The beginning of the end of an era today. Andy Pettitte has chosen retirement after 16 seasons in the Major Leagues, 13 of them for the Yankees, with whom he won five World Series championships. His 240 career wins are the 13th-most by a left-hander in Major League history. Pettitte won five World Series titles with the Yankees and appeared in three other Fall Classics. In postseason play, he is tied for second in strikeouts (173) with Roger Clemens, 26 behind John Smoltz. His 203 Yankees victories put him third in franchise history, behind Hall of Famers Whitey Ford (236) and Red Ruffing (231), and his 1,823 strikeouts are second to Ford in team history. He ranks 16th all-time for strikeouts by a left-hander with 2,251. He broke into the Major Leagues with the Yankees in 1995, the same year as teammates Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera. They, along with Jorge Posada, who played in one game in 1995 but joined them for good in 1997, became known as the "Core Four" of the team's most recent dynasty that included four championships in five years."It's been a pleasure to play with Andy for all these years, and the Yankees have been fortunate to have him representing the organization both on and off the field," Jeter said in a statement.
"More importantly it's been an honor to get to know him as a person, and I consider him family. I wish for nothing but happiness for him and his family, as I know how important they are to him."
Added Posada: "I'm really sad that Andy is going to retire. He was so much more than a teammate to me - he was one of my closest friends. I admire everything that he has accomplished as a Yankee, but Andy was someone who always put the team first. I'm going to miss him deeply."So today marks the beginning of the end of what is known as the core four. A truly sad day in Yankee universe.
No comments:
Post a Comment