Andy Pettitte will retire at the end of the season

[BigJJ]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1781180-andy-pettitte-reportedly-will-announce-retirement-on-friday-afternoon?hpt=hp_t2

[Scott Garner]

Great career- over 250 wins, very good winning percentage, ERA pretty good (in the high 3's). Obviously lots of WS rings because he spent the majority of his career with the Yankees....

Without the PED issue, Andy Pettit might have gone into the HOF, but it's close. I suspect that he's certainly not a slam dunk.

All things considered, he's been a lot of fun to watch throughout his career.
Thanks for the memories, Andy!

[MGHPro]

Being a yankees fan, I'd like to think he will be inducted to the Hall. I've been fortunate to meet him a couple of times and he has always been down to earth . I'll certainly miss watching him pitch .

[packs]

In my opinion he is a HOFer. PEDs may hurt his legacy, but he was the definition of a big game pitcher.

For his career he is 19-11 in the postseason including 7 - 2 in the ALCS. That makes him a major reason why those Yankees teams found themselves in the World Series.

He's also 105 wins over losses and pitched his entire career in the toughest division in baseball.

Also a world class nice guy.

[perezfan]

Clutch Pitcher and a very good guy...

If he were on any team other than the Yankees, I would say no to his HOF chances. But having the NY market exposure, it may counter-balance the PED concerns. Only the passage of time will tell how it reflects on this current crop.

[HRBAKER]

Changing his tune on "The Rocket" won't help him with the writers much IMO.
Not a HOFer without that incident anyway IMO, very good pitcher on some extremely good teams. Who knows though, the "halo effect" might get him in.

[z28jd]

I highly doubt he gets more than mild support and stays in the 15-20% range. You figure he is a marginal HOF'er to begin with, then he has two instances of PED's that he admits to. One is bad enough, but he is admitting to two, so who really knows if there isn't more. I think without the PED's, he would have been in the 30% range his first year(and slowly went up), so you have to figure some of those 30% voters aren't going to vote for him now.

I can't imagine he is going to be the one that breaks the pattern for PED guys, way too borderline and it is easier to just say no.

Pretending that he didn't have the PED's, if Jack Morris doesn't get in, how could Pettitte. He wasn't as good as Morris and he will be on his 15th ballot next with a good shot to miss due to the crowded ballot. Blyleven took 15 tries too.

[RichardSimon]

Nine seasons with an ERA over 4.00,,, 3.86 lifetime ERA,,,more hits than innings pitched,,, PEDS.
He is borderline.

[perezfan]

Well written article on the topic, from a respected Writer and HOF Voter...

http://espn.go.com/mlb/blog/_/name/stark_jayson/id/9698927/yankees-left-hander-andy-pettitte-falls-short-cooperstown

[Runscott]

Changing his tune on "The Rocket" won't help him with the writers much IMO.
Not a HOFer without that incident anyway IMO, very good pitcher on some extremely good teams. Who knows though, the "halo effect" might get him in.

I think that if he gets in, it tells us a lot about how the voters feel about the entire PED thing;i.e-"NO" to the liars, "YES" to those who come clean QUICKLY. On the other hand, maybe it opens a door for guys like Palmeiro who were passive liars, unlike Clemens, Rodriguez,etc.

It will be interesting to see how this situation plays out, but we won't know for years.

[z28jd]

I think that if he gets in, it tells us a lot about how the voters feel about the entire PED thing;i.e-"NO" to the liars, "YES" to those who come clean QUICKLY. On the other hand, maybe it opens a door for guys like Palmeiro who were passive liars, unlike Clemens, Rodriguez,etc.

It will be interesting to see how this situation plays out, but we won't know for years.

What do you consider coming clean quickly, because I think people seem to forget what Pettitte actually did. He admitted to using it once the Mitchell report came out and said he never used it any other time than 2002 for an elbow injury.

Then two months later it was announced that in an affidavit he said he also did it in 2004, which is contrary to what he said earlier. That to me isn't coming clean, it's admitting to what was out there and hoping nothing else came out.

That makes me not believe that he only did it twice, maybe he did, but how does anyone know when he lied about it.

No way he makes it. A borderline candidate won't get in with a checkered past.

[D. Bergin]

Yankee fan here:

I say no, but there's no shame in that. There's lot's of excellent pitchers not in the HOF.

Also, regarding general stats throughout his career. Anybody who has watched Andy pitch on a regular basis, knows he has always pitched to the scoreboard.

We all saw his ERA plummet when he went to Houston.

In a close game Andy would battle with guys on base and was known for getting himself out of lots of jams. However, if Yanks had a big lead, Andy was a lot more aggressive and had no problem surrendering home runs and hits in general if it meant getting his team off the field quicker.

