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Jorge Posada and Andy Pettitte Celebrate their Careers at NYY Steak in New York

Pettitte and Posada Saw Numbers Retired

Chris Trotman/Getty Images

Chris Trotman/Getty Images

 

This past weekend the New York Yankees honored former catcher Jorge Posada and pitcher Andy Pettitte by retiring their numbers 20 and 46 in the immortal Monument Park.

The Yankees brought back former coaches, Gene Michael and Joe Torre, as well as players such as Bernie Williams, Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter and many more to help commemorate the weekend.

On Monday, Posada and Pettitte were honored again as Steiner Sports held a special “Batterymates” event. The event was from 6-8:30 and was held at NYY Steak in Mid-Town New York.

At the event, Pettitte and Posada had a question and answer session held by ESPN Radio host Don Lagreca during which the two newest members of Monument Park answered questions about their careers.

“I’ve never been nervous on a baseball field but Saturday was very emotional for me,” Posada stated. “It was surreal.”

Pettitte was also thrilled with the weekend stating, “You know when you’re playing you never dream of stuff like this and expect it to happen. It’s just an absolute honor to be able to be honored like that by the greatest franchise in sports history.”

Pettitte also thanked the fans during the good times and bad times.

“I didn’t go in the clubhouse and cry about the fans getting on me, the lefty said. “It was a driving force for me to go out there and perform better.”

Posada was filled with emotions over this weekend and had a chance to really reflect on his career.

“You think about everything, the catcher said. “For me it was my injury in 1994. It was almost career ending, but I was able to come back and it reminded me of the obstacles we had to overcome along the way.”

Pettitte is currently the all-time winningest pitcher in the playoffs with 19 wins including the 2009 American League Championship and World Series clinching wins.

Posada and Pettitte have a unique bond after playing together for years and winning five World Series Championships together.

“When you go through years of playing especially in the minor leagues, you just create a bond,” Pettitte said. “We talk about it all the time we could be gone for a year and pick up right where we left off.”

“We group up together,” Posada added. “I’ve known Andy and Mo (Mariano Rivera) since 1991 and Derek (Jeter) since 1992. It was easy, all four of us wanted the same things to make it up win championships.”

When asked about the Red Sox rivalry Posada’s answer was very simple.

“I hated everyone we played against.” Posada said. “That’s it while playing a game on the field I didn’t like anyone on the other side.”

Pettitte feels like he could still pitch today if the Yankees called him as he stated, “I could still pitch. I can get the ball to 87-88 mph.”

Posada on the other hand had no interest at all.

“No way,” he said. “The game has changed and the pitchers throw to hard now.”

After a mixed reaction from the crowd Pettitte insisted that Posada could still hit. “He can hit if he got an at bat,” Pettitte chuckled about his teammate. “Plus if I was coming back to pitch I would need someone to catch me.”

The teammates finished up their session, and proceeded to take pictures with the fans that were in attendance during a cocktail party atmosphere.

Pettitte and Posada might be gone from the field, but their legacy and presence is felt everywhere they are.

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