We guess he got the hunger back: 39-year-old pitcher Andy Pettitte ended his retirement today, signing a one-year minor league contract with the Yankees that will pay him $2.5 million.
When Pettitte retired in February 2011, coming off a season in which he had gone 11-3 with a 3.28 earned run average, he said he felt physically fine, "but my heart’s not where it needs to be...It just didn't feel right for me anymore. I didn't have the hunger, the drive I felt like I needed." When Pettitte visited Yankees camp this past February, he further explained his reason for retirement: “I retired after one of my better years. I felt like I was at the point where I just kind of knew what I was doing mechanically out there on the mound and stuff like that. But I retired to go home and be with my family, and that’s why I retired.”
Pettitte, a three time All-Star, has pitched for the Yankees for all but three of his 16 years in the majors; he has a 240-138 record, a 3.88 ERA, and 2,251 strikeouts in his career. He won five championships with the Yankees, and also set a major league record for postseason wins, going 19-10 with a 3.83 ERA. If he wants to start for the Yankees again (and it's hard to imagine he would come back and not want to do so), he'll have some stiff competition for a spot in the rotation, with CC Sabathia, Michael Pineda, Hiroki Kuroda, Phil Hughes, Freddy Gracia and Ivan Nova all on staff.
