NEW YORK — Andy Pettitte is going ahead with his decision to retire, leaving the New York Yankees with two huge holes in what appears to be a rather wobbly starting rotation.
The team scheduled a news conference this morning at Yankee Stadium for Pettitte to announce the choice he had been leaning toward making since the end of last season.
A five-time World Series champion, Pettitte became the third-winningest pitcher in team history.
“Andy was probably the consummate team player,” former Yankees manager Joe Torre said. “He’s been a huge favorite of mine because he’s such a standup guy, and he hasn’t changed from Day One.”
Pettitte won’t disappear from public view entirely. He is expected to be a witness this summer at the trial of former teammate Roger Clemens, indicted on charges he lied to a congressional committee when he denied using performance-enhancing drugs.
Pettitte admitted using human growth hormone and said Clemens told him he had used HGH. Clemens testified Pettitte didn’t remember the conversation correctly.
Clemens said Thursday he hasn’t been able to speak with Pettitte lately because of the ongoing case. But he insisted he held no hard feelings toward Pettitte and congratulated him on his career.
“If I know the age of his oldest one, I think he’s a freshman or sophomore in high school, so it’s a crucial time to be around. I’m sure that weighed on him for a number of years,” Clemens said.
Pettitte’s retirement creates a great uncertainty for the Yankees. New York has no proven starters behind CC Sabathia, Phil Hughes and A.J. Burnett, who struggled during the second half of last season.
Having failed to sign free agent Cliff Lee, New York has agreed to minor-league contracts with Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia in recent weeks, trying to find more options for a fourth and fifth starter in addition to youngster Ivan Nova and Sergio Mitre. The Yankees also are interested in signing Kevin Millwood.
Pettitte finished 240-138 with a 3.88 ERA in 16 major-league seasons. He set a major-league record for postseason wins by going 19-10 with a 3.83 ERA.
A member of the “Core Four” along with Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada, Pettitte helped the Yankees win World Series titles in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2009.
“I’m really sad that Andy is going to retire,” batterymate Posada said. “He was so much more than a teammate to me — he was one of my closest friends.”
Pettitte was 11-3 with a 3.28 ERA in 21 starts last season.
