But while the fans undoubtedly would have loved to see the 37-year-old achieve the game's highest accomplishment, Pettitte was apparently not as interested.
With two outs in the seventh and Pettitte having retired all 20 batters he faced, Jerry Hairston Jr., getting the start in favor of a resting Alex Rodriguez, let a groundball go through his legs. With a no-hitter still intact, Pettitte surrendered a single to the next batter.
After the game, however, Pettitte told Hairston that he wasn't upset with him.
"He was kind of funny," Hairston told The Associated Press. "He was like, 'You took the pressure off me.' He goes, 'If I haven't thrown a no-hitter by now, then I'm not going to do it.'
"He said he didn't want to throw nine innings anyway," Hairston added. "That's what type of attitude he has."
Whether or not Pettitte truly means that or was just being a good teammate is hard to tell, but it's hard to believe a pitcher in the late stages of his career wasn't hoping for the perfect start.
