Deer Park's Josh Pettitte has clearly learned from his father, Andy, and success has followed.
Photos by John Godwin/Getty Images
When it comes to
Deer Park (Texas) senior pitcher
Josh Pettitte, the apple certainly didn't fall far from the tree.
Watching him pitch, you can immediately see a striking similarity to his father, New York Yankees great Andy Pettitte.
When looking at the two pitchers side-by-side, the only noticeable difference is that Josh is right-handed and Andy is a lefty. Other than that the mechanics are virtually identical.
If Josh has purposely emulated his father, a two-time 20-game winner with 248 career wins, it's certainly worked.
Josh is currently 11-0 with six shutouts, and has notched more than 100 strikeouts in 75 innings. He also threw a no-hitter — something his dad has yet to do in the majors — against Boerne Champion in late February.
Andy also pitched for Deer Park, and was drafted in the 22nd round by the Yankees in 1990. It remains to be seen whether Josh, who is committed to Baylor, will be selected in this year's draft.
Here is a look at Josh Pettitte in action during last Friday's 12-1 win over Dobie in the bi-district championship game. In a game shortened by the mercy rule, Pettitte pitched all five innings, allowing one earned run and racking up eight strikeouts.
Next up for the 21-5A champions is Kempner, which ousted the Deer last year. The teams will play a best-of-three series at Alvin. Game 1 will be tonight at 7:30 p.m., local time.