When it came to surrendering a lead however, he always knew if was time to batten down the hatches and stem the bleeding himself, instead of leaving it for the bullpen.

I think in today's Sabremetric heavy world, those type of pitchers are under-appreciated. Jack Morris is obviously another who falls into this category. His overall stats are not great when looked at as a whole, but for some reason he's always winning games, keeping his team in the game no matter what the score, and coming through big.........in big games, like a big game pitcher is supposed to do.

[Exhibitman]

Hall of Very, Very Good aka Don Sutton, but w/o the 300 wins. I'd not vote for him absent the PEDs; they make it a slam dunk no for me.

[HRBAKER]

What do you consider coming clean quickly, because I think people seem to forget what Pettitte actually did. He admitted to using it once the Mitchell report came out and said he never used it any other time than 2002 for an elbow injury.

Then two months later it was announced that in an affidavit he said he also did it in 2004, which is contrary to what he said earlier. That to me isn't coming clean, it's admitting to what was out there and hoping nothing else came out.

That makes me not believe that he only did it twice, maybe he did, but how does anyone know when he lied about it.

No way he makes it. A borderline candidate won't get in with a checkered past.

Agree with this, I find it very hard to believe any of these guys "who only did it once." Plus with his flip-flopping on the Clemens saga, I think his candidacy is a done deal already. Add to the fact that he was on the margins w/o the PED usage(s) and the Clemens fiasco, not a HOFer. However by all accounts he seems like a nice guy.

[Runscott]

Hall of Very, Very Good aka Don Sutton, but w/o the 300 wins. I'd not vote for him absent the PEDs; they make it a slam dunk no for me.

I wouldn't vote for him either, but as you point out, the voters took Sutton, and, even worse, Phil Niekro. Regardless of his level of honesty regarding PEDs, I still think it will be interesting to see how the voters react to his career. They've 'spoken' regarding far better players who didn't show a shred of honesty.

[BigJJ]

To me, the saddest thing is that the players union fought for players not to be adequately tested - they thought Not adequately testing the players was in the players' best interest. so the few users at the time could not be caught. How stupid and awful of the players union. What pieces of garbage.

And MLB did not deem steroid usage a priority, relative to other considerations in negotiations. Also stupid and awful.

The two created a system whereby those who did not do steroids were at a big disadvantage relative to those who did.

The worst part is all the kids who then took steroids all the way up the chain. How many lives destroyed because the players union heads and MLB did not enforce a clean game.

The players to me are the least culpable.

Many gave their spirit up - some MLBers their lives up - to support their families and standard of living - by taking substances known to be severely adverse to health.

But the head of the players union and MLB execs have not faced one earthly ramification for their mal-action.

If I were a voting member of the HOF, I don't know if I could vote for a player who crossed certain lines. are such lines certain steroids, but not other substances? what about amphetamines? we know a lot of players may have used and we might want them very much in the Hall. what about corked bats? again very much may want in the Hall.

So far we have said no players who gambled on baseball in the Hall. and we have perhaps said non-muscle-building banned drug users are ok, as well as perhaps cork - all arguable. Steroids we haven't quite worked out. I haven't quite worked it out.

But the one thing I feel is that the heads of the union and MLB during this time should never be admitted. They are the most culpable. They are the ones who broke the rules most clearly - to care for the players - and to care for the game - respectively.

[BigJJ]

For a pitcher to get in the Hall, I think batters must have had the feeling of 'no matter what I do, I may not have a chance in the world of touching the ball'. even if it was just for several years that batters felt that way.

Koufax had that span, Morris had that span, Rivera made it almost the length of his career.

When these pitchers were at their height, batters just thought 'oh boy, please let me get lucky up here'.

[Scott Garner]

Hall of Very, Very Good aka Don Sutton, but w/o the 300 wins. I'd not vote for him absent the PEDs; they make it a slam dunk no for me.

Adam,
Don Sutton= 324 wins, 58 shutouts is definitely HOF worthy... C'mon ;)
Blyleven is a HOF'er, no doubt

FWIW, I would put Jack Morris in the HOF. He was the pitcher of the 1980's.
The guy was an absolute winner as well.

[thetruthisoutthere]

I wouldn't vote for him either, but as you point out, the voters took Sutton, and, even worse, Phil Niekro. Regardless of his level of honesty regarding PEDs, I still think it will be interesting to see how the voters react to his career. They've 'spoken' regarding far better players who didn't show a shred of honesty.

Don't forget Gaylord Perry, too.

[thetruthisoutthere]

I've been a Yankees fan for 50 years, but I will always be objective when it comes to the Hall Of Fame.

He's borderline, and I don't think he will get it.

