Thanks for the wonderful career Andy!

[Sam56]

"YANKEES ANDY PETTITTE TO ANNOUNCE RETIREMENT ON FRIDAY

Pettitte, 38, finishes his career with a 240-138 (.635) record and
3.88 ERA (3,055.1 IP, 1,317 ER) in 479 starts over 16 Major League
seasons with the Yankees (1995-2003 and '07-10) and Houston Astros
(2004-06). He is one of just 26 pitchers all-time to complete his
career 100-or-more games over .500. Of the 19 Hall of Fame-eligible
pitchers who have reached that plateau, only "Parisian" Bob Caruthers,
who went 218-99 from 1884-92, is not enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame."

Believe you had at least one more good year left (especially with a good relief core), but it's your decision. Just enjoy those  WS Championship rings you now have.

And from a sixty year Yankee fan, "thank you", you were the second best lefty I ever saw wear those great Yankee pinstripes.

[Gmo11]

One of the greatest Yankee pitchers ever.  He absolutely could have played another year or two if he wanted to but I can't blame him for leaving.  Maybe if Cliff Lee had picked the Bronx and the Yanks were World Series favorites he could have found that "hunger" but as things stand they weren't going to win the whole thing with or without him. I grew up watching him pitch.  He was my first real "favorite" pitcher.  I'm certainly going to miss him now that he's gone.  Its too bad he got caught up in that HGH scandal because the argument of his Hall of Fame status, along with Mike Mussina for that matter, would have been one of the great ones.  Won't be the same without the big guy out there next year.

[vstaj(grizz)]

  GMO,  I wonder about the guy.   He talked about his great friend's exercise regime, he got healthy and bigger on it.  And then all of a sudden he's pulling out and what can only be called "ratting" on his friend and benefactor.   I don't know all the facts, but I think AP got off too easily.

[Gmo11]

It really depends on if you believe what he says or not.  He claims that he used HGH once, while injured, in an effort to get back on the field as soon as possible.  Obviously that could be a bold faced lie, but given the guy I've seen and heard form over the past 15 years I tend to think of him as anything but a liar.  I also think he may well not have known about Clemens use.  Obviously Roger did get up early and have some insane workouts, that much has been documented plenty of times.  He fooled the rest of the American public, why not a teammate as well?  The way I see it, Pettitte is doing nothing more than telling the truth.  I certainly wouldn't ask him to lie to the authorities to protect a XXXXX like Clemens.  All indications are that he's a stand up guy that made one mistake one time and never did it again. That I can forgive.  Clemens, Bonds, McGwire, Sosa, Palmeiro and the like I cannot forgive.

[Sam56]

GMO,

I agree absolutely with your opinion about Andy.

As I said above, "you were the second best lefty I ever saw wear those great Yankee pinstripes".

Of course, Edward Charles "Whitey" Ford was the best lefty I ever saw pitch on the Yankees. Actually, he was the BEST Yankee pitcher I ever saw over the past SIXTY years.

"Ford won 236 games for New York (career 236-106), still a franchise record. Red Ruffing, the previous Yankee record-holder, still leads all Yankee right-handed pitchers, with 231 of his 273 career wins coming with the Yankees. Other Yankee pitchers have had more career wins (for example, Roger Clemens notched his 300th career victory as a Yankee), but amassed them for multiple franchises. David Wells tied Whitey Ford for 13th place in victories by a left-hander on August 26, 2007.

Among pitchers with at least 300 career decisions, Ford ranks FIRST with a winning percentage of .690, the ALL-TIME highest percentage in modern baseball history.

Ford's career winning percentage cannot be attributed solely to being on a good team: The Yankees were 1,486-1,027 during his 16 years; without his 236-106, they had 1,250 wins and 921 losses, for a won-loss percentage of .576. Ford was thus 11.4 percentage points higher than his team's record, independent of his record.

Ford's 2.75 earned run average is the LOWEST among starting pitchers whose careers began after the advent of the Live Ball Era in 1920. Ford's worst-ever ERA was 3.24. Ford had 45 shutout victories in his career, including eight 1-0 wins.

World Series and All-Star Games Ford's status on the Yankees was underscored by the World Series. Ford was New York's Game One pitcher in 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1961, 1962, 1963, and 1964. He is the only pitcher to start four consecutive Game Ones, a streak he reached TWICE.

For his career, Ford had 10 World Series victories, more than any other pitcher. Ford also leads all starters in World Series losses (8) and starts (22), as well as innings, hits, walks, and strikeouts. In 1961 he broke Babe Ruth's World Series record of 29 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings. (The record would eventually reach 33 2/3. It is still a World Series record, although Mariano Rivera broke it as a postseason record in 2000.) Ford won the 1961 World Series MVP. In addition to Yankee Stadium, Ford also pitched World Series games in seven other stadiums:

Ebbets Field (1953 and 1956)
Milwaukee County Stadium (1957 and 1958)
Forbes Field (1960)
Crosley Field (1961)
Candlestick Park (1962)
Dodger Stadium (1963)
Sportsman's Park (1964)
Ford appeared on eight AL All-Star teams between 1954 and 1964."

WHITEY, THANKS FOR THE GREAT MEMORIES!

[Giant Obsession]

Worry not, Andy will be back...late July or early August.

Mike out