Welcome Back, Andy! Pettitte Rejoins Yankees On Minor-League Deal
NEW YORK (WFAN/AP) -- Dandy Andy is back!
Andy Pettitte has signed a one-year, minor-league contract with the Yankees, the team announced Friday.
WFAN's Mike Francesa with Yankees GM Brian Cashman
The deal - worth $2.5 million, according to CBSSports.com and WFAN's Jon Heyman - includes an invitation to spring training.
"It's Andy Pettitte," one club offical told Heyman. "How do you say no?"
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said there are no incentives in the deal and that Pettitte - who is expected in camp Tuesday - will only be a starter.
Cashman believes Pettitte will not be ready to break camp with the team when spring training ends early next month.
WCBS 880's Pat Farnack With Yankees Broadcaster John Sterling
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Last month in Tampa, while serving as a guest instructor for manager Joe Girardi, Pettitte admitted that he missed baseball "a little, to be honest.''
"I'm sure I could," Pettitte said when asked if he could still pitch. "You start training, working out and getting yourself into shape. I'd imagine you could."
The 39-year-old lefty retired last February after 16 major league seasons. Pettitte was 11-3 with a 3.28 ERA in 2010, his last year with the Yankees.
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"I retired, I felt, after one of my better years," he said on Feb. 27. "I felt like I was at the point where I just kind of knew what I was doing out there mechanically on the mound, but I retired to be with my family."
The southpaw, one of New York's most dependable postseason pitchers, spent all but three seasons in pinstripes and won five World Series titles with the team.
He returns with a 240-138 career record.
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From the Yankees:
The New York Yankees today announced they have re-signed LHP Andy Pettitte to a one-year minor-league contract with an invitation to Major League spring training.
Pettitte, 39, owns a career record of 240-138 (.635) with a 3.88 ERA (3,055.1 IP, 1,317 ER) in 479 starts over 16 Major League seasons with the Yankees (1995-2003 and '07-10) and Houston Astros (2004-06). He is one of just 26 pitchers all-time to be 100-or-more games over .500. Of the 19 Hall of Fame-eligible pitchers who have reached that plateau, only "Parisian" Bob Caruthers, who went 218-99 from 1884-92, is not enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Originally selected by the Yankees in the 22nd round of the 1990 First-Year Player Draft, Pettitte has pitched 13 seasons with the club, going 203-112 with a 3.98 ERA (2,535.2 IP, 1,122 ER) and 1,823 strikeouts in 405 games (396 starts). In franchise history, he ranks second in strikeouts and starts, third in wins, fourth in innings pitched and eighth in appearances (405). He has appeared in eight career World Series (seven as a Yankee), winning championships with the Yankees in 1996, '98, '99, 2000 and '09.
Among active pitchers currently in a Major League camp, he ranks second in wins, starts and strikeouts, third in innings pitched and sixth in winning percentage (min. 140 decisions).
Pettitte is the all-time winningest pitcher in postseason history, going 19-10 with a 3.83 ERA in 42 career starts. He also ranks first all time in postseason starts and innings pitched (263.0), and is tied for second with 173 strikeouts.
The left-hander last appeared in the Majors in 2010 with the Yankees, going 11-3 with a 3.28 ERA (129.0 IP, 47 ER) in 21 starts and earning an All-Star team selection. His .786 winning percentage was the highest of his career, the best in the AL and the third-highest in the Majors. In the 2010 postseason, he went 1-1 with a 2.57 ERA (14.0 IP, 4 ER) in two combined starts at Minnesota in ALDS Game 2 on October 7, 2010 (W, 7.0 IP, 2 ER) and vs. Texas in ALCS Game 3 on October 18, 2010 (L, 7.0 IP, 2 ER).
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Pettitte, a three-time All-Star (1996, 2001, '10) and 2001 ALCS MVP, holds the distinction of being the only pitcher in Major League history to post a record of .500 or better while making at least 15 starts in each of the first 16 seasons of his career. He also posted a winning record in each of the first 13 seasons of his career (1995-2007), marking the third-longest such streak to begin a career all time, trailing only Hall of Famers Grover Cleveland Alexander (17) and Cy Young (15).
Yankees fans, are you thrilled to see No. 46 again? Sound off below!