Great career though and I'm glad he was on the Yankees for the majority of his career.

[Runscott]

Don't forget Gaylord Perry, too.

Sutton, Niekro and Blyleven all belong in the 'Hall of very good' - Gaylord Perry is above them (in my opinion), but not hall-worthy.

It's all just opinion, so hopefully no one gets bent out of shape. I just feel that the HOF should be more exclusive, but it is what it is: the "Hall of Very Good and Better, or Very Popular with the Sportswriters" or the HOVGBVPS

[RCMcKenzie]

I would describe him as a very rich man's Erik Bedard, but I'm just a bitter Astro's fan that is hacked that he went back to NY.

[barrysloate]

I was looking at Pettitte's career stats and there was one number I found astonishing: in 18 seasons, encompassing 255 wins, he pitched....4 shutouts! Just shows you how the game has changed. He also had 25 complete games, which averages to less than one and a half per season. Those are amazingly miniscule totals.

But he was a terrific pitcher who had a wonderful career. Even at 41 he's pitched some really gritty games for a struggling team.

[ibuysportsephemera]

Yankee fan here:

I say no, but there's no shame in that. There's lot's of excellent pitchers not in the HOF.

Also, regarding general stats throughout his career. Anybody who has watched Andy pitch on a regular basis, knows he has always pitched to the scoreboard.

We all saw his ERA plummet when he went to Houston.

In a close game Andy would battle with guys on base and was known for getting himself out of lots of jams. However, if Yanks had a big lead, Andy was a lot more aggressive and had no problem surrendering home runs and hits in general if it meant getting his team off the field quicker.

When it came to surrendering a lead however, he always knew if was time to batten down the hatches and stem the bleeding himself, instead of leaving it for the bullpen.

I think in today's Sabremetric heavy world, those type of pitchers are under-appreciated. Jack Morris is obviously another who falls into this category. His overall stats are not great when looked at as a whole, but for some reason he's always winning games, keeping his team in the game no matter what the score, and coming through big.........in big games, like a big game pitcher is supposed to do.

Mets fan but I appreciated Pettitte for the reasons that Dave mentioned. I don't think he gets in...the stats aren't there.

Jeff

[Jim65]

Close but not a HOF'er, but when Andre Dawson and Bert Blyleven made it, nothing ever surprises me anymore.

[RichardSimon]

I think that if he gets in, it tells us a lot about how the voters feel about the entire PED thing;i.e-"NO" to the liars, "YES" to those who come clean QUICKLY. On the other hand, maybe it opens a door for guys like Palmeiro who were passive liars, unlike Clemens, Rodriguez,etc.

It will be interesting to see how this situation plays out, but we won't know for years.

I don't think Pettitte came clean until after the Mitchell Report outed him.

[D. Bergin]

I was looking at Pettitte's career stats and there was one number I found astonishing: in 18 seasons, encompassing 255 wins, he pitched....4 shutouts! Just shows you how the game has changed. He also had 25 complete games, which averages to less than one and a half per season. Those are amazingly miniscule totals.

But he was a terrific pitcher who had a wonderful career. Even at 41 he's pitched some really gritty games for a struggling team.


Yeah, Pettite is certainly a curious case of a modern day workhorse or innings eater who never really completed games. I'm sure a majority of that had to do with the general Yankees philosophy throughout most of his career of just getting to the 7th or 8th inning and handing it over to a usually dominant bullpen.

Andy didn't like giving in to batters in close games either, so he would throw a lot of pitches during most at bats, trying to get guys to chase, nibbling at the corners, giving up lots of walks and singles. Probably a reason why his WHIP was never really an impressive number outside of that one great year with Houston.

[barrysloate]

Yeah, Pettite is certainly a curious case of a modern day workhorse or innings eater who never really completed games. I'm sure a majority of that had to do with the general Yankees philosophy throughout most of his career of just getting to the 7th or 8th inning and handing it over to a usually dominant bullpen.

Andy didn't like giving in to batters in close games either, so he would throw a lot of pitches during most at bats, trying to get guys to chase, nibbling at the corners, giving up lots of walks and singles. Probably a reason why his WHIP was never really an impressive number outside of that one great year with Houston.

I still can't get used to seeing a pitcher throw say seven shutout innings, then get yanked for a reliever. The philosophy of sticking with a hot pitcher rarely applies today. Why not let the guy finish the shutout?

[RichardSimon]

We all saw his ERA plummet when he went to Houston.



He had three seasons in Houston,, ERA 3.90, 2.39, 4.20

Plummet? I would not say so.

[RichardSimon]

This thread is a good example of why the game of baseball is still great.
I know roids, money, long term contracts, etc. but it is still a great game of mostly marvelous athletes.
I am a football fan (Jets, ugh) don't get me wrong, but do the merits of football players get this kind of stuff written about them.

