# Andy Pettitte
**Andy Pettitte** (Andrew Eugene Pettitte, born 1972 in [Baton Rouge, Louisiana](https://www.edgepedia.org/baton-rouge-louisiana)) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 18 Major League seasons for the [New York Yankees](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-york-yankees) (1995–2003, 2007–2010, and 2012–2013) and the [Houston Astros](https://www.edgepedia.org/houston-astros) (2004–2006), won five World Series titles, and holds the MLB record with 19 postseason wins.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/andy-pettitte-120485) • [2](https://www.mlb.com/news/yankees-lhp-andy-pettitte-announces-retirement-following-2013-season/c-61185968) • [3](https://www.mlb.com/astros/news/andy-pettitte-baseball-hall-of-fame-case) He retired after the 2013 season with a career regular-season record of 256–153, a 3.85 ERA, 3,316.0 innings, and 2,448 strikeouts.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/andy-pettitte-120485)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / drafted | 1972, Baton Rouge, LA; selected by the Yankees in the 22nd round (577th overall) of the 1990 draft, out of San Jacinto College[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/andy-pettitte-120485) |
| MLB debut | April 29, 1995[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/andy-pettitte-120485) |
| Career regular season | 531 games, 256–153, 3.85 ERA, 3,316.0 IP, 2,448 strikeouts, 1.35 WHIP[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/andy-pettitte-120485) |
| Postseason records | 19 wins, 44 starts, 276 2/3 innings, and 28 quality starts, all MLB postseason records[3](https://www.mlb.com/astros/news/andy-pettitte-baseball-hall-of-fame-case) |
| Championships | Five World Series titles with the Yankees; in 2009 became the first pitcher to start and win the clinching game of all three series in a single postseason[4](https://www.usabaseball.com/player/andy-pettitte/) • [2](https://www.mlb.com/news/yankees-lhp-andy-pettitte-announces-retirement-following-2013-season/c-61185968) |
| Signature skill | Pickoff move; recorded his 95th career pickoff on May 1, 2009, surpassing Kenny Rogers for the most since the statistic became official in 1974[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/andy-pettitte-120485) |
| Hall of Fame voting | 13.5% in his sixth appearance, 27.9% in his seventh, and 48.5% in his eighth on the BBWAA ballot[5](https://apnews.com/article/c9a03472ef6289e28d3de10812609c54) • [6](https://apnews.com/article/3f92e2209b80f655bffedfe4d3173e8e) |
## Early life and signing
After finishing at Deer Park High School in Texas, Pettitte became the Yankees' pick in the 22nd round of the 1990 First-Year Player Draft, though he instead enrolled at San Jacinto (Texas) Junior College; he then signed with the Yankees on May 25, 1991.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/andy-pettitte-120485) A late-round pick who reached 200 major-league wins, he is the only pitcher drafted by the Yankees to win 200 games in the Majors.[7](https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/fl_attachment/mlb/rya1d8t9tsiw0t3dqg5v.pdf)
## Yankees career, 1995–2003
Pettitte debuted on April 29, 1995, and became a mainstay of the Yankees rotation through the franchise's late-1990s championship run.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/andy-pettitte-120485) By the end of the 1995–2003 stretch he had 13 postseason wins, and the Yankees won 11 of his postseason starts in a row.[8](https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/andy-pettitte/) He was named an All-Star in 1996 and 2001, received the 2003 Warren Spahn Award as the top left-handed pitcher in baseball, and was twice named the Greater Houston Major League Player of the Year by the Houston chapter of the BBWAA (1996 and 2003).[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/andy-pettitte-120485)
## Houston years and first retirement
Pettitte signed with the Houston Astros for 2004 and pitched there through 2006, recording his best single-season ERA, 2.39, with Houston in 2005.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/andy-pettitte-120485) He was the Astros' recipient of the 2005 Roberto Clemente Award and Houston's nominee for the Marvin Miller "Man of the Year" Award that year.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/andy-pettitte-120485)
## Return to the Yankees and retirement
Pettitte returned to the Yankees in 2007. He posted a 14–8 record with a 4.16 ERA in 2009 and then served as the cornerstone of the Yankees' World Series title, achieving a feat no other pitcher had managed: recording a start and a victory in the game that clinched each of the three rounds (the ALDS, ALCS, and [World Series](https://www.edgepedia.org/world-series)) within one postseason.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/andy-pettitte-120485) • [2](https://www.mlb.com/news/yankees-lhp-andy-pettitte-announces-retirement-following-2013-season/c-61185968) In 2010 he went 11–3 with a 3.28 ERA, made his third All-Star team, and recorded his 200th win as a Yankee on June 11 against Houston, becoming the third player to reach that plateau with the franchise after [Whitey Ford](https://www.edgepedia.org/whitey-ford) and Red Ruffing.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/andy-pettitte-120485) After sitting out 2011, he returned in 2012 at age 39 and went 5–4 with a 2.87 ERA despite missing nearly three months with a fractured left ankle.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/andy-pettitte-120485)
