Pettitte Headed Back the Yanks

I was pretty sure it would get done at some point, but now ESPN.com is pointing out the Andy Pettitte is heading back to the Yankees. Someone asked why I didn't put Pettitte on the list for possible Hall of Famers yesterday. And maybe it was an oversight. But I really just don't see him getting in. I understand that Pettitte had some great stats, especially for a left-hander. Among players currently signed, he ranks 3rd in wins and his .629 winning % is pretty damn good. He racked up another 14 wins in the postseason where his teams went 18-7 in postseason series. Pettitte also ranked in the top 6 of Cy Young voting 5 times.

The key for any Pettitte-to-the-Hall candidacy to carry any weight would be for him to have a few effective seasons still left in the tank. Pettitte is "only" 36 and has very similar statistics to Mike Mussina through age 36 (according to Baseball-Reference.com, he's the most similar through 36). From age 36 onward, "Moose" won 49 games, including 20 to close out his career last year. I think it would take another 50 wins or so to get Pettitte into the running. Doable, but not very likely.