MLB insider has huge Hall of Fame prediction for Yankees legend Andy Pettitte

With every day that passes before the arrival of Jan. 21, it seems even likelier that Yankees stalwart CC Sabathia will defeat preexisting perceptions head-on and earn first-ballot election to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Some thought his bloated ERA (never mind the era he played in) would be held against him. Others thought the voting body would be sticklers about his playoff numbers or his lack of hardware. Instead, it seems that nobody's playing any games this winter: Sabathia's an obvious Hall of Famer who deserves to be rewarded, so why make him wait?

And speaking of making someone wait, MLB insider Ken Rosenthal believes that Sabathia's election will mark a double dose of good news for Yankees fans, paving the path for another fabled pinstriper to gain admission to Cooperstown.

As Rosenthal explained in the Monday column that accompanied his 2025 ballot, he decided not to vote for Pettitte alongside Sabathia this year the same way that he paired inseparable teammates Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins in recent winters. However, he does believe that the similarity between the two candidacies will eventually make Pettitte's case more appealing in his final three years of BBWAA ballot consideration, especially after Sabathia is ushered into the Hall's hallowed halls.

"I suspect that if Sabathia sails into Cooperstown, Pettitte’s candidacy will gain strength, with three years of eligibility remaining," Rosenthal noted, after comparing Pettitte's ERA+ to Sabathia's (17% better than his peers vs. 16%, respectively) and contrasting their postseason numbers.

Yankees' CC Sabathia making it to Cooperstown could pave Andy Pettitte's Hall of Fame path

The criticism against Pettitte here, as it usually is in similar discussions, is his lack of regular season accolades. He was a three-time All-Star in an 18-year career. He finished second for the Cy Young only once, based mostly on accumulating wins in 1996. He didn't have Sabathia's gaudy strikeout numbers or larger-than-life persona as an effective differentiator.

But whether he was more "plowhorse than racehorse" (as Jay Jaffe noted) or not is rendered somewhat irrelevant by his sterling postseason work. After all, what is more showy than being an integral part of October success? If all that grinding gave way to 19 playoff wins in 44 starts, and a 3.81 ERA in 276 2/3 October innings, then it was all worth it.

Sabathia is the clearer candidate, but Pettitte -- who already seems likely to jump significantly from 13.5% of the vote last year to 32% this year (pre-"public vs. private" dip) -- appears poised to make a late-eligibility push, buoyed equally by his similarities to Sabathia and the differences in their postseason workloads.

Now, can we reevaluate Jorge Posada while we're at it, too?