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Pettitte to retire after 16-year career


NEW YORK (AFP) – Andy Pettitte, a pitcher on five World Series champions with the New York Yankees in his 16-year Major League Baseball career, will announce his retirement on Friday, the Yankees said Thursday.The 38-year-old left-hander will end his career despite hopes by the Yankees that they might coax him into one more campaign, but he will instead announce his retirement in a morning news conference at Yankee Stadium.Pettitte finishes his career with a 240-138 record and a 3.88 earned-run average, including a 203-112 showing with a 3.98 earned-run average over 13 seasons with the Yankees.He ranks third on the Yankees' all-time win list and his 1,823 striekouts are second to Whitey Ford in team history.Pettitte has the most playoff victories of any pitcher in Major League Baseball history with 19 against 10 defeats over a record 42 appearances with a 3.83 earned-run average in a record 263 innings.Last season, Pettitte went 11-3 with a 3.28 earned-run average but was sidelined by a groin strain for two months.Pettitte was part of World Series winners for New York in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2009. He also pitched in the World Series three other times, including helping the Houston Astros reach the best-of-seven final in 2005.Pettitte admitted to US Congressional investigators in 2008 that he had taken human growth hormones to help recover from injuries and is expected to be called by prosecutors in July when former Yankee teammate Roger Clemens goes on trial on charges he lied to Congress when denying he took performance-enhancing drugs.Without Pettitte in their pitching rotation, the Yankees have two holes in a starting lineup that includes ace C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Phil Hughes.After failing to land prized free agent hurler Cliff Lee, the Yankees are left with lesser names -- veteran right-handers Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia plus Ivan Nova and Sergio Mitre -- as possible fourth and fifth starters.I'm Hot.Funk .Whatever We Wanna .Download Switch (Studio Brussel) (22 january 2005).73 Phunk