MLB

Strong season by Yankees’ Pettitte could boost Hall chances

TAMPA — The Yankees have reunited with Andy Pettitte because they believe he can seamlessly be the same pitcher in 2012 as he was in 2010.

This isn’t about nostalgia or popularity. The Yankees believe Pettitte’s arm is sound, his craftiness is intact and his sturdy ability to handle New York and the postseason is unchanged. If that is all true, then the Yankees can envision 20-25 meaningful starts from May through September, and — vitally — a few more come October.

This is what the potential $2.5 million investment is about: A bargain if Pettitte can replicate 2010, when he went 11-3 with a 3.28 ERA and had two superb playoff outings.

But there are fringe benefits, notably the rotation depth the Yankees might boast come May when they could have seven viable candidates in the majors and also five prospects in their Triple-A rotation (Manuel Banuelos, Dellin Betances, D.J. Mitchell, David Phelps and Adam Warren).

No rotation is bulletproof. But the Yankees certainly would have numbers to better cope with injury or performance malfunction, or to trade in an attempt to address other areas of need.

And there is a weighty personal fringe benefit in play for Pettitte: The Hall of Fame.

Pettitte had said goals such as pursuing 300 wins or Cooperstown immortality did not matter to him when he “retired” after the 2010 season. He is 60 wins short of 300, so even if Pettitte can stretch a comeback beyond this year, his chances of eclipsing 300 are tiny.

And it is possible nothing he has done or will do would garner Pettitte the votes necessary to reach the Hall because he admitted using human growth hormone; albeit, in his telling, only briefly and only to accelerate healing of his elbow. To this point, a large enough bloc of voters has rejected the candidacy of any player associated with illegal performance enhancers as to prevent induction.

So in order to be enshrined, Pettitte and others such as Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro are going to need a sea change in the voting. Pettitte was unlikely to get in based on what he did from 1995-2010, thus he can only help his candidacy with this comeback.

Pettitte lacks blow-away seasons in his past. He has finished in the top three of the Cy Young balloting just once and top six four other times, but has never won. He was top five in ERA twice and an All-Star just three times.

Pettitte’s genius is in his metronomic above-average performances for winning teams plus his strong postseason work. Both are areas he could augment this year.

All 12 pitchers who have finished at least 100 games over .500 since 1900 and were eligible for election are enshrined in Cooperstown and four awaiting eligibility — Tom Glavine, Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux and Pedro Martinez — appear no-brainers. There are three others, Pettitte and former teammates Roger Clemens and Mike Mussina, who are going to provide a combo test case for Pettitte.

Clemens falls into a class with Barry Bonds as no-doubt Hall of Famers based on results, whose candidacies are besmirched by ties to steroids. Mussina has a borderline case boosted by generating all of his strong results in the tough, DH-using AL East.

Pettitte is 102 games over .500 (240-138) and has AL East cred, having played all but three years for the Yankees, as he now is trying to do again.

However, as the Hall voting membership takes on more voters who believe firmly in advanced metrics, wins are losing statistical influence. So Pettitte would probably still need more than maintaining his steadiness and 100-games-over-.500 status.

This is where helping the Yankees make the playoffs and then doing something positive there could abet Pettitte. He already is the all-time postseason leader in wins (19), innings (263) and starts (42). His 3.83 postseason ERA is similar to his good, but not great, 3.88 regular-season mark — though points are given for producing the postseason number against the best competition under the most pressure.

What could aid Pettitte is extending further a run of postseason excellence dating to 2003: 17 starts, 9-3 record, 2.93 ERA.

Of course, we are putting the cart ahead of the comeback. Pettitte does not arrive until tomorrow to begin his return try in earnest. Nevertheless, there are plenty of big items in play for the Yankees — and the veteran lefty.