Not sure exactly why, but it always seemed that Andy Pettitte and Harry Connick Jr. shared some DNA. Maybe it was as simple as the way Pettitte talked — as much Cajun as Texan — or how naturally he would lock his eyes on whatever crossed his path.

Pettitte was soulful and stylish but also as tough as barbed wire. He was the ultimate sidekick, a guy who in another era always would have been in demand for rides up the Chisholm Trail.

He was a 22nd-round pick of the Yankees in 1990, a draft in which they took Carl Everett in the first round and Dutch infielder Robert Eenhoorn in the second round. In the 24th round, they took a Puerto Rican high school shortstop named Jorge Posada. Both Pettitte and Posada played junior college baseball before signing on back-to-back days as the ‘91 draft approached, the Yankees unwilling to see them go back into the draft pool.

Talk about franchise-shaping decisions.

After dabbling with the idea of retirement for four years, the 38-year-old Pettitte finally made that call Friday. Rather than head to Florida in a couple of weeks, he will stay home with his wife, Laura, who was in the stands when he pitched his Deer Park High team in the Houston suburbs to within one victory of a Texas championship, and their four children.

Pettitte essentially worked another 1 1/2 seasons in those 13 Octobers, throwing 263 innings in 42 starts, 13 of which came in the World Series.