Andy's Back!

Fans were thrilled with the surprise announcement that Andy Pettitte plans a comeback to the DMBL in 2013.

The 39-year-old lefthander went 147-143 with a 5.19 ERA and 1.61 WHIP over his 16-year career spent mostly with the Jerusalem Rabbis (1996-2000) and the Stanhope Mighty Men (2001-2002). He also pitched for the Newark Sugar Bears (2003-2004), Carolina Mudcats (2005-2007), Tampa Bay Plunkers (2008) and New Jersey Team Buddah (2009-2011).

His best season was probably 1998 (his only year as an All-Star) when he went 15-7 with a 3.80 ERA and 1.50 WHIP; his worst was last year (7-13, 6.41 ERA, 1.85 WHIP), which probably explained his abrupt retirement. He appeared on seven post-season teams and won World Series rings with the Rabbis (2000) and Sugar Bears (2004).

Fans are already asking: Is his comeback an attempt to make the DMBL Hall of Fame? Possibly! A solid season from Pettitte could help him move up the career leader charts in several categories.

If he makes just one appearance next season, he'll tie Roger Clemens and Greg Maddux for most seasons by a pitcher (17).

He also needs just 3 wins to become just the 11th player in DMBL history to reach 150 wins. But he'll have a tough time catching the guy ahead of him on the list -- Philly's Roy Halladay at 153. It would take an 24-win season from Pettitte to catch the next guy on the list -- Tom Glavine at 170. But at least a few more wins would help him stay ahead of the guy in 12th place -- Carolina's Tim Hudson, who is 19 wins behind at 128. The all-time Maddux with 232.

Pettitte ranks 5th in career starts with 421; he needs 30 starts in 2013 to pass Randy Johnson (450), 32 to pass Clemens (452) and 35 to eclipse Glavine in 2nd place. But he's still a long way away from Maddux, who ranks #1 at 497.

Pettitte also ranks 10th in most innings pitched (2,430); he needs just 10 innings to pass John Smoltz for 9th place, but moving up farther would be tough -- he'd need 181 innings next season to catch Kevin Brown at 2,610, and 213 to pass Pedro J. Martinez at 2,642. Even at 200 innings a season, he'd need five to break the all-time record -- Maddux's 3,415.

He is 11th in career Ks with 1,694, but he'll have a tough time moving up the list -- Halladay is ahead of him at 1,732, and he'll likely be adding a couple hundred more to his total this season. But perhaps they can both pass Johan Santana in 9th place at 1,747. Johnson's all-time record of 3,408 appears safe.

He ranks 7th in career shutouts (16), one behind Brad Radke, two behind Curt Schilling and three behind Pedro. But right in the middle of that pack is Halladay with 18, who will likely be moving up the leaderboard himself. Brown ranks 2nd with 24, while Maddux is the all-time leader with 32.

Pettitte also ranks 3rd in hits allowed (3,023), behind Glavine (3,277) and Maddux (3,597); 3rd in earned runs allowed (1,400), behind Maddux (1,478) and Glavine (1,523); 5th in walks allowed (879), behind Al Leiter (952), Clemens (984), Johnson (1,052) and Glavine (1,053).

So, would hanging on another year or two help Pettitte's HOF chances? Probably not, unless he's a lot more effective than he has been the last few years.

In fact, some would argue that Pettitte should have retired several years earlier if he wanted a shot at a plaque in East Hanover. Over the last three years of his career, all with New Jersey Team Buddah, Pettitte went 29-40 with a 6.00 ERA and a 1.69 WHIP. Forget about those years, and Pettitte is 118-103 (.534 W%) with a 4.33 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP in 325 starts -- a better ERA and WHIP than Hall of Famer David Cone (4.42 ERA, 1.50 WHIP), and more wins than Hall of Famer Dennis Martinez (84).