I was never a big fan of Andy Pettitte. For one, he was a Yankee. And I always thought he was overrated. Plus, I could never remember how many Ts are in his name.
But he did have a pretty nice career. He played 18 seasons with a 256-153 record and a 3.85 ERA. He started 531 games, 521 starts, and is 41st all-time in games started. He had a 60.7 bWAR, good for 63rd all-time among pitchers.
He was third in 1995’s Rookie of the Year voting. The following year, he went 21-8 with a 3.87 ERA, coming in second in Cy Young voting (Pat Hentgen won it that year in a very close vote). He would win 21 games again in 2003.
Pettitte pitched nine seasons with the Yankees and then signed with the Astros as a free agent. After three years there, he returned to the Yankees. Andy played there for five years and then ‘retired.’ After sitting out the 2011 season, he returned to the Yankees for two more seasons. In 2013, Andy went 11-11 with a 3.74 ERA in 30 starts at age 41. After that, he retired for good.
Andy won five World Series rings, four with the Yankees and one with the Astros. He holds MLB playoff records for wins (19), starts (44), and innings (276.2).
And, of course, there was some controversy. Pettitte admitted using human growth hormones to “help recover from elbow surgery.” He said Roger Clemen’s trainer got it for him. He also stated that Clemons used PEDs. That must have made them closer friends.
I’m curious if that affects his vote total from the Writers. He played into his 40s, suggesting he may have had more help than just recovering from elbow surgery.
He also had a bit of a run-in with Cito Gaston when Gaston didn’t use him in the 1996 All-Star game.
It is Andy’s seventh time on the ballot. Last year, he was on 13.5% of the ballots, and he’s been in that 10% to 20% range throughout his time on the ballot.
His career numbers are here.