Andy Pettitte's Kid Throws a No-No

 

Not long after dad Andy got done throwing a 24-pitch batting practice session on Friday in Tampa, Josh Pettitte put on his own pitching display.

The Deer Park (Texas) High School senior no-hit the Boerne Champion Greyhounds 9-0, scattering 10 strikeouts and walking just one.

"What a fun game to be apart of," the 6'1" righty said on Twitter following the game. 

But probably equally as fun...the congratulatory messages the young Pettitte received from his dad's New York Yankees teammates.  I mean, it's not every day that a Texas high schooler gets tweets from CC Sabathia, Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain, right?

Pettitte is heading to Baylor University in the fall having made his intentions known this past November.

"Josh knows how to pitch. He has a great presence on the mound and command of three pitches," Deer Park coach Chris Rupp said. "He is a good student with a good work ethic and will only continue to get better. Josh is very coachable and will be a good college pitcher.”

Last season, as a junior, Pettitte went 4-0 with a 0.89 ERA, striking out 32 in 23 innings pitched.

 
 

Andy Pettitte to Start Sunday

After his brief retirement, Andy Pettitts is set to make his return Sunday when his New York Yankees play host to the Seattle Mariners.

In his four starts in the minors, the 39-year-old gave up 10 runs in 17 innings.  He struck out 13 and walked just three. This will be his first start at the Major League level since he took the mound against the Texas Rangers during the 2010 postseason.

“If there’s a gap between the old Andy Pettitte and what we’re going to get, I don’t know yet,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told the media. “It’ll be nice to get another healthy arm in the mix.”

When Pettitte initially called it quits, the lefty left with a 240-138 record and a 3.88 ERA. His 203 wins as a Yankee ranks third behind Hall of Famers Whitey Ford (236) and Red Ruffing (231) all-time.

His 240 wins place him behind only Colorado Rockies pitcher Jamie Moyer on the active wins list.

Andy Pettitte is Coming Back

Well...that didn't last long, now did it?

According to numerous reports, pitcher Andy Pettitte is coming back to New York.

The Yankees have signed Pettitte to a one-year minor league deal, according to the YES Network's Jack Curry, who reports the deal is worth $2.5 million. Pettitte, 39, had been in camp as a special guest instructor. At that time, he admitted that being around the Yankees might raise the temptation of a comeback.

When he called it quits thirteen months ago, the lefty left with a 240-138 record and a 3.88 ERA. His 203 wins as a Yankee ranks third behind Hall of Famers Whitey Ford (236) and Red Ruffing (231) all-time.

Countdown to Cooperstown: Class of 2016 (so far)

The three years prior to the 2016 induction could, based on the "who's in" and "who's out" arguments, be some of the most explosive years the Baseball Hall of Fame has ever seen.

Thankfully, the first ballot guys of the potential Class of 2016 might bring it all back down to Earth.

However it all shakes out, 2016 also looks to be the third year in a row that someone could argue a unanimous selection. And while no one will ever get 100% of the vote...it is hard to believe that anyone would not vote for the two pitchers mentioned or Ken Griffey Jr.

IN.

Ken Griffey Jr.

When Griffey finally gets into the Hall of Fame, it'll be the final step of an epic journey that started on Opening Day 1989.  But what can be said about Junior that you don't already know?  630 career home runs, 1836 RBI and 2781 hits pretty much make him a shoe-in.  And if that isn't good enough...how about ten Gold Gloves, 13 All-Star Game appearances and that 1997 American League MVP award?  Yeah...thought so.

Trevor Hoffman.

Hoffman is a tricky one.  If he was on the ballot this year, he'd make it in based on the fact that he is the all-time saves leader and the only closer in the history of the game with more than 600 saves.  Five years from now, however, he'll be second to Mariano Rivera.  Now, the Hall of Fame has been unkind to some other closers (Lee Smith anyone?)...but I have a feeling that Hoffman and his 601 saves eventually make their way to Cooperstown.

OUT (in random order).

Garret Anderson.

The Angels' franchise leader in just about every offensive category, Anderson quietly put together one of the better careers of the last 20 years.  That said, there's no way dude gets into the Hall of Fame.  Simply put, while his .293 batting average, 2529 career hits and 522 doubles are the mark of a great career...there are too many others that fared much better.

Mike Hampton, Bobby Howry, Randy Winn, Troy Glaus, Luis Castillo, Mike Lowell, Brad Ausmus, Mark Grudzielanek and Mike Sweeney.

