"People that followed me know I've never been a big strikeout guy or had overpowering stuff," he said Sunday, "so each game, I had to make big pitches in certain situations, pick guys off, and get outs some guys could easily get elsewhere. I had to grind out there, but the combo of knowing that, and having all the great players I had around me, that helped me be as successful as I was."

He'll also tell you that a lot of that success came from within his own mind and within his definition of grinding.

"I never remember going out there and feeling like I was going to absolutely dominate the other team because I was so good. I'm sure some of the great players have thought that way before, but I didn't," he said. "So in every game at this level, I had to be mentally into every pitch. It seemed if I let my focus down for even one inning, it would be bad. I needed every ounce of focus and energy every start to be successful."

In reiterating that, Pettitte will remind you of the importance of the people around him, but it was a maybe a little divine intervention that helped out, too.

"I thank God that I'm left-handed; if I wasn't going to be a power pitcher, I could at least be a lefty and sink the ball up there," he laughed. "But I worked as hard as I could and gave everything I had every time I pitched, and the ultimate goal was to help this team get a win every time I took the mound."

Because Pettitte was victorious 219 times as a Yankee (238 counting the postseason), he was honored Sunday by having his No. 46 retired and enshrined in Monument Park. But even in that, he couldn't believe that he was now truly a part of the history he came up through the organization learning.

"I'm so fortunate and blessed that this organization has been so wonderful to me, and I couldn't say thank you enough out there," he said. "It's truly an honor, and 100 years from now, people will walk out to Monument Park and see my name. That's crazy, because this game was so hard for me and it was such a struggle, but I can't put describe eloquently enough just how it makes you feel."