Andy Pettitte will retire at the end of the season

[D. Bergin]

Yankee fan here:

I say no, but there's no shame in that. There's lot's of excellent pitchers not in the HOF.

Also, regarding general stats throughout his career. Anybody who has watched Andy pitch on a regular basis, knows he has always pitched to the scoreboard.

We all saw his ERA plummet when he went to Houston.

In a close game Andy would battle with guys on base and was known for getting himself out of lots of jams. However, if Yanks had a big lead, Andy was a lot more aggressive and had no problem surrendering home runs and hits in general if it meant getting his team off the field quicker.

When it came to surrendering a lead however, he always knew if was time to batten down the hatches and stem the bleeding himself, instead of leaving it for the bullpen.

I think in today's Sabremetric heavy world, those type of pitchers are under-appreciated. Jack Morris is obviously another who falls into this category. His overall stats are not great when looked at as a whole, but for some reason he's always winning games, keeping his team in the game no matter what the score, and coming through big.........in big games, like a big game pitcher is supposed to do.

[Exhibitman]

Hall of Very, Very Good aka Don Sutton, but w/o the 300 wins. I'd not vote for him absent the PEDs; they make it a slam dunk no for me.

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

Hall of Very, Very Good aka Don Sutton, but w/o the 300 wins. I'd not vote for him absent the PEDs; they make it a slam dunk no for me.

I wouldn't vote for him either, but as you point out, the voters took Sutton, and, even worse, Phil Niekro. Regardless of his level of honesty regarding PEDs, I still think it will be interesting to see how the voters react to his career. They've 'spoken' regarding far better players who didn't show a shred of honesty.

[thetruthisoutthere]

Originally Posted by Runscott

I wouldn't vote for him either, but as you point out, the voters took Sutton, and, even worse, Phil Niekro. Regardless of his level of honesty regarding PEDs, I still think it will be interesting to see how the voters react to his career. They've 'spoken' regarding far better players who didn't show a shred of honesty.

Don't forget Gaylord Perry, too.

[thetruthisoutthere]

I've been a Yankees fan for 50 years, but I will always be objective when it comes to the Hall Of Fame.

He's borderline, and I don't think he will get it.

Great career though and I'm glad he was on the Yankees for the majority of his career.

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by thetruthisoutthere

Don't forget Gaylord Perry, too.

Sutton, Niekro and Blyleven all belong in the 'Hall of very good' - Gaylord Perry is above them (in my opinion), but not hall-worthy.

It's all just opinion, so hopefully no one gets bent out of shape. I just feel that the HOF should be more exclusive, but it is what it is: the "Hall of Very Good and Better, or Very Popular with the Sportswriters" or the HOVGBVPS

[RCMcKenzie]

I would describe him as a very rich man's Erik Bedard, but I'm just a bitter Astro's fan that is hacked that he went back to NY.

[barrysloate]

I was looking at Pettitte's career stats and there was one number I found astonishing: in 18 seasons, encompassing 255 wins, he pitched....4 shutouts! Just shows you how the game has changed. He also had 25 complete games, which averages to less than one and a half per season. Those are amazingly miniscule totals.

But he was a terrific pitcher who had a wonderful career. Even at 41 he's pitched some really gritty games for a struggling team.

[Scott Garner]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

Hall of Very, Very Good aka Don Sutton, but w/o the 300 wins. I'd not vote for him absent the PEDs; they make it a slam dunk no for me.

Adam,
Don Sutton= 324 wins, 58 shutouts is definitely HOF worthy... C'mon
Blyleven is a HOF'er, no doubt

FWIW, I would put Jack Morris in the HOF. He was the pitcher of the 1980's.
The guy was an absolute winner as well.

[ibuysportsephemera]

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

Yankee fan here:

I say no, but there's no shame in that. There's lot's of excellent pitchers not in the HOF.

Also, regarding general stats throughout his career. Anybody who has watched Andy pitch on a regular basis, knows he has always pitched to the scoreboard.

We all saw his ERA plummet when he went to Houston.

In a close game Andy would battle with guys on base and was known for getting himself out of lots of jams. However, if Yanks had a big lead, Andy was a lot more aggressive and had no problem surrendering home runs and hits in general if it meant getting his team off the field quicker.

When it came to surrendering a lead however, he always knew if was time to batten down the hatches and stem the bleeding himself, instead of leaving it for the bullpen.

I think in today's Sabremetric heavy world, those type of pitchers are under-appreciated. Jack Morris is obviously another who falls into this category. His overall stats are not great when looked at as a whole, but for some reason he's always winning games, keeping his team in the game no matter what the score, and coming through big.........in big games, like a big game pitcher is supposed to do.

Mets fan but I appreciated Pettitte for the reasons that Dave mentioned. I don't think he gets in...the stats aren't there.

Jeff

[Jim65]

Close but not a HOF'er, but when Andre Dawson and Bert Blyleven made it, nothing ever surprises me anymore.

[RichardSimon]

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

We all saw his ERA plummet when he went to Houston.

He had three seasons in Houston,, ERA 3.90, 2.39, 4.20

Plummet? I would not say so.

[RichardSimon]

This thread is a good example of why the game of baseball is still great.
I know roids, money, long term contracts, etc. but it is still a great game of mostly marvelous athletes.
I am a football fan (Jets, ugh) don't get me wrong, but do the merits of football players get this kind of stuff written about them.

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by RichardSimon

He had three seasons in Houston,, ERA 3.90, 2.39, 4.20

Plummet? I would not say so.

Well, it was only 2 full seasons, and one of those numbers really stands out. His only other comparable year with the Yankees would have been 1997.

[RichardSimon]

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

Well, it was only 2 full seasons, and one of those numbers really stands out. His only other comparable year with the Yankees would have been 1997.

True but his ERA soared nearly two runs a game in his second full year in the NL when they started to figure him out.