ON THE BUBBLE.

Andy Pettitte.
Alright, how soon until people completely forget Pettitte's admission to using steroids?  I only ask because while some of his contemporaries while be left out in the Cooperstown cold, there are plenty of people out there that believe the five-time World Series champ has done enough to be enshrined.  What do I think?  I love the rings, his post season prowess and his 240-138 career record...but the 3.88 ERA and only 2251 isn't impressing me.

Billy Wagner.

It's quite possible that after Mariano Rivera surpasses Trevor Hoffman as the all-time saves leader, the career of Wagner will begin to come into focus.  Right now, he sits fifth all-time in saves (with 422) and carries with him a 2.31 career ERA...half a run better than Hoffman.  And while I'm saying Hoffman is "IN" and Wagner is "On the Bubble"...I'm not so sure that Wagner doesn't get in first.  We'll see.

Jim Edmonds.

"Jimmy Baseball" is one of those players that if, in 2016, he got 50% or 5% I wouldn't be surprised.  His numbers, while pretty good, aren't great.  But then again...you can plenty worse than his eight Gold Gloves and 393 home runs. 

So there you have it, gang...your week-long look ahead at the next five years of first ballot-eligible Hall of Famers comes to a close.  In case you missed any of them, check them out.

Monday:  2012
Tuesday:  2013
Wednesday:  2014
Thursday:  2015


 

Hey, Andy Pettitte...Just Go Away!

A few months ago, I specifically remember New York Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman telling pitcher Andy Pettitte not to "Favre" them.

Well, perhaps inspired by the Bombers latest attempts to turn back the clock (see: Andruw Jones, Bartolo Colon, Mark Prior, Eric Chavez, et. al.), Pettitte apparently is considering, in the words of L.L. Cool J's "Mama Said Knock You Out"..."a triumphant comeback".

This from the Chicago Tribune:

Andy Pettitte, 38, has told friends he definitely won't pitch this season but isn't ruling out 2012. The Yankees would love to have him back, whenever he's ready.

Now, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm tired of the continuous "will he" or "won't he" questions that swirl around any big name player after they retire.

The 38-year-old lefty ended his 16-year career this past February with a 240-138 record and a 3.88 ERA. His 203 wins as a Yankee ranks third behind Hall of Famers Whitey Ford (236) and Red Ruffing (231) all-time.

More local DBT News as it develops.

Andy Pettitte Calls it Quits...Cooperstown Next?

In a word.  No.

But, first...let's digress.

On Thursday, came word that New York Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte was going to end all the "is he coming back" or "isn't he coming back" speculation and...not come back.

This...from the New York Post:

Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte will announce his retirement at a press conference Friday morning at Yankee Stadium, ending a storied career and leaving a gaping hole in the 2011 team.

Pettitte called Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner on Wednesday to let him know he was retiring, then flew to New York on Thursday. The Yankees did not try to talk him out of retirement.

“He just doesn’t have the fire in the belly anymore,” a source familiar with Pettitte’s thinking said.

The 38-year-old lefty ends his 16-year career with a 240-138 record and a 3.88 ERA.  His 203 wins as a Yankee ranks third behind Hall of Famers Whitey Ford (236) and Red Ruffing (231) all-time.

Finally...the Hall of Fame debate can officially begin.  And if you consult that same New York Post piece and poll...a tad more that 70% of Post readers think he belongs.

Me?  I'm a "no"...and I've made my case before.

But what's the talk on Twitter?

@raymondbolduc: just for the record, if there's a debate about whether or not Andy Pettitte's a first-ballot HOF'er, i will not understand why.

@VzSports: Is Pettitte a HOF'er? 240 wins, ERA under 4 in the live ball era, and 19 post season wins. Not 1st ballot, but he gets in.

@InClementeWthr: How is it that Bagwell can't get HOF support b/c of mere suspicion of PED use (with no evidence) but people think Pettitte should go in?

@kingrichcomedy: Gotta admit ... 1st ballot HOF, no matter what. Pettitte retiring after 16 seasons

@PCarrESPN: If you take away his postseason, Pettitte's not close to HoF. Playoffs do count for something, but not that much.

@Smokey1920: pettitte has to be hof most all time post-season 200+ wins 5 titles not first ballot but he's in

As you can see...it is rather varied.  So, now I am asking you.  What do you think...is Andy Pettitte a Hall of Famer?  GO VOTE!

