Andy Pettitte hopes to bring ‘different perspective’ as Yankees adviser

Andy Pettitte threw a ceremonial, first-pitch strike Tuesday, but despite that, he will not be suiting up to augment the Yankees’ rotation.

But in bringing in the 51-year-old franchise legend, the Yankees have added a baseball lifer who played the game at a high level to help their players — just as they did earlier this month by adding Sean Casey as hitting coach.

Pettitte said he does not know a ton about the advanced analytics that have become the language for much of the game.

A five-time World Series champion in pinstripes, Pettitte speaks throwback baseball.

“I hope I could be a good sounding board for some guys,” said Pettitte, speaking publicly for the first time since the Yankees appointed him as an adviser. “I’ve been through all this. Walked through it. I know a lot of times, for me, when I just think of having somebody to just shoot some stuff off.

“Maybe a different perspective.”

The face of the Yankees’ successful pitching factory is pitching coach Matt Blake, who did not pitch in the majors and who represents the modern game, in which the art of pitching has somewhat become a science. Pettitte, who never threw too hard during his excellent, 18-year career, was an artist on the mound.

The Yankees have long wanted Pettitte to work for them, but the COVID-19 pandemic complicated the process. Originally, the club wanted the lefty to talk and work with minor leaguers, but general manager Brian Cashman called recently, asking Pettitte to help out the big-league club.

Pettitte had been coaching his sons in high school in Texas. His youngest, Luke, just graduated and will play at Dallas Baptist. So, the timing was right.

“He’s just so good in the room and has relationships with a lot of these guys already,” manager Aaron Boone said before the Yankees‘ 9-3 loss to the Mets in The Bronx.

Luis Severino called Pettitte “a great person to have around.” Pettitte watched Gerrit Cole, whom he helped recruit to New York when Cole was a free agent, throw a bullpen session and talked pitch grips with the ace.

Pettitte will work behind the scenes. He will not be in uniform in the dugout, but will be around the club “as much as I can,” he said. The reunion happened quickly, and he had arranged various plans over the next few months before signing. His deal extends through next season, when he intends to be around the team more.

Despite serving as the pitching coach for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, Pettitte said he does not envision becoming a pitching coach in the future.

For now, he just wants to talk baseball with Yankees players and empathize, particularly with a pitching staff that has been doing “a great job.”

“I think everybody that’s played here knows — it’s a little bit different. The pinstripes are a little different,” said Pettitte, who retired in 2013. “When you come here, you should know that and you should expect that and you have to kind of embrace that.”