Yankees great Andy Pettitte joining team as an adviser
The Yankees are calling on pitching great Andy Pettitte to help them in the present.
The five-time World Series champion is joining the Yankees as an adviser — a move manager Aaron Boone says he wanted to make happen “for a long time.”
“The more he can be here, the better,” Boone said Sunday. “He’s such a great sounding board, resource, smart. Not only for the pitchers. The position players as well.”
Boone says he speaks frequently with Pettitte, whom he played with on the 2003 Yankees. Pettitte’s role will be to impact players wherever possible, the manager said.
“He communicates with different pitchers throughout the season via phone,” Boone said. “He does that with position players, too. I just want him breathing into our guys. Excited to have him in the mix.”
Pettitte, 51, pitched 15 of his 18 MLB seasons with the Yankees and posted a 256-153 record with a 3.85 ERA for his career. The left-hander, who retired in 2013, won 19 postseason games, which remains an MLB record.
“We’ll see him at times where he’ll pop in on the road,” Boone said. “We’ll see him here [at Yankee Stadium]. I’m saving a seat for him on the plane whenever he wants to jump in.”
Pettitte, who lives in Texas, was at Yankee Stadium over the weekend.
“The last two days, I’ve been talking to him,” said Yankees starter Luis Severino, who pitched Sunday. “He’s a great person to have. He knows baseball.”
Alex Rodriguez, Reggie Jackson and Nick Swisher are among the former Yankees who have also been advisers for the team.