Yankees to Andy Pettitte: "Don’t Favre Us"

With Mark Prior and Andruw Jones in the fold and rumors of adding Kevin Millwood and/or Freddy Garcia popping up across the interwebs...does it seem out of place that the New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman was addressing a Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce breakfast earlier in the week?

Seriously, Cashman...a New Jersey Chamber of Commerce breakfast? 

I've been to a number of those things and while I always pretend to be interested to learn the new, exciting goings on of local "officials"...they're pretty boring.

But then, according to The Trentonian.

Wait...Trenton's newspaper is actually called The Trentonian?

Anyway...according to The Trentonian, the former wunderkind dropped the following:

“Andy has talking about being home for years,” said Cashman. “Being from Texas and having to be in New York for six months out of the year can be hard because he has kids and he’s missing important time with them. He’s opting not to play right now but that might change it might not. I told him don’t ‘Brett Favre’ us. You got to be all in and fully dedicated to play. Do I need him? I need him, but I don’t want him to play if his heart’s not in it.”

Interesting that Cashman dropped a "Favre" into conversation given it was Pettitte's former best friend Roger Clemens who used to jerk the Yankees around every offseason.  I dunno...asking Pettitte to not be a "Clemens" would seem to be more apt.

Now, this is the point where most sites would go the route of a Brett Favre dong reference...but The Hall will refrain.

Instead, it needs to be pointed out that if/when Pettitte returns, his 240 wins will rank him second behind Jamie Moyer (267 wins) on the active list.  Additionally, with 2251 strikeouts, the lefty is third behind Moyer (2405) and Javier Vazquez (2374) among active hurlers.

Andy Pettitte Dazzles in Double-A Start

The high school I went to has had only a handful of guys go on to have any sort of athletic success at the collegiate level.

When I was a junior (or was it my senior year...who can keep track at this point?), I remember one of our school's best basketball players coming back, camping out in the gym and taking part in whatever P.E. class he could.

In all my tall and awkward splendor, I was always the guy who got to guard the Division I standout and, suffice it to say, it never ended well for me.

Somehow...I doubt I did anything to help out dude's game either.

That said, I know exactly how Shawn Bowman and Jonathan Diaz must've felt when they found out that taking the mound against them in their Game Two tilt against the Trenton Thunder Yankees was going to be none other thanAll-Star Andy Pettitte.

Somewhere there has to be a rule against that, right?

I understand that when big leaguers come back from injury, they often will do rehab in the minors. But is it fair that Pettitte and his 240 career victories (or any big league veteran for that matter) gets to trot out to the mound for a Double-A playoff game?

I mean, this is a cat who has 18 career MAJOR League playoff wins. How is possible that, during the first round, he can be added to the Trenton Thunder's playoff roster?

If I'm the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (the Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays)...I'm crying foul.

Not surprisingly, the 38 year-old lefty threw four scoreless innings and struck out four. He surrendered just two hits and didn't walk a soul. My guess is that Pettitte (coming back from an injury or not), probably has a little more control of his pitches than whoever should have taken the mound.

The Fisher Cats will try to stave off elimination Friday night, but thankfully for them...it appears that they won't have to take their cuts against a 16-year big league veteran.

That is, of course, assuming that the Yankees don't decide to send C.C. Sabathia to Capitol City to get in some extra tosses.

Andy Pettitte Makes Yankees History

Seven years ago, the Houston Astros made history, sending a record six pitchers to the mound to no-hit the New York Yankees. And of the 266 that have been thrown since 1875, it still stands as the last combined (there have been nine total) no-no.

But my how things have changed since June 11, 2003.

Since that 8-0 drubbing, the Yankees have rattled off four straight wins versus the 'stros, winning by a combined score of 29-10.

When Andy Pettitte took the hill Friday night against the aforementioned Astros, he was looking to cross a few items off his list.

Right out the gate, it was going to be his first start against the only other team he played for. If you recall, Pettitte followed his buddy (and fellow Texan) Roger Clemens to Houston for three seasons starting in 2004 and ending in 2006.

Since it was going to be Pettitte's first start against his former club (coincidentally one of two teams he's never faced...the other being the Yankees), he was looking to add another name to the long list of teams he's beaten. In case you were wondering, the Chicago Cubs are the only team the 37 year-old has faced that he hasn't beaten.

