Did Andy Pettitte Set The Precedence for Alex Rodriguez?

The New York Yankees set a precedence this past weekend whether they intended to or not. Unless I am mistaken this is the first time that a team knowingly retired a number or honored a player that admitted to using any sort of PED's or steroids in the game's modern era. The Yankees not only honored Andy Pettitte with Andy Pettitte Day this weekend in the Bronx but the team also retired his #46 jersey ensuring that nobody would ever wear the number again as a Yankee. Pettitte, as we all know, admitted to using steroids to help rehab an injury earlier in his career. Did the Yankees potentially open the door for another great Yankees player, like him or not, to get his number #13 Yankees jersey retired?

The two cases are not an ideal comparison, Pettitte admitted it seemingly from Day One that he used and asked for forgiveness while Alex not only denied it once but he denied it and got caught with them twice. Andy never faced a steroid suspension and he never sued the MLB Players Association, his team doctor or his own cousin either while Rodriguez has burned every bridge from Miami to here dropping millions of dollars in legal fees and lawsuits along the way. If Andy has taught A Rod one thing though it's that it may never be too late for a player, especially in New York.

If Alex finishes his current contract without retiring he would finish with coincidentally 13 seasons as a member of the New York Yankees. During his tenure with the Yankees he led the team to a 2009 World Series Championship while exceeding a 52.0 fWAR along with a slew of crooked numbers in the Yankees record books. Currently, at the time of this writing, Rodriguez has 335 home runs as a Yankee and has passed the 400, 500 and 600 home run plateaus as a member of the Bronx Bombers. A Rod has won a pair of MVP Awards while playing his home games inside Yankee Stadium and has also surpassed the 1,000 RBI plateau with the team passing names like Berra, DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle along the way. In a word A Rod has been a living legend despite the steroid allegations.

Is it enough? Can the Yankees organization continue to rebuild that bridge with Alex and can Rodriguez continue to build that bridge back with his peers and his fans? If you disagree with the Yankees retiring the number I couldn't keep a straight face and tell you that you're wrong for that but for me personally it is something that should be done, eventually. The world hated Reggie Jackson and he did a hell of a lot less for the team in his short tenure, why not A Rod?