“Back in Pinstripes and on Mound, but Only for Fun.”
So read The New York Times’ headline when word got out that Andy Pettitte — winner of 240 big league games, five-time World Series champ, and the man who had started more games as a Yankee than anyone but Whitey Ford — was making his way to spring training in 2012. The 39-year-old, who had retired after the 2010 season, was the latest in a long line of legends transitioning gracefully into an elder statesman of the game. Pettitte had gamely volunteered to throw some batting practice to the current team, a role that everyone understood as more tongue-in-cheek than consequential. “I’m not looking to coach anybody or anything,” said the retiree. “If guys want to ask me questions or anything, then obviously I’ll be more than happy to talk to guys. I’m here to hang out and mess around.”
A couple of weeks later, Andy Pettitte was no longer messing around. Instead, he was putting pen to paper and signing on for his 14th season in pinstripes.
Andy Pettitte
Signing Date: March 6, 2012
Contract: One year, $2.5 million
As one of the most famous Yankees in modern memory, the average fan probably already knows the story of Andrew Eugene Pettitte. But before getting to March 2012, we’ll offer an abridged refresher.
Born in Baton Rouge in 1972 and raised just outside Houston, Pettitte performed well enough at Deer Park High School to catch the eye of the Yankees, who selected him as a draft-and-follow pick in the now-defunct 22nd round of the 1990 MLB Draft. After spending another year pitching for San Jacinto College North, Pettitte signed with New York in 1991, beginning a long and deeply fruitful partnership. The southpaw rose quickly through the ranks, excelling at each level of the minor leagues until earning his promotion to the Yankees in 1995. He was effective immediately, winning 12 games and posting a 4.17 ERA in 175 innings en route to a third-place Rookie of the Year finish—and the first of 44 career playoff starts.
If 1995 was an encouraging debut for Pettitte, ’96 was his coming out party. The 24-year-old went 21-8 with a 3.87 ERA, finishing second to Pat Hentgen for the Cy Young and helping the Yankees to their first championship in nearly 20 years, a run that included one of the signature performances of his career. Fresh off a seven-run drubbing at the hands of the defending champion Braves in Game 1 of the World Series, Pettitte rebounded to outduel future Hall of Famer John Smoltz, twirling 8.1 innings of scoreless ball on the road to win a crucial Game 5 in Atlanta.
Pettitte remained a key cog in the Yankees’ rotation throughout their dynasty run, starting 276 games between 1995-2003 while maintaining a sub-4.00 ERA in an era of high-flying offense. When he became a free agent after the ‘03 season, however, the team’s front office slow-played negotiations, failing to make a formal offer during their window of exclusive negotiations with their homegrown starter. “He’s come this far,” GM Brian Cashman said matter-of-factly. “He’s going to go out and find out what his market is first. He’s going to elect free agency.”
Pettitte’s camp expressed bewilderment at the lack of momentum towards a long-term deal. He was hearing very little from owner George Steinbrenner too, which was a bit insulting with the owner not hesitating to try to woo the likes of Gary Sheffield. “They keep saying he is their No. 1 priority,” said Tom Pettitte, Andy’s father. “’We’ve been hearing that since that day we left. If 14 days goes by before you even call someone you’re interested in, you’re dragging your feet. That doesn’t seem like a whole lot of interest to me.”
Whether due to this breakdown in negotiations or an interest to return home to Texas, on December 11th Pettitte agreed to sign a three-year, $31 million deal to join the Astros. The Yankees had reportedly scrambled to make a higher offer, but by then, Pettitte had already given his word to Houston. By way of explaining his decision, in clear contrast to his view of the Yankees’ negotiations with him, the newest Astro said simply, “They really wanted me here.”
