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Did Andy Pettitte Save the Yankees Dynasty?


By Mike Silva ~ February 4th, 2011. Filed under: Mike Silva, New York Yankees, NY Baseball Memories.

I believe the Yankees dynasty started on October 24th, 1996 when Andy Pettitte beat John Smoltz in Game 5 of the World Series. Smoltz has gone on record saying that he might have had the best stuff of his career that night. Neither pitcher gave up an earned run, but it was an error by Marquis Grissom that allowed the only run to score. If Pettitte doesn’t match Smoltz with zeroes, it’s possible the Yankees never become the dynasty we know. That is the first thought that came to my mind when I heard the news that Andy Pettitte will retire later today.

It’s always hard to project the future, but I don’t believe the Yankees would have been able to beat the Braves two in a row at Yankee Stadium. If the Yanks lose the ’96 World Series, and then fall short in 1997 to Cleveland, could an impatient George Steinbrenner do something rash? George still had his fastball at that time and it’s conceivable everyone, including Joe Torre, might have been held accountable. The course of Yankees history could have been changed for the worst.

There are a lot of great moments from 1996. The Bernie Williams walk off against the Orioles, John Wetteland‘s sweaty saves, David Cone‘s gritty Game 3 performance, and of course, Jim Leyritz vs. Mark Wohlers. Also, who could forget how Yankee Stadium shook after Joe Girardi‘s triple off Greg Maddux in Game Six? The fact remains the one moment that has always stood out has to be Andy Pettitte‘s 8.1 scoreless innings in Game 5.

The debate about whether Andy Pettitte is a Hall of Famer begins later today when he officially announces his retirement. We will discuss all summer the impact his absence will have on the 2011 staff. I suspect he will be appreciated more now that he is gone. Whatever the conversation, I will continue to remember Game 5 of the 1996 World Series. The night Andy Pettitte very well saved the Yankees dynasty.

Mike Silva is a freelance writer and radio host since March of 2007. This website is his own personal "digest" of New York Baseball He's also hosts NYBD Radio on Blog Talk Radio and 1240 AM WGBB. Check out his sports media commentary at www.sportsmediawatchdog.com. Check out his official website, www.mikesilvamedia.com
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1 Response to Did Andy Pettitte Save the Yankees Dynasty?

  1. Maydog
    February 4th, 2011 at 9:21 am

    Long time lurker…

    Glad you brought up that game. Game 6 of the 96 WS is also proof Torre had lost in the 2000. If that had happened in 02-07, Torre would have never sent Pettite out for the 9th (or the 8th even) and would have just gone to Rivera.

    In a related story, Pettite is the only proven homegrown big game pitcher the Yankees have developed in 20 years. Who knows how much those early big pressure situations helped Andy later on. No ‘young’ starter gets trusted like that anymore

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