Andy Pettitte

Andrew Eugene Pettitte (born June 15, 1972) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily for the New York Yankees.

He also pitched for the Houston Astros.

Pettitte won five World Series championships with the Yankees and was a three-time All-Star.

He ranks as MLB's all-time postseason wins leader with 19.

Pettitte was born on June 15, 1972, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

He is of Italian and Cajun descent, and the younger of two children born to Tommy and JoAnn Pettitte.

He moved to Texas while in the third grade.

Pettitte attended Deer Park High School in Deer Park, Texas, where he pitched for the school's baseball team.

His fastball ranged from between 85 –.

Pettitte also played center and nose guard for the school's football team.

Recruited by San Jacinto College North in Houston, Texas, he opted to play college baseball when coach Wayne Graham compared him to Roger Clemens.

Pettitte was drafted by the Yankees organization in 1990, and he signed with them roughly a year later.

Pettitte established himself as one of the "Core Four" players who contributed to the Yankees' late-1990s dynasty that produced four championships.

The Yankees selected Pettitte in the 22nd round, with the 594th overall selection, of the 1990 Major League Baseball draft.

As Pettitte enrolled in a junior college rather than a four-year school, the Yankees retained the right to sign him as a draft-and-follow prospect.

On May 25, 1991, he signed with the Yankees, receiving an $80,000 signing bonus ($0 in current dollar terms), double the Yankees' initial offer.

In 1991, Pettitte pitched for the Gulf Coast Yankees of the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League and Oneonta Yankees of the Class A-Short Season New York–Penn League, making six starts for each team.

With Oneonta, Pettitte teamed up with catcher Jorge Posada, his longtime batterymate, for the first time.

Pettitte threw a knuckleball at the time.

Posada struggled to catch the knuckleball, prompting Pettitte to abandon the pitch.

In 1992, Pettitte pitched for the Greensboro Hornets of the Class A South Atlantic League.

He pitched to a 10–4 win–loss record and a 2.20 earned run average (ERA), with 130 strikeouts and 55 walks, in 27 games started.

That season, Pettitte and Posada first played with Derek Jeter.

Pettitte pitched for the Prince William Cannons of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League in the 1993 season, finishing the year with an 11–9 record, a 3.04 ERA, 129 strikeouts, and 47 walks in 26 starts.

He also made one start for the Albany-Colonie Yankees of the Class AA Eastern League during the season.

Pettitte began the 1994 season with Albany-Colonie, where he had a 7–2 record and 2.71 ERA in 11 starts, before receiving a promotion to the Columbus Clippers of the Class AAA International League.

With Columbus, Pettitte had a 7–2 record and a 2.98 ERA in 16 starts.

After debuting in the major leagues in 1995, Pettitte finished third in voting for the American League (AL) Rookie of the Year Award.

In 1996, he led the AL with 21 wins and was runner-up for the AL Cy Young Award.

Two years later, he was the Yankees' Opening Day starter.

He won the most games of any pitcher in the 2000s.

Pettitte won the 2001 AL Championship Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award in helping his team win the pennant.

After spending nine seasons with the Yankees—a stint in which he won at least 12 games each season—Pettitte signed with the Astros in 2004.

He rejoined the Yankees in 2007 and later that season admitted to using human growth hormone to recover from an elbow injury in 2002.

Pettitte's second tenure with the team lasted six seasons, interrupted by a one-year retirement in 2011, and also produced a fifth World Series championship in 2009.

He retired after the 2013 season.

Pettitte's pitching repertoire included a four-seam and cut fastball and several off-speed pitches such as a slider, curveball, and changeup.

A left-handed pitcher, he had an exceptional pickoff move to first base, which allowed him to record 98 career pickoffs.

Among Yankees pitchers, Pettitte ranks first in strikeouts (2,020), third in wins (219), and tied for first in games started (438).

The Yankees retired his uniform number 46 and dedicated a plaque to him in Monument Park in 2015.