New York Yankees great Andy Pettitte will be inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in Waco, Texas, on February 2, 2016.
Pettitte played 15 seasons for the Yankees, and also played three seasons for the Houston Astros. He appeared in eight World Series (seven with NYY, one with HOU) and was a five-time World Series winner (1996, ’98-’00, ’09) all with the Yankees.
Pettitte’s signature win that established him as a big-game pitcher was his game five masterpiece in the 1996 World Series, when he out-dueled eventual Cy-Young winner John Smoltz of the Braves, giving the Yankees a 1-0 victory over Atlanta. The victory brought the series back to New York with the Bombers one win away from the title. He also pitched in the clinching game four of the 1998 World Series over the San Diego Padres.
The left-hander is the Yankees’ all-time leader in strikeouts (2,020) and is third all-time in Yankees history in wins. He was a three-time ALÂ All-Star selection and was the MVP of the 2001 ALCSÂ when the Yankees defeated the Seattle Mariners in five games.
Most recently, he helped guide the Yankees pitching staff to the 2009 World Series title over the Philadelphia Phillies. During that playoff run, he pitched in and won all three series-clinching games, becoming the first pitcher in MLB history to do so. Pettitte is MLB’s all-time postseason leader in wins (19), starts (44) and innings pitched (276.2). He is the only pitcher in MLB history with six postseason series-clinching wins.
On a personal note: Andy is my uncle, married to my father’s sister Laura, and so I have grown up my entire life with the Yankees. I had the privilege, along with 30 other family members, of being in attendance back on August 23, 2015 when Andy’s number 46 jersey was retired, and a plaque was placed out in the Stadium’s famed Monument Park.
Yes, I have a personal stake in this, but whether you are a Yankees fan or not, you have to respect this man and his contributions to that historic Yankees run of five World Series championships.
