Jack Morris was inducted in 2018, and while he pitched about 500 more innings than Pettitte over the length of his career, his finished with only 55.8 fWAR. One reason to put Pettitte in the Hall is that, quite simply, the bar for entry for a pitcher has already been put below him. All those numbers go along with his Pettitte’s World Series rings, the 2001 ALCS MVP award, and nigh-countless big playoff moments. Of those other nine, four are Hall of Famers, three are future Hall of Famers, and the other two are, well, Clemens and Curt Schilling. In fact, by fWAR, he sits comfortably among the top 10 pitchers to take the mound since his debut in 1995. Over 3,316 career innings pitched, Pettitte pitched to a 3.85 ERA, 3.70 FIP, and garnered 68.2 fWAR. However, I’d argue that Pettitte deserves more votes and consideration than he’s received so far. That seems like too big of a gap for him to make up, even over seven more years. In 2021, his third season on the ballot, Pettitte was checked on 13.7 percent of the ballots cast, a far cry from the 75 percent needed for enshrinement. And while Pettitte is a beloved Yankee with his number retired by the franchise, his vote totals so far look like Cooperstown will be out of reach. A-Rod, based purely on his stats, is a slam dunk selection, but of course his admittance to using performance-enhancing drugs and related suspensions may keep him out, as it has for the likes of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. Two players on the 2022 ballot would would obviously enter as Yankees, if selected: Andy Pettitte and Alex Rodriguez. After Derek Jeter’s totally unsurprising selection as a first ballot Hall of Fame player, the next Yankee to enter Cooperstown is up in the air.
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