While injuries limited Pettitte in his first season in Houston, he had a monster year in 2005, posting a career-best 2.39 ERA in 33 starts while helping lead the team to their first-ever National League pennant. After a strong follow-up campaign, the veteran was once again on the open market. Upon evaluating his options—including returning to Houston and retiring—Pettitte made the decision in December 2006 to rejoin the franchise with which he’d found his greatest success, signing a one-year deal for his age-35 season with a player option for the following year. That turned into four years back in New York, a renaissance during which he secured his fifth ring in 2009 while winning the clincher in each round of the playoffs.
Following the 2010 campaign, Pettitte hung up his spikes, ostensibly content to leave baseball behind. There was even a press conference to announce his retirement in February 2011.
But the door never fully closed.
Cashman engaged Pettitte in December 2011 about a possible comeback, reportedly offering him between $10 million and $12 million. He demurred until spring training, by which point contractual commitments limited Cashman’s offer to a $2.5 million, minor-league deal. But, after spending time with the team at spring training and some encouragement from Mariano Rivera — who, upon seeing his longtime teammate in Tampa, reportedly “pinned him against a wall and implored him, ‘Let’s go!’” — Pettitte threw a secret bullpen session. The itch was back.
YES Network’s Jack Curry reported the news of the stunning un-retirement, causing a social media stir:
“I expect to be as good as I was,” Pettitte said when combatting concerns about his age and long layoff. “I don’t think I’m going to fail.” His GM expressed similar confidence. “I know what a healthy Andy Pettitte from the left side can do,“ said Cashman. ”We’re all in, and he’s all in.”
The other reviews on Pettitte’s return were mixed. With CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda, Freddy Garcia, Ivan Nova, Michael Pineda, and Phil Hughes already slated for rotation spots, adding the aged Pettitte seemed likely to block the ascent of young starters in favor of what, to some extent, was an unknown quantity. As The New York Times’ Tyler Kepner wrote at the time, “grooming young starters for sustained success is tricky enough as it is. Adding another veteran, no matter how revered, could make it even harder.”
Some of Pettitte’s new teammates seemed to agree. In light of the new competition created by the franchise icon’s signing, Hughes somewhat dejectedly said, “I worry about things I can control. What’s going to happen is going to happen. It is what it is.” When asked if he thought the signing would be good for the Yankees, Pettitte’s fellow veteran Garcia said, “I don’t know. Ask the people. I don’t know. I guess.” Not exactly a ringing endorsement.
Of course, as the old saying goes, you can never have too much pitching. Pineda would miss the whole season (and the next one) with a shoulder injury. Garcia saw his ERA balloon to 5.20 as he lost his spot in the rotation. And Pettitte himself would be limited to 12 regular-season starts after beginning the year late as he stretched out in the minor leagues and subsequently missing time with a broken fibula sustained on a Casey Kotchman comebacker. Still, when on the field, he was sharp as ever, using his pitching smarts and guile to post a 2.87 ERA that was his best mark as a Yankee.
Pettitte returned in time to make two more playoff outings, both of which were quality starts at age-40, though the team was swept out of the postseason by the Tigers in the ALCS.
Pettitte returned for one last ride in 2013, making 30 starts and ending his career once and for all with yet another homecoming, tossing a complete-game victory over the Astros in Houston in his final start. That year was about Mariano Rivera’s farewell tour, but Pettitte’s fate was unclear until he broke the news in September that he’d be walking away as well.
Pettitte’s legacy in pinstripes begins with his incredible model of consistency, both in the regular and postseason, over 15 seasons in baseball’s toughest market. But surely, too, a part of his legacy is his multiple reunions with the Yankees, first from Houston and then out of retirement. They paint a picture of a tenacious competitor who charted his own path, with love for both his home state of Texas and his adopted city of New York.
The Yankees retired Pettitte’s No. 46 in 2015, cementing that legacy among the greatest players in their franchise’s history. His 2012-13 comeback was just another fun chapter in his remarkable journey — the cherry on top.
See more of the “50 Most Notable Yankees Free Agent Signings in 50 Years” series here.
