Dandy Andy

June 15,
2010 – During the 2009 postseason, in which Andy Pettitte recording victories
in three series-clinching games, I wrote that the lefthander should receive
serious Hall of Fame consideration when the time comes. That opinion was based
on Pettitte’s body of work through 2009.

In 2010,
Pettitte, who turns 38-years-old today, has an 8-1 record, and he is throwing the
ball as brilliantly as he did in the ’09 postseason.

On Friday
night (June 11), Pettitte notched the 200^th win of his Yankees
career. To put that accomplishment in perspective, consider this: only two
hurlers in Yankees history have won more games than Pettitte has in pinstripes.
Whitey Ford hung up his cleats with 236 wins and Red Ruffing tallied 231.

To
compare Pettitte with modern-day contemporaries, take a gander at this
statistic:

In the
2000′s (2000-2009), Pettitte ranked first among all major leaguers in wins with
148. While there are several pitchers behind him on that list who have received
much more fanfare — such as Randy Johnson or Roy Halladay — none of them guided
their teams to more victories than Pettitte.

And when
it matters most, number 46 has more wins than anyone  – ever. The southpaw’s 18 postseason triumphs are tops in
baseball history.

 Pettitte’s
Hall of Fame credentials have expanded since last fall, and he is now in an exclusive class of Yankees pitchers with 200 wins. Ford and Ruffing have are
Hall of Famers, and both have plaques in Yankee Stadium’s Monument Park. In my
opinion, Pettitte will find his way to both hallowed locations — once he decides to stop winning games for the Yankees.

–Alfred Santasiere III