Andy Pettitte’s No. 46 was retired on Sunday at a pre-game ceremony before the Yankees faced the Indians at the Stadium.
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Former New York Yankees catcher Jorge Posada delivered an emotional speech Saturday when his No. 20 jersey was retired and he was presented with a plaque in Monument Park at Yankee Stadium. Interestingly enough, he originally decided to play college baseball for San Jacinto College North in Houston Texas, but because San Jacinto was a junior college and not a four-year school, the Yankees were able to retain his rights and signed him as a draft-and-follow prospect.
“The years you put in and the friendship you build up, just the trust you build with one another”, Pettitte said.
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.
He was 219-127 with the Yankees over 15 of his 18 seasons. “On the following day, a plaque of Andy Pettitte will be unveiled before its placement in Monument Park and Pettitte’s #46 will be retired by the Yankees. For sure, my last five or six years I was comfortable in those big moments”. It seemed like if I let my focus down for one inning, it was going to be a three-run inning.
Posada played all of his 17 seasons in pinstripes.
Several of Posada’s former teammates were on hand for the ceremony, including fellow core four members Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte.
In 1997 Andy Pettite was finally a full-time starting pitcher, and started 35 + games for the first time in his major league career, and the rest was history. I was born passionate about baseball and the New York Yankees.
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By retiring his number, the Yankees are showing their willingness to overlook, and perhaps even forgive, Pettitte’s past transgressions. “Through it all, this place has become home to me and my family”. The Yankees gave Pettitte the team’s highest individual honors, despite the fact he was named in the Mitchell Report for use of human growth hormone.
