Pettitte made a almost 12-minute speech and talked about his first experience sitting in the bullpen at old Yankee Stadium. He holds the franchise strikeout record with 2,020 and is No. 3 in team wins behind Whitey Ford and Red Ruffing.
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The Yankees immortalized Andy Pettitte in Monument Park on Sunday, officially retiring his No. 46 before a packed crowd at Yankee Stadium.
Posada got a standing ovation when he and his family were introduced as they stood in Monument Park before the ceremony. He said his years with the Yankees were “an honor and dream come true”.
Shortly after the release of the Mitchell Report in December 2007, Pettitte admitted that he used human-growth hormone (HGH) while pitching for the Yankees in 2002. Posada then played under Girardi his final four seasons, bristling when Girardi took away his catching duties then pulling himself out of the lineup one day when he saw his name listed as the No. 9 hitter. Despite his outstanding regular season numbers, Pettitte was even better in the post-season, going 18-10 with New York during their brilliant stretch in the late 1990s and 2000s. Pettitte won his fifth championship with the Yankees in 2009.
A long list of familiar faces were on hand for the occasion, including Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte, David Cone, Paul O’Neill, Hideki Matsui, Scott Brosius, and Joe Torre.
Posada also threw out a ceremonial first pitch to his 15-year-old son, Jorge Jr. “Do you remember back in Oneonta, 24 years ago?” It was the 20th different uniform number retired by the Yankees, which is the most by any Major League Baseball team. “Through it all, this place has become home to me and my family”. “Baseball was my passion and luckily I had the privilege and honor to play for the greatest franchise in all of sports”.
What a weekend it has been for the New York Yankees.
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Watching you record the final out in your final complete game victory over the Houston Astros on September 28, 2013 is something no Yankees fan my age will ever forget.
