Pitcher Andy Pettitte is the subject of the fifth in the ongoing series about the key Stros players (previous posts here, here, here and here).
Pettitte is the hometown boy (Deer Park High School in suburban east Houston area) who returned to Houston in 2004 with a $31.5 million three year contract after a brilliant nine year stint with the New York Yankees that coincided with the Yankees winning four World Series Championships. Pettitte’s first season was highly frustrating as an elbow injury resulted in a premature end of the season before the Stros caught fire and came within a game of the World Series. One would not be going out on a limb to suggest that the Stros would have made the World Series in 2004 had Pettitte been able to pitch the entire season.

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