And lastly, coming in at 199-110 in pinstripes, the lefty was angling to become just the third pitcher to reach 200 wins in Yankees pinstripes, with Hall of Famers Whitey Ford (236) and Red Ruffing (231) being the other two.

Suffice it to say, Pettitte nailed down number 200 Friday night with a 4-3 win or else this whole diatribe would be moot. But historically, what does 200 wins for one team mean for a player?

There are now five teams that have had three or more pitchers tabulate 200 or more victories with them. Both the Braves and Giants franchises have had five, Detroit has had four and the Indians are tied with the Yankees at three apiece. Interestingly enough, that accounts for close to two-thirds of the pitchers that have reached the milestone with one teams.

Of the now 31 pitchers who have accomplished the feat in one uniform, all but six (Hooks Dauss, George Mullin, Mickey Lolich, Mel Harder, Charlie Root and Wilbur Cooper) have made it to the Hall of Fame with another two (Tom Glavine and John Smoltz) not yet eligible.

So what does that mean for Pettitte?

Does 200 wins for the Bronx Bombers grant him a one-way ticket to Cooperstown like it did Ford and Ruffing or does it just ensure that his number 46 will safely be tucked away in Monument Park alongside other Yankees legends?

It's tough to say right now, but you can bet that my stance hasn't changed since I first posted it back in December.

Andy Pettitte re-signs with Yankees

Andy Pettitte re-signs with Yankees

Last year, Andy Pettitte signed a one-year $5.5 million dollar contract and added to it another $5 million in incentives.

Today...the veteran lefty got a pay raise when he signed a GUARANTEED one-year $11.75 million dollar deal to stay with the New York Yankees.

And with that, we're subjected to another season of "is Andy Pettitte a Hall of Famer" talk.

You see, anytime that a Yankee has the success that Pettitte has had, particularly on the biggest stage possible (Hell, I even read “Jorge Posada for the Hall of Fame” stories following the World Series)…there is going to be talk.

Unlike Posada (who is NOT a potential Hall of Famer), with Pettitte, it is hard to discern at first glance, whether or not it is warranted.

Sure, you can do what Colin Linneweber at Bleacher Report did a couple months back and simply state “Andy Pettitte is a Hall of Fame Pitcher” and cite solely his winning percentage (.629) World Series rings (now five) as the reason.

But you’d be dead wrong and come across as not very knowledgeable.

The problem with Colin’s statements are many. Most noticeably, is the fact that five rings with the Yankees isn’t THAT impressive (David Cone has five rings and can’t sniff Cooperstown, Paul O’Neill has the same amount and won’t see the mandatory five percent to stay on the ballot) and the winning percentage (while impressive) is only good for ninth among active players.

Sure, a 229-135 record is good, don’t get me wrong, but in an era where Pettitte competed alongside such Hall of Fame shoe-ins as Greg Maddux (355 wins), Roger Clemens (354), Tom Glavine (305) and Randy Johnson (303)…being 63rd all-time isn’t turning any heads.

Now, while it is true that there are those in Cooperstown (Catfish Hunter has 224 wins) or on the verge of getting there (Pedro Martinez is at 219), but they both have something Pettitte never brought home.

Hardware.

If you’ve read anything here at The Hall, you know I’m big on the accolades and unlike Hunter and Martinez who have four Cy Young Awards and 11 top four finishes between them…Pettitte only once came close to sniffing the award.

In 1996, his second year in the bigs, Pettitte finished 21-8 and could easily have been considered the ace on a staff that guided the Yankees to 92 wins and a World Series ring. That is the same year, he grabbed 11 first place votes and finished second to the Blue Jays Pat Hentgen.

Ironically, if Mariano Rivera doesn’t get a first place vote and it goes to Pettitte…the big Texan brings home the award.

All that aside, I can’t belittle a guy for his lack of Cy Young Awards and paltry two All-Star appearances when he has a fist full of rings and the most victories in postseason history.

And how about those 18 postseason wins that everyone (myself included) seems to eventually bring up?

Pretty impressive, right?!?

Wrong.

No one ever brings up that he also has the most starts (40) and third most losses (nine) all-time in the postseason. Bless me with having the best closer ever behind me and an offense that produces runs at an All-World clip and I, too, will win close to two-thirds of my starts.

I guarantee it.

Now, I want to go back to the regular season and call out the two biggest gorillas in the room…ERA and strikeouts.

Pettitte’s career ERA is 3.91.