[D. Bergin]

He had three seasons in Houston,, ERA 3.90, 2.39, 4.20

Plummet? I would not say so.


Well, it was only 2 full seasons, and one of those numbers really stands out. His only other comparable year with the Yankees would have been 1997.

[D. Bergin]

I still can't get used to seeing a pitcher throw say seven shutout innings, then get yanked for a reliever. The philosophy of sticking with a hot pitcher rarely applies today. Why not let the guy finish the shutout?

They are really conscious about pitch counts nowadays, to the point there are now controversies about guys staying in to finish no-hitters, forget about shutouts.

[RichardSimon]

They are really conscious about pitch counts nowadays, to the point there are now controversies about guys staying in to finish no-hitters, forget about shutouts.

Can you picture any manger now trotting out to the mound and telling Gibson, Drysdale, Marichal, Spahn and any one of many, many pitchers that they are out now because they are at 100 or so pitches.
I think not.
As much as I still enjoy the game of baseball, the pitch counts and the DH are still awful and should not be a part of the game. I am glad that I mostly watch games where there is no DH.

[RichardSimon]

Well, it was only 2 full seasons, and one of those numbers really stands out. His only other comparable year with the Yankees would have been 1997.

True but his ERA soared nearly two runs a game in his second full year in the NL when they started to figure him out.

[Scott Garner]

I still can't get used to seeing a pitcher throw say seven shutout innings, then get yanked for a reliever. The philosophy of sticking with a hot pitcher rarely applies today. Why not let the guy finish the shutout?

Specialized pitching has completely changed the way that the pitching component of a team is now managed. I do not believe that it is to the benefit of the game FWIW. Unfortunately the horse has left the barn and I don't see this trend changing any time soon...

[perezfan]

Specialized pitching has completely changed the way that the pitching component of a team is now managed. I do not believe that it is to the benefit of the game FWIW. Unfortunately the horse has left the barn and I don't see this trend changing any time soon...

This is sad to me as well. If a pitcher is hot and shows no signs of diminishing... leave him in for God's sake! I have seen so many games blown by rigid managers who have some pre-determined philosophy. Go with the flow of the game, dammit!

And why is the "closer" always saved for just the 9th inning? Anyone who really watches baseball knows that the most critical inning can be the 7th or 8th (based on how many are on base, the # of outs, who's due to bat, righty/lefty matchups, the spot in the line-up, etc.)

I have seen so many games won or lost in the 6th/7th/8th innings, in which the manager saved his "closer" for absolutely no purpose. They should play to the actual situation and critical points in the game... not some pre-scripted vision of how they think it will play out. :mad:

[Runscott]

Can you picture any manger now trotting out to the mound and telling Gibson, Drysdale, Marichal, Spahn and any one of many, many pitchers that they are out now because they are at 100 or so pitches.
I think not.
As much as I still enjoy the game of baseball, the pitch counts and the DH are still awful and should not be a part of the game. I am glad that I mostly watch games where there is no DH.

Funny you should mention Marichal. The first game my Dad ever took me to - in 1968 - Juan Marichal pitched a complete 11 inning game, beating the Houston Astros.

[HRBAKER]

Richard,

I'm with you, I hate the DH.
It has a "beer league softball" smell to it to me, all apologies to Edgar Martinez and David Ortiz aside.

[Runscott]

Same here. The pitcher is one of the nine positions on the team - they all are required to hit. If you have pitchers who hit well, you have an advantage - it's part of the strategy of the game. I have despised the DH since its inception.

[BigJJ]

Agree regarding the DH

[Jay Wolt]

I like the Yankees & Pettitte but that won't help him for the Hall Of Fame.
He won't get in.
If he does, his 3.86 ERA would be the highest ERA in the Hall Of Fame.
I think Morris, Kaat & maybe even T.John deserves it more then him, and these 3 are borderline.

[Orioles1954]

I value pitchers who starred in the American League at a higher level than those of the National League where one nearly automatic out is slotted into the lineup. I think both leagues will eventually go to the DH with support from both the league and player's union.

[baseball tourist]

Same here. The pitcher is one of the nine positions on the team - they all are required to hit. If you have pitchers who hit well, you have an advantage - it's part of the strategy of the game. I have despised the DH since its inception.

I disagree about the DH and do admit that I come from an AL hometown. Watching the game is entertainment, akin to watching a movie or attending a concert for me. I want to see the best talent at the plate, see some hits; not bunt after bunt and strikeout after strikeout. There are very few good hitting pitchers and the "easy out" they add by batting in the NL is to me, disappointing