Andy Pettitte returns to the Yankees

By David
Kaye

Andy Pettitte and the New York Yankees have agreed on a one year deal worth $16 million. Pettitte will be returning to the team that he helped win four World Series titles during his first nine seasons in the Bronx.

After spending the last three seasons pitching along side his good friend and former Yankee Roger Clemens in Houston, Pettitte began to contemplate retirement. He had an immediate offer from Brian Cashman on the table and decided that he will end his career where it began.

This is a great and much overdue move by the Bronx Bombers who should have never let their star lefty defect to his home town team. This signing will bring stability and a regained sense of pride to the Yankees who have struggled to find a true sense of character since Pettitte left.

The veteran will be re-united with former teammates Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams and battery mate Jorge Posada. During his nine stellar seasons in New York, Pettitte posted a 149 and 78 record to go along a 3.94 ERA. He also won 13 postseason games and helped the Yankees capture the AL East seven times. Pettitte is definitely accustomed to the pressures of October and the Yankees will need his veteran leadership if they want to return to the World Series. Ironically, the last time the Bronx Bombers represented the AL in the World Series was in Pettitte's final year in pinstripes.

Fellow pitcher Mike Mussina commented that "It will be good to have him back." and as a whole, all of New York can't wait for him to toe the rubber at Yankee Stadium for one more go around. Is it possible that the signing of Pettitte will foreshadow a return by his close friend Roger Clemens to the Bronx? It seems that both men are closely attached and that the actions of one man predicates what the other one does. Only time will tell, but I hope that the rocket will follow in the foot steps of Andy Pettitte and end his career as a New York Yankee.