish more records in New York Yankees history.
Pettitte’s retirement creates a huge hole in the pitching rotation of manager Joe Girardi which has CC Sabathia, Phil Hughes, and A.J. Burnett, who struggled in the second half of the 2010 season. Unable to sign free agent Cliff Lee, the Yankees opted to give Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia minor league contracts while searching for a fourth and fifth starter aside from Ivan Nova and Sergio Mitre.
With a 203-112 win loss record, Pettitte ranks third in the Yankee’s all-time win list next to Whitey Ford and Red Ruffing who had 236 and 231 wins, respectively. His 1,823 strikeouts is second to Whitey Ford in franchise history. He established a record for most playoff wins in league history with 19 wins in 42 appearances and 263 innings.
Pettitte was part of New York’s Core Four—with Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, and Mariano Rivera—that won the World Series in 1996, 1998-2000, and 2009. Outside the Yankees, he pitched in the World Series three more times and led the Houston Astros to a best-of-seven final appearance in 2005. Pettitte pitched and won the World Series finale in 1998 as well as 2009.
Andy Pettitte is set to appear as a witness at the trial of his former teammate “The Rocket” Roger Clemens, who was indicted for lying during a congressional committee hearing where he denied using human growth hormones (HGH).