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Andy Pettitte's No. 46 to Be Retired by New York Yankees on Aug. 23

Tim Keeney@@t_keenX.com LogoContributor IFebruary 16, 2015

New York Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte waves to the crowd after the Houston Astros presented him with a framed Astros jersey in the fifth inning of a baseball game on Friday, Sept. 27, 2013, in Houston. Pettitte, who is retiring at the end of this season, played for the Astros during their World Series season.  (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)
Pat Sullivan/Associated Press

The New York Yankees will retire the No. 46 jersey in honor of former starting pitcher Andy Pettitte.     

Andy's son Josh revealed the news on Twitter: 

Josh Pettitte @JPettitte21

Heard it here first. @Yankees are making August 23rd Andy Pettitte day. Retiring #46 and honoring him with a plaque in Monument Park!!

On Monday, the Yankees announced that Bernie Williams and Jorge Posada will also have their numbers retired, per Fox Sports' Jon Morosi:

Jon Morosi @jonmorosi

Yankees announce Bernie Williams (51), Jorge Posada (20) and Andy Pettitte (46) will have numbers retired and plaques in Monument Park.

Pettitte, who spent 15 of his 18 MLB seasons with the Yanks, finished his career in 2013 with a 3.94 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP while wearing the pinstripes. He has the most strikeouts in team history (2,020), is tied with Whitey Ford in starts (438) and is third in wins (219), innings pitched (2,796.1) and WAR (51.6), per Baseball-Reference.

An integral part of the team's late-1990s and early-2000s run of success, Pettitte won five World Series rings. He also won the 2001 ALCS MVP after earning two victories against the 116-win Seattle Mariners, finished second in Cy Young voting in 1996 and was elected to three All-Star Games. 

Pettitte becomes the 19th Yankee to have his number retired, with former closer Mariano Rivera serving as the most recent.

The Yankees are starting to run out of numbers—as CBS Sports' Mike Axisa noted, there will be no more single-digit numbers left after Derek Jeter's No. 2 is ultimately retired—but that's a testament to the success of the franchise. 

As the MLB's all-time leader in postseason wins, Pettitte has certainly done enough to be part of such an illustrious group.