Evaluating Yankees’ chances to make Baseball Hall of Fame after 2021 ballot reveal

Yankees: The Special Hall of Fame Case of Andy Pettitte

Andy Pettitte: 55% Chance

Andy Pettitte has earned his own slide from me here. I believe that Pettitte deserves a spot in my personal Hall of Fame, which is unfortunately not something I’ve been granted by the board of directors to build. And for that I’m sorry.

For me, though, it seems the recent inductions of players like Harold Baines and more so Jack Morris have tipped the scales above 50-50 in favor of Pettitte getting enshrined eventually, though I doubt it’ll happen before several more cycles of the Veterans Committee for his era.

As time passes, legacy matters more. Advanced stats show Morris as a compiler, and someone whose numbers never matched his reputation for being a big-game ace; in fact, he only appeared in the postseason once in his prime, and his resume is buoyed by 1991 World Series Game 7 and…that’s pretty much it.

Pettitte, though, for his lack of spectacular regular season success, does have an actual laundry list of postseason accomplishments to match his reputation. 19 wins, 44 starts, a regular season-matching 3.85 ERA, and the victor in every single clincher during the team’s ’09 World Series run as a 37-year-old. And don’t discount Pettitte’s ’05 run with the Astros, too, as much as we’d like to forget that ever happened.

For the record, there’s nothing to be ashamed of about a 256-153 regular season record, either. From someone who believes Bernie Williams should be inducted, too, I heartily endorse Pettitte. But after looking in the mirror for a while, I truly do believe the baseball world will join me on this issue…in a few decades.

Yankees: 4 NYY Legends Who Deserve More Hall of Fame Consideration

The New York Yankees have enshrined plenty of Baseball Hall of Famers, but these four deserve to reenter the conversation.