Andy Pettite: Not a Hall of Famer

 

Andy Pettite announced his retirement today, and so the debate of his Hall of Fame credentials begins. I'm here to say there is no debate. His confession of using HGH aside, Andy Pettite is simply just NOT a Hall of Famer. The stats speak for themselves:


http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/pettian01.shtml 

The Pettite-proponents (say that 3 times fast) will point to his wins (240), his career ERA (3.88, which is mediocre by HOF standards at best) or his reputation as a "big game" pitcher. These may sound all well and good for those unnaturally enamored with Pettite (read: Yankee fans), but the fact of the matter is he's not even CLOSE.

He pitched for 16 seasons. Despite his aforementioned career ERA being below 4, he only had 7 seasons in which he posted an ERA of 3.99 or better. He didn't strike out many batters, never won a Cy Young Award, and led the league in a major category (wins) but once.

It's called the "Hall of Fame," not the "Hall of Very Good." Personally, Pettite was one of my favorite pitchers to watch. His motion was fluid and his intensity was unmatched. But neither of those things made him great.

 
If he spent his entire career in Kansas City, he wouldn't even be in the discussion for the Hall of Fame. He spent most of his career in New York, with two years in Houston, and he still isn't.

P.S. Guess what Yankee fans? Mike Mussina's not a Hall of Famer either.