It’s official! Andy back in Yank family
TAMPA — The Yankees and Andy Pettitte are now officially official.
Since retiring in 2013, the former hurler has shown up at spring training to help out here and there. He’s made phone calls to free agents and spoken with pitchers in the organization. As of Monday, he has a title. The Yankees announced Pettitte will serve as a special adviser to the general manager.
“We just decided we’ll make an announcement, I guess just officially making me official,” Pettitte said before Monday’s game at George M. Steinbrenner Field. “I am part of it now.
“I come up and spend time guys and try to do whatever I could to help,” Pettitte continued with a shrug. “Really, more than anything it was an official announcement.”
Pettitte, a member of the Core Four and winner of four World Series titles with the Yankees, will be in and out of spring training because of commitments to his family. He is still committed as a pitching coach to a local Houston high school baseball team. He has a daughter who will play college volleyball next year, and a son entering high school. He has also added his favorite new title — grandfather — to his responsibilities.
So this is a casual, laid-back kind of Yankees job.
“Whatever the organization feels like they need or I could help at is really what I would like to do. It’s as laid back as can possibly be,” Pettitte said. “There really is not a whole lot of job description. Cash knows how I’ll handle myself. I will help out in any way I possibly can. The stuff I have going on at home, the obligations I have...coaching high school baseball and stuff like that, I’ll try to make things work. He knows I am on board here. I’ve been on board here for the last three or four years. Same deal I have been doing, just made it official.”
Pettitte said he did discuss a possible position with the Marlins, now partially owned by his former teammate Derek Jeter. Pettitte’s former batterymate Jorge Posada has taken a position there.
It never was a serious risk he would leave the Yankees, however.
“I spoke with Derek recently. It...obviously, that would be something fun you could consider. A couple of my buddies are over there doing that,” Pettitte said. “But this is something been in the works since I retired. Hal (Steinbrenner), (Cashman) and the organization has been so great to me.”