Pettitte's Return To Baseball...again

The World Baseball Classic is coming back in 2026, and Team USA is already stacking the deck. Mark DeRosa is returning as manager—but the real headline here? Andy Pettitte is back in the dugout as pitching coach.

And let me tell you—I couldn’t be more thrilled.

Seeing Pettitte back in a uniform just feels right. Like pine tar on a bat knob or Frank Sinatra blasting at Yankee Stadium—it’s part of baseball’s soul. And let’s be honest: there are few people more qualified to lead a pitching staff than Andy freakin’ Pettitte.

He’s not just a Yankees legend. He’s a baseball ambassador in my opinion. The guy’s a walking masterclass in how to win with poise, grit, and a perfectly placed cutter. He doesn’t need to shout about his legacy—it speaks for itself.

In 2023, when he was Team USA’s pitching coach, the staff he helped guide made it all the way to the championship game. Under his watch, they finished fourth in strikeouts and sixth in ERA. That’s not a coincidence. That’s Pettitte’s quiet brilliance at work.

Now he’s back, and while the official roster isn’t out yet, odds are good he’ll be mentoring a new generation of flame-throwing arms—names like Paul Skenes and Garrett Crochet have all been floated. And honestly, if you’re a young pitcher with a live arm and half a brain, you should be sprinting to learn under Andy Pettitte.

But here’s what drives me nuts. How is this man still not in the Hall of Fame?

The numbers are staring us all in the face. 256 regular season wins. Only five pitchers in modern baseball history with that many wins aren’t in Cooperstown. Five. And none of them can touch Pettitte’s postseason resume.

Let’s talk about that postseason record, shall we?

19 playoff wins. 44 playoff starts. Over 276 playoff innings. He holds the all-time records in postseason wins, starts, and innings pitched—and that’s before you even get to the 28 quality starts. The man was a machine. A dependable, unflinching rock in October. He was the pitcher managers trusted when the season was on the line.

Add those 19 playoff victories to his 256 regular-season wins, and you’re looking at 275 total W’s. That’s elite territory. That’s Hall of Fame territory.

Andy Pettitte didn’t need to throw 100 mph. He didn’t rely on hype or headlines. He just won. Over and over again. 5 World Series titles. 8 pennants. Countless moments where Yankee fans exhaled because Andy’s got it.

So while the Hall of Fame keeps playing hard to get, at least we get Pettitte where we need him—on a field, in a uniform, helping Team USA chase a title.

I love Andy Pettitte. Always have. Always will. He’s class, he’s grit, and he’s the kind of guy who made baseball better just by showing up every fifth day. And now, he’s making it better again, coaching up the next generation of arms.

Team USA? Yeah, they’re in good hands.