It probably started when former LHP Andy Pettitte approached current Yankees LHP C. C. Sabathia earlier this Spring and told him he was thinking about trying to play again. Sabathia told him to tryout. After all, he was only six pounds over his normal playing weight and he looked like he could still play when he was working as a special Spring Training coach with the team.
When C Russell Martin heard about the possibility of Pettitte pitching again he described the scenario as "awesome." It certainly wouldn't have been unprecedented. Mike Donlin is believed to be the first baseball player to come out of retirement, and he first retired in 1908. He came out of retirement in 1911 after spending a couple of years as a vaudeville star in Hollywood and a marriage to a starlet.
Pettitte's retirement from baseball was far less dramatic than Donlin's. For that matter, his retirement has been far-less dramatic than Ryne Sandberg's, who retired in 1994 after being named to ten All-Star teams. And his return has been far-less dramatic then other sports figures like NBA player Michael Jordan, who retired from basketball three times, and came back twice (once after pursuing a professional baseball career and once with the Wizards after he bought the team).
Instead, Pettitte's retirement and return is more similar to that of Dave Stieb, a star pitcher in the 1980s who was released in 1992 by Toronto and retired after making four starts with the White Sox in 1993. But he returned to the Blue Jays in 1998 and pitched in 16 games out of the bullpen and made three starts. Pettitte's return in no way mirrors the dramatic return of Johnny King, who walked away from the game after winning the World Series with the Cubs in 1908 and became a professional pool player (winning the World's Pool Championship in 1909), but returned to the Cubs in 1910.
Oh by the way, King's billiard tables are now amongst the most valuable in the world. And of course, Pettitte's retirement is far-less dramatic than the multiple retirements of former teammate Roger Clemens. The best part about that is that, of course, it was Pettitte who convinced Clemens to come out of retirement after he gloriously walked away following a World Series start in 2003.
And Pettitte's return is being treated seriously, unlike the gimmicky returns of Minnie Minoso, who was signed out of the Mexican League at the age of 50 by the White Sox in September 1976 and came out of retirement in September 1980 at the age of 54 again with the White Sox. Minoso had appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot in 1969 before his return from Mexico in '76, and he was the only player to return after appearing on a Hall of Fame ballot before Jose Rijo retired in 1995 after blowing out his elbow, appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot in 2000, and returned to pitch with Cincinnati in 2001. And Pettitte's retirement is nothing like that of Hideo Nomo, who announced his retirement from Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan so that he could avoid the posting system and sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
His comeback attempt will not be viewed with as much scrutiny as that of Manny Ramirez, who will begin his return to the game by serving a 50-game suspension if his comeback attempt is successful. And don't forget about people like Yogi Berra, who retired to become a manager for the Yankees in 1962, was fired after losing the World Series in 1964, and returned to play with the Mets in 1965. Berra again became a coach and eventually a manager with the Mets, winning a World Series ring as a coach in 1969 under manager Gil Hodges and winning another pennant with Mets as a manager in 1973.
Pettitte has been spending his time away from the game by spending time with his family, coaching youth baseball, and taking part in his church activities. But he was never able to grasp the fact that he was no longer a baseball player. Although he was able to go out on his own terms, he still felt an emptiness for the game.
Despite his need to be closer to his family, he was still addicted to the game. Only last summer, Pettitte was adamant that he was loving retirement. But it wasn't long before former teammate Lance Berkman began lobbying for Pettitte to return and pitch for St. Louis.
But Pettitte wouldn't return for any team other than the Yankees. But when the off-season came and went with no solid offers from the Bronx, Pettitte began to believe that perhaps his retirement was permanent. But last Friday the story broke that Pettitte had decided to return after all.
With only a few weeks left in the exhibition season, it will be interesting to see how quickly - or if at all - Pettitte can be ready to pitch in a Spring game, and even then if he can beat out RHP Phil Hughes or RHP Freddy Garcia for a spot in the rotation as a fifth starter or in the bullpen as a long reliever. One of the three has to be cut - and Pettitte is probably that candidate right now in the eyes of manager Joe Girardi (who doesn't get along with Pettitte either) - but the Steinbrenner family may give Pettittearen't hollow in any way.
He definitely was the epitome of a big-game pitcher. Pettitte's return would essentially mean that the Yankees would be willing to trade talent for guts in 2012. Pettitte was probably the least accomplished of the Big Four (also including current Yankees SS Derek Jeter and RHP Mariano Rivera and former C/DH Jorge Posada), but that doesn't mean that he didn't accomplish a lot.
