Righetti Wouldn’T Consider Leaving Bay Area, Unless George Calls

Memo to George Steinbrenner: If you’re in the market for a pitching coach for your Yankees in the next few years, you might be able to lure a successful one from San Francisco. He knows the way around your clubhouse. In fact, he once resided in the prized corner locker and pitched a Fourth of July no-hitter for you.

Dave Righetti, in his first year as pitching coach for the Giants, still owns the Yankees record for saves in a season with 46, which he achieved in 1986. The left-hander, who pitched for 10 seasons in New York, still wears a familiar No. 19 on his uniform, and doesn’t look much different from the day in 1995 when he retired as a player.

He stayed away from the game for three years, and says he didn’t miss it. With a wife and triplets at home, a budding business building family sports parks in his native San Francisco Bay Area, and charity involvements, baseball strayed far from his mind.

But last season Righetti - nicknamed “Rags” - was lured back as a roving instructor for the Giants, and this season he joined the big club. Now he says there is only one place that might make him consider leaving.

“The Yankee thing would be tough,” Righetti said Friday at Shea Stadium, where the Giants and Mets began a four-game series rife with playoff implications. “I don’t know. It’s intriguing. I don’t think I’d ever leave the West Coast, in fact I know I won’t, unless it was something in New York. Nobody has ever asked.”

Righetti is enjoying his new life in baseball, though it comes at a steep price. His children - 9-year-old Nicolette, Natalee, and Wesley - have struggled with a variety of ailments. Nicolette was born deaf, Natalee has cerebral palsy, and Wesley has eye problems. “It’s terrible being away from home,” he says, but he finds himself hooked once again on the baseball life. And he is good at it.

Giants starters’ combined 3.20 ERA since the All-Star break leads the National League. Relievers are 18-15 with 32 saves.