Pettitte joins Yankees as advisor: 'I've been through all this'

NEW YORK -- No one has won more October games than Andy Pettitte, making the fan-favorite left-hander an ideal clubhouse addition to help the Yankees gear up for their postseason push.

Pettitte is back with the Yankees as an advisor, manager Aaron Boone confirmed after the Yankees' win on Sunday. News of Pettitte’s return was first reported by NJ Advance Media.

“I’ve been through all this, walked through all this,” Pettitte said on Tuesday. “I know a lot of times for me, it was just having somebody to shoot some stuff off, maybe a different perspective. These guys are doing a great job, that’s for sure. I guess they’d like to have me around, so I’m excited to do it.”

The 51-year-old Pettitte will serve as a sounding board for Boone, supplementing the input of pitching coach Matt Blake and the club’s other pitching coaches. Pettitte, who observed Aaron Judge’s live batting practice session on the field Sunday morning, previously served as a special advisor to general manager Brian Cashman in 2019.

“I never wanted Andy to leave,” Boone said. “I never wanted Andy to leave. I've been trying to make this happen for a long time. Andy and I talk frequently during the season. ... I'm excited to have him back in the mix. As I tell him, you know, the more he can be here, the better.”

Pettitte’s return to the organization, for whom he pitched from 1995-2003 and again from 2007-13 (sitting out the ‘11 season after a first crack at retirement), follows the recent hiring of hitting coach Sean Casey, who played 12 years in the Majors and has been received well by the hitters.

Like advisor Nick Swisher, who is with the team this weekend in New York, it is believed that Pettitte will attend some -- but not all -- of the big league club’s games. Pettitte and his family reside in Texas.

“We’d been talking for a while about this,” Pettitte said. “I’ve just been living my life, so I’ve got some stuff that I already had scheduled. I won’t be with the club every day. I’m going to try to get back up here as much as I can; I do have a lot going on. I was retired and you plan stuff out, so I’ll be around when I can. I’ll be around also next year, so I’ll be able to plan that out a lot better.”

Yet whatever hours Pettitte can offer figure to be valuable. He will work with a pitching staff led by ace Gerrit Cole (a self-described Pettitte fan) plus left-handers Carlos Rodón and Nestor Cortes, the latter of whom made a Minor League rehab start on Sunday for Double-A Somerset at Hartford.

“He's such a great resource, not only for the pitchers but position players as well,” Boone said. “For being Andy Pettitte, there's a humility when he walks in that room, but a genuine impact he's able to have with guys. I'm just excited to have him in the mix moving forward.”

One of the most popular players of the team’s dynasty era and a member of the “Core Four” of Yankees who celebrated five World Series championships, Pettitte posted a career record of 256-153 with a 3.85 ERA in 531 Major League games (521 starts) with the Yankees and Astros. He holds postseason records for wins (19), starts (44) and innings pitched (276 2/3).

“A lot of the stuff that goes on is a little new for me, as far as the analytic stuff,” Pettitte said. “For me, I’m in uniform and out there with the guys, watching their bullpens, talking with the hitters. It’s more just being around the guys. It seems like they’re all excited that I’m around; a lot of guys are asking me questions. Since I’ve been through it right here in their shoes, I think that’s a good thing.”