Let me repeat that. Pettitte’s career ERA is 3.91 and if he would happen to make it to the podium for that hot July speech, he would go in with the highest ERA (by far) of anyone else enshrined.

It can be defended that this is a hitters’ era, but when you look at the guys I mentioned before (Maddux, Clemens, Glavine and Johnson), the highest ERA in the bunch is Glavine’s 3.54 and while not spectacular…300-plus wins and 2700 Ks will help garner a few votes.

The baseball writers are silly like that.

And what about Pettitte’s strikeout totals?

While he was never considered a power pitcher (his 2.8 walks per nine innings shows he was more of a control guy), his 2150 strikeouts isn’t likely to turn many heads when it comes to a Hall vote.

Strikeouts, like home runs, are a stat that voters can look at and qualify based on certain, pre-determined benchmarks.

For example…all but one eligible player (Mark McGwire) with more than 500 home runs is in the Hall. Similarly, there is only one eligible pitcher (Bert Blyleven) with more than 3000 strikeouts that is on the outside looking in.

Failing to meet some of the minimum requirements, if you will, won’t help Pettitte earn any favors.

Lastly, there is that press conference from February 2008 where he admitted to using HGH while playing in New York in 2002 and with the Astros in 2004.

Would Pettitte have come out and admitted use had he not been fingered by both former teammate Jason Grimsley and former trainer Brian McNamee? Probably not.

Would he have come clean had he not been one of the biggest names to have been named in the Mitchell Report? Probably not.

Can we be sure that those were the only times that Pettitte used the drugs and his reasons were legitimate? Probably not.

Will the writers forget all this when it is Pettitte’s time to face the jury and be selected for enshrinement? Say it with me…probably not.

As it is, the BBWAA has only had one player to vilify so far and while he, Mark McGwire, was only suspected of using performance enhancers, odds are he is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to NOT allowing substance abusers (or those suspected of being one) into the Hall of Fame.

My gut tells me that, if, for some reason, Pettitte’s numbers upon retirement garner him any sort of Hall of Fame consideration (and honestly, I am not sure they will), his coming clean about steroids won’t help his cause.

And since you made it this far in my re-hash of an old Pettitte post, I am obligated to finish this thing with the trite…“the Winter Meetings are going on in Indianapolis”.

Now, I know you knew that already…but isn’t that much better than spending the last sentence of an “is Andy Pettitte a Hall of Famer” talking about how steroids will likely be the biggest contributing factor as to why Pettitte does not get into the Hall?

Wait…I think I just did.

And in other news...the Yankees won

All in all…the World Series was pretty entertaining. I am not a fan of either teams, but still, I was really, REALLY looking forward to last night’s Game Six.

All day, I was bouncing around work telling people how “epic” I thought Pedro Martinez versus Andy Pettitte was bound to be.

And it should have been.

I mean, here they are…448 and 235 (a staggering .656 winning percentage) for their stories careers, a combined 3.42 ERA, 5304 strikeouts and the eyes of Philadelphia and New York watching their every pitch.

In the past, Pedro had allowed the Yankees to be his “Daddy”…could he exorcise those demons?

With his Game Three victory, Pettitte became the all-time leader in postseason wins with 17….could he add to that total?

And after all, this was a Game Six and as we know, ANYTHING can happen and often times (ask the 1975 Red Sox, 1986 Mets or the 1993 Blue Jays)…it does.

So there I was, ready to call it a night, watch some baseball and grant myself a reprieve from contributing to anything online when I received the following tweet from good friend of The Hall (and frequent contributor over at Full Count Pitch) David Allan:

“Can we stop with the Pettitte for Hall of Fame love fest?”

My fear is that no, we can’t…and won’t.

Anytime that a Yankee has the success that Pettitte has had, particularly on the biggest stage possible (Hell, I’ve even been reading “Jorge Posada for the Hall of Fame” stories lately)…there is going to be talk.

Unlike Posada (who is not a potential Hall of Famer), with Pettitte, it is hard to discern at first glance, whether or not it is warranted.

Sure, you can do what Colin Linneweber at Bleacher Report did and simply state “Andy Pettitte is a Hall of Fame Pitcher” and cite solely his winning percentage (.629) World Series rings (now, five) as the reason.

But you’d be dead wrong and come across as not very knowledgeable.

