How Andy Pettitte became only MLB user to escape PED stigma

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Andy Pettitte had his No. 46 retired Sunday at Yankee Stadium, the winningest pitcher in postseason history becoming the latest immortalized in Monument Park. It’s an honor — and a redemption story — that left the humble Texan emotional, and one that seemed far away not that long ago.

“One hundred years from now, I’m going to be dead and gone and people are still going to be walking out here and seeing this,’’ Pettitte said of his place in Monument Park.

He never had great stuff or topped 94 mph, his starts more hard work than works of art. But there was Pettitte on Sunday pulling the cover off his No. 46, getting gifts at home plate from both Hal Steinbrenner and Jennifer Steinbrenner-Swindal, tossing out the first pitch to longtime battery-mate Jorge Posada.

It was an honor that seemed impossible in 1995, when he was called up, and unlikely in 2007, when he was named in the Mitchell Report for his use of human growth hormone. But unlike most players, who alibi, obfuscate and litigate, Pettitte did something original: He apologized.

That’s probably why no other player in baseball directly linked with PEDs has had his number retired, while Pettitte — who admitted using HGH briefly to rehab an elbow injury in 2002, three years before it was banned — spent Sunday in The Bronx getting the highest individual honor the Yankees could give.

“I’m thankful; I don’t know what else to say. I’ve always tried to be respectful. … I had a [pastor] tell me a long time ago, ‘You take care of your character and God will take care of your reputation.’ I’ve carried that phrase with me for a long time,’’ Pettitte said. “I’ve tried to be truthful, to treat people the right way.’’

And that’s why he’s been the first player to truly move past PEDs.

“He’s just a genuine sincere guy,” general manager Brian Cashman said. “He tried to handle it the best way he possibly could, like he does everything,’’

And Pettitte’s way of hardening under pressure instead of cracking helped him go 18-10 in the playoffs with all-time postseason records for wins, starts, innings and strikeouts.

“No doubt postseason is different. … There’s something a bit different,” Pettitte said. “You raise that bar just a little bit. My focus got even a bit sharper. For sure, my last five or six years I was comfortable in those big moments.’’

From Pettitte to ex-teammates to Joe Torre, all agreed no moment was bigger than Game 5 of the 1996 World Series, when Pettitte rebounded from a Game 1 beating to smother the Braves 1-0 in Atlanta.

“He never shied away from responsibility,’’ Torre said. “In spite of the enormity of the game, he was always able to keep the game from speeding up. That has to come from inside, and especially Game 1 in his first World Series, to be able to rebound in the other guys’ home park and pitch the way he did was amazing.’’

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