Andy Pettitte To Retire On Friday

Yankee great Andy Pettitte will officially announce his retirement at a news conference at Yankee Stadium on Friday at 10:30 a.m. This will put an end to months of speculation over whether he'd be returning for a partial season in 2011, or why he might consider retiring after coming off one of the better seasons in his long career. 

Rumors will inevitably circulate that Pettitte was afraid of becoming a distraction facing the likelihood of having to testify at Roger Clemens' upcoming perjury trial this summer, and while there may be some truth to that, I think he probably just decided that it was time to go out on top and spend time with his family. Good for him. 

Pettitte will end his career with a 240-138 record, 3.88 ERA, 50.2 WAR and 117 ERA+, to go along with a record 19 postseason wins and five World Series rings, and as the first of the Core Four to retire, it marks the end of an era and makes me feel kind of old. The only question now is when the Yankees will be hosting Andy Pettitte Day and retiring number 46.