Most of his teammates over the years envied Pettitte's success as much as they did that of the other three. But that only happens when Pettitte plays, not when he's out of the game, and his life after baseball probably won't include a trip to Cooperstown, especially after being linked to the PED scandal and admitting to using HGH. Certainly a lot more people are happier to see him playing then they are to see him retired.
Pettitte was always lauded as a great player even when his numbers didn't match his reputation. He was never the best pitcher on any team that he played on. Two years ago Pettite went 11-3 with a 3.28 ERA in 21 starts, but he hasn't pitched since then and he's now 39.
Pettitte doesn't need the money and he loves spending time with his family, but he loves baseball more than both of those things. Pettitte had both family and baseball during his time with Houston, but he always felt more at home playing thousands of miles away from his family in the Bronx. Pettitte realizes that playing for the Yankees will mark the best time of his life, not spending time with his family.
And now he'll have a couple of more weeks (at least) to relive those times again. There's no doubt that Pettitte's heart beats fastest when he's on the mound, not when he's intimate with his wife. And you can bet that his heart was beating fast when he secretly threw in front of Yankees personnel a couple of days ago.
After the tryout the Yankees signed Pettitte to a Minor League contract and invited him to Spring Training, guaranteeing him $2.5 million if he makes the team. Pettitte tried out in front of GM Brian Cashman, Girardi, pitching coach Larry Rothschild, and assistant GM Gene Michael after being brought into camp as a special spring training coach, and although they were conspicuously absent, you know that Hank and Hal were well aware of everything that happened on that mound. Only a day before Pettitte's number 46 jersey hung from a locker in the coach's room instead of the clubhouse with the rest of the players.
And even the day before the tryout Pettitte was adamant that he was happy in retirement. It turns out that Pettitte had been secretly talking to the Yankees since December. Cashman admitted that he'd offered Pettitte a contract around $11 million to come back and pitch before the acquisitions of RHP Michael Pineda and RHP Hiroki Kuroda.
Pettitte worked out for most of the off-season, and kept his arm in shape by throwing batting practice to his sons. There was another opportunity for a contract on March 10 when both the Yankees and Pettitte were in Lake Buena Vista (the Yankees for a Spring Training game and Pettitte with his church), and an agreement was made on Friday. A potential payroll increase was approved by Hal and suddenly Pettitte has become a favorite to make the team in the eyes of the Yankee fan-base.
But let's not start sucking each other's dicks just yet. Cashman has said that Pettitte will probably need seven weeks to be ready; he has three at most. Pettitte retired on February 4, 2011, and he hasn't thrown a pitch since October 2010. No one really knows how this move will affect the futures of Hughes and Garcia.
Pettitte said that one of the first people he heard from when the story of the signing broke was Posada. Pettite has spent 13 seasons with the Yankees and three seasons with Houston, and now he'll be going for season number 14 out of 17 with New York. He is third all-time in wins in Yankee history and second in strikeouts.
He'll try to move up the ranks now. Jeter has said in the past that nothing surprises him anymore. So he was not shocked when heard the news of Pettitte's comeback attempt.
3B Alex Rodriguez has said that Pettitte will be hailed as a hero every time he enters the Yankees clubhouse as an active player - no matter how long that lasts. RF Nick Swisher said that he was able to connect the dots when he golfed with Pettitte earlier in the exhibition season and noticed that the former pitcher had obviously been working out. RHP Ivan Nova used to view video of Pettitte pitching in the postseason to see how it was supposed to look, and now he may have a chance to view it in person this October.
Jeter told reporters last weekend that a year away from the game may have changed Pettitte's desire to spend time with his wife, Laura. And as happy as as many people are to have Pettitte pitching again, many others are unhappy to see it happening again. Pettitte may certainly be worth a look, but his signing may also spell doom for either Hughes or Garcia.
Hughes has been mostly noncommittal and politically correct since the signing, increased competition, and discussions about the logjam, while Garcia has been more business-like and cut and dry since the signing. Suffering from a swollen hand after being hit by a come backer, Garcia is expected to miss one Spring start while he recovers. Garcia signed a $4 million guaranteed contract with the Yankees last November following a strong 2011 season, but since then the team has acquired Pineda, Kuroda, and now Pettitte, and suddenly Garcia finds himself looking hard at being released.
No comments:
Post a Comment