APPLAUDING GREATNESS & FAMILY

Andy Pettitte is one of the Core Four.  He was part of some terrific Yankee teams and without him or Derek Jeter, or Jorge Posada or Mariano, even Joe Torre... you just never know what would have happened.  Would the Yankee Dynasty be ignited in 1996?  Obviously we will never know, but for the memories we have, it was truly great.

(Courtesy: Red Five Productions)
The Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation kicked off in Manhattan last night, and while BYB wasn't able to attend, we have connections and fortunately for us, and for you, the readers, we wanted to bring you a few highlights.

First of all,  Joe and Ali were honoring Andy Pettitte for his work with the New York Yankees. Last night at times,  he was that bashful guy we all know and love.  But when the players and coaches spoke of him, they spoke of that meanness Andy had on the mound.  They spoke about how he was a tough competitor, and fearless pitcher, and how when it was his day to pitch, you "stayed out of his way." But there was something else... Many spoke about Family and Andy... as a family man.

 (Courtesy: Red Five Productions)
Andy Pettitte, while he kept that part of his life pretty private throughout his career, was exposed as being an incredible family man last night. It was nice to hear others in his Yankee family speak about that.  Andy was quiet, humbled and almost seemed uncomfortable as people gushed over him.  But there was no denying, according to my buddy who was able to take a few photos for us, that Andy was content and happy.  He did some great things on the field, had a terrific career and now, he was loving retirement.

We speak about family a lot here at BYB.  It's the most important part of a person's life and seeing that side of these New York Yankees, it brings a realness to it all.  We speak a lot about connection between players and fans, and how it's less these days with layers and layers of people before you can even get to the player themselves.  But according to my buddy, Andy Pettitte, Bernie Williams, David Cone... they welcomed it last night and that's really nice to hear.

I love what Joe and Ali Torre do with the Safe at Home foundation.  They bring awareness to domestic violence and are able to raise money in now, their 12th year since the creation of Safe at Home. But in the process, they bring a room of celebrities and athletes together and connect them with others, regular folks... men, women and kids for 1 night to donate to the foundation, to meet the celebrities, and think about many things. But one of the most important things is family. Last night, it was clear just how important family was.

Thank you to Joe and Ali Torre for fighting the good fight of bringing awareness to domestic violence. They never stop working.

(Courtesy: Red Five Productions) 

Thanks to my friend at Red Five for helping me out with a few pictures and a play-by-play of the event last night.

And lastly, congrats to Andy Pettitte for being honored last night.  You were a fierce competitor and you deserve it.  But more importantly, thanks for leading by example and being an incredible person.  You've learned from your mistakes, you made life long friends with your teammates and you appear to be an incredible husband and father.  That's the best honor... good work pal.

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