He announced his retirement following the 2013 season at age 41, leaving with 255–152 (.627) career record and a 3.86 ERA over 529 appearances, and with the most postseason victories of all time.[2](https://www.mlb.com/news/yankees-lhp-andy-pettitte-announces-retirement-following-2013-season/c-61185968) As a Yankee he finished with 208 wins, the third-most in franchise history, and ranked second in strikeouts (1,892), second in games started (408), and fourth in innings pitched (2,611.0).[7](https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/fl_attachment/mlb/rya1d8t9tsiw0t3dqg5v.pdf)
## Postseason record
Pettitte's postseason totals are the defining feature of his career: 19 wins, 44 starts, 276 2/3 innings, and 28 quality starts, each an MLB postseason record, and he earned the win in six of his 12 career starts in potential postseason series-clinching games.[3](https://www.mlb.com/astros/news/andy-pettitte-baseball-hall-of-fame-case) His career postseason ERA was 3.81.[8](https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/andy-pettitte/) The record remains a live benchmark for current players: when Yankees rookie [Cam Schlittler](https://www.edgepedia.org/cam-schlittler) struck out 12 in his postseason debut against Boston in 2025, he said he had spoken about the moment with Pettitte, described in the Associated Press report as a five-time World Series champion and winner of a record 19 postseason games.[9](https://apnews.com/article/61b7805c30f1a8c838c9654ccbc99029)
## The pickoff move
Pettitte took particular pride in his pickoff move, a weapon that erased runners and shut down innings before they could begin.[10](https://www.mlb.com/amp/news/max-fried-andy-pettitte-talk-about-their-similar-pickoff-moves.html) He picked off a career-high 14 runners in 1997, and his 10 pickoffs in 2008 were second-most in the Majors; on May 1, 2009, he recorded his 95th career pickoff to pass [Kenny Rogers](https://www.edgepedia.org/kenny-rogers) for the most since pickoffs became an official statistic in 1974.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/andy-pettitte-120485) Yankees pitcher [Max Fried](https://www.edgepedia.org/max-fried), whose own move resembles Pettitte's, has discussed the technique with him.[10](https://www.mlb.com/amp/news/max-fried-andy-pettitte-talk-about-their-similar-pickoff-moves.html)
## Hall of Fame case and performance-enhancing drugs
Pettitte never won the [Cy Young Award](https://www.edgepedia.org/cy-young-award), an ERA title, or a strikeout crown, and his Hall of Fame candidacy has been weighed alongside an admitted connection to performance-enhancing drugs: he acknowledged using human growth hormone in 2002 with the Yankees and again in 2004 with the Astros.[11](https://as.com/us/us/2020/01/23/reportajes/1579790957_397247.html) His BBWAA vote share has risen steadily: 13.5% in his sixth appearance on the ballot, 110 votes and 27.9% in his seventh, and 48.5% in his eighth, when [Carlos Beltrán](https://www.edgepedia.org/carlos-beltran) and [Andruw Jones](https://www.edgepedia.org/andruw-jones) were elected.[5](https://apnews.com/article/c9a03472ef6289e28d3de10812609c54) • [6](https://apnews.com/article/3f92e2209b80f655bffedfe4d3173e8e) MLB.com's case for his candidacy rests on the combination of 256 regular-season wins and the record postseason body of work.[3](https://www.mlb.com/astros/news/andy-pettitte-baseball-hall-of-fame-case)
## Post-playing life
Pettitte has remained active in the game as pitching coach for Team USA at the 2026 [World Baseball Classic](https://www.edgepedia.org/world-baseball-classic).[4](https://www.usabaseball.com/player/andy-pettitte/)
## References
1. [Andy Pettitte player page, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/player/andy-pettitte-120485)
2. [Yankees LHP Andy Pettitte announces retirement following 2013 season, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/news/yankees-lhp-andy-pettitte-announces-retirement-following-2013-season/c-61185968)
3. [Andy Pettitte Baseball Hall of Fame case, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/astros/news/andy-pettitte-baseball-hall-of-fame-case)
4. [Andy Pettitte, USA Baseball](https://www.usabaseball.com/player/andy-pettitte/)
5. [Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner elected to Baseball Hall of Fame, Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/c9a03472ef6289e28d3de10812609c54)
6. [Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones elected to baseball's Hall of Fame, Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/3f92e2209b80f655bffedfe4d3173e8e)
7. [Andy Pettitte career highlights, MLB.com media guide PDF](https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/fl_attachment/mlb/rya1d8t9tsiw0t3dqg5v.pdf)
8. [Andy Pettitte, SABR Biography Project](https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/andy-pettitte/)
9. [Schlittler strikes out 12 in postseason debut as Yankees beat Red Sox, Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/61b7805c30f1a8c838c9654ccbc99029)
10. [Max Fried, Andy Pettitte talk about their similar pickoff moves, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/amp/news/max-fried-andy-pettitte-talk-about-their-similar-pickoff-moves.html)
11. [Los casos de trampa más importantes en la MLB, AS.com](https://as.com/us/us/2020/01/23/reportajes/1579790957_397247.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Baseball and related bat sports › Professional baseball in the Americas › MLB players and personnel biographies › Starting pitchers › Starters debuting 1980–1999*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license