Yankees: The Five Most Effective Pitchers In Franchise History

Andrew Eugene “Andy” Pettitte  #46

Yankees fans will always remember the image of Andy Pettitte with that black glove up to the bridge of his nose, cap down, his eyes drawn in a menacing stare, looking in to get the sign from his catcher before delivering his next pitched to the batter.

Standing tall at 6’5″, Andy Pettitte was ice on the pitching mound. The stopper, the man who could be counted on to deliver the goods whenever the Yankees needed a solidly pitched game.

An original member of the Yankees Core Four, Pettitte was drafted in the 22nd round of the June 1990 amateur draft. Highlighting his stats, they show that he places third in both wins and WAR. He logged nearly 2,800 innings, facing 11,924 batters over the course of his career. He also has the most strikeouts of any Yankee with 2,020.

But Andy Pettitte’s story is not about the numbers. It’s about Derek Jeter always referring to him as the “Big Guy,” which at a Texas tall 6’5″ he certainly was. And

If Paul O’Neill, The Warrior as George Steinbrenner tagged him, was the heart of those great Yankees teams, then Pettitte was their soul.

And nothing points to that being true more than his 19-11 record in the Postseason. No one in the history of baseball has more. Over eighteen years in a big league uniform, Andy Pettitte never had a losing season. That, too, is a major league record.

And it was that attitude as a winner that he brought to the mound in every start he made, once saying (az quotes):

"“I feel like I should go out there and throw a shutout every time I pitch. If we score one [run] and I give up two, then I didn’t do my job as far as I’m concerned.”"

As a pitcher, he believed that if you put the ball in the right place, you don’t have to throw hard. Which might be a reason for current Yankees like Michael Pineda and Luis Severino to perk up and listen. At times, Pettitte might notch a tick a 91 or 92 on the radar gun. But more often than not, he was throwing that nasty cutter of his an inch or two off the plate, enticing ground outs or lazy fly balls to the outfield.

A deeply religious and family man, Pettitte left the Yankees on his accord to be closer to his wife and kids in the Houston area for three seasons, before returning to the Yankees in 2007 en route to finishing out his career with his first baseball love and a fifth World Championship in 2009.

Pettitte’s career contains some controversy revolving around the steroid era in baseball. Not one to lie, Pettitte admitted to the use of HGH substances. But, as a feature story in the Atlantic Magazine points out, HGH (human growth hormone “is not a steroid, and there’s no evidence it enhances performance.”

The same article goes on to further substantiate by noting that “on the two occasions Pettitte admitted to HGH use, 2002 and 2004, the substance was not banned by Major League Baseball”. Nevertheless, what amounts to a bona fide Hall Of Fame candidacy is now tied up in the courts of human judgment.

Typically, Pettitte himself takes a philosophical (read religious) view of the matter, telling the Huffington Post:

"“Do I feel like I’ve dominated this sport as a pitcher? No,” said Pettitte of his resume, via the Associated Press. “Every outing for me, I feel like has been an absolute grind, to tell you the truth. I mean, when I look at lineups and teams that I’m facing, it seems like every hitter is hitting .300 off of me. So for people to bring that up and for me to know that there’s even a chance at that, it’s just an honor and it’s a blessing to me. And I’m not worried about that.”"

Yes, it was, an absolute grind. Pettitte fought, he scraped, he cajoled, and he manipulated batters. And one other thing, he won critical ballgames for the Yankees time after time.