The problem with Colin’s statements are many. Most noticeably, is the fact that five rings with the Yankees isn’t THAT impressive (David Cone has five rings and can’t sniff Cooperstown, Paul O’Neill has the same amount and won’t see the mandatory five percent to stay on the ballot) and the winning percentage (while impressive) is only good for ninth among active players.

Sure, a 229-135 record is good, don’t get me wrong, but in an era where Pettitte competed alongside such Hall of Fame shoe-ins as Greg Maddux (355 wins), Roger Clemens (354), Tom Glavine (305) and Randy Johnson (303)…being 63rd all-time isn’t turning any heads.

Now, while it is true that there are those in Cooperstown (Catfish Hunter has 224 wins) or on the verge of getting there (Pedro Martinez is at 219), but they both have something Pettitte never brought home.

Hardware.

If you’ve read anything here at The Hall, you know I’m big on the accolades and unlike Hunter and Martinez who have four Cy Young Awards and 11 top four finishes between them…Pettitte only once came close to sniffing the award.

In 1996, his second year in the bigs, Pettitte finished 21-8 and could easily have been considered the ace on a staff that guided the Yankees to 92 wins and a World Series ring. That is the same year, he grabbed 11 first place votes and finished second to the Blue Jays Pat Hentgen.

Ironically, if Mariano Rivera doesn’t get a first place vote and it goes to Pettitte…the big Texan brings home the award.

All that aside, I can’t belittle a guy for his lack of Cy Young Awards and paltry two All-Star appearances when he has a fist full of rings and the most victories in postseason history.

And how about those 18 postseason wins that everyone (myself included) seems to eventually bring up?

Pretty impressive, right?!?

Wrong.

No one ever brings up that he also has the most starts (40) and third most losses (nine) all-time in the postseason. Bless me with having the best closer ever behind me and an offense that produces runs at an All-World clip and I, too, will win close to two-thirds of my starts.

I guarantee it.

Now, I want to go back to the regular season and call out the two biggest gorillas in the room…ERA and strikeouts.

Pettitte’s career ERA is 3.91.

Let me repeat that. Pettitte’s career ERA is 3.91 and if he would happen to make it to the podium for that hot July speech, he would go in with the highest ERA (by far) of anyone else enshrined.

It can be defended that this is a hitters’ era, but when you look at the guys I mentioned before (Maddux, Clemens, Glavine and Johnson), the highest ERA in the bunch is Glavine’s 3.54 and while not spectacular…300-plus wins and 2700 Ks will help garner a few votes.

The baseball writers are silly like that.

And what about Pettitte’s strikeout totals?

While he was never considered a power pitcher (his 2.8 walks per nine innings shows he was more of a control guy), his 2150 strikeouts isn’t likely to turn many heads when it comes to a Hall vote.

Strikeouts, like home runs, are a stat that voters can look at and qualify based on certain, pre-determined benchmarks.

For example…all but one eligible player (Mark McGwire) with more than 500 home runs is in the Hall. Similarly, there is only one eligible pitcher (Bert Blyleven) with more than 3000 strikeouts that is on the outside looking in.

Failing to meet some of the minimum requirements, if you will, won’t help Pettitte earn any favors.

Lastly, there is that press conference from February 2008 where he admitted to using HGH while playing in New York in 2002 and with the Astros in 2004.

Would Pettitte have come out and admitted use had he not been fingered by both former teammate Jason Grimsley and former trainer Brian McNamee? Probably not.

Would he have come clean had he not been one of the biggest names to have been named in the Mitchell Report? Probably not.

Can we be sure that those were the only times that Pettitte used the drugs and his reasons were legitimate? Probably not.

Will the writers forget all this when it is Pettitte’s time to face the jury and be selected for enshrinement? Say it with me…probably not.

As it is, the BBWAA has only had one player to vilify so far and while he, Mark McGwire, was only suspected of using performance enhancers, odds are he is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to NOT allowing substance abusers (or those suspected of being one) into the Hall of Fame.

My gut tells me that, if, for some reason, Pettitte’s numbers upon retirement garner him any sort of Hall of Fame consideration (and honestly, I am not sure they will), his coming clean about steroids won’t help his cause.

And since you made it this far, I am obligated to finish this thing with the trite…“the Yankees beat the Phillies to capture their record 27th championship”.

Now, I know you knew that already…but isn’t that much better than spending the last sentence of an “is Andy Pettitte a Hall of Famer” talking about how steroids will likely be the biggest contributing factor as to why Pettitte does not get into the Hall?

Wait…I think I just did.