Chavez has the look of a legend

The lookalike jokes started popping up on Twitter the day before they finally reached Eric Chavez at third base inside Fenway Park last weekend.

Minus the eye black, the number and the nickname Yankees fans have no plans to begin referring to him as “Chavey Baseball,” mind you people have taken notice of his resemblance to a pinstriped icon, mostly due to the facial hair now covering his upper lip.

“Kevin Youkilis actually said to me, ‘Who are you trying to be with that (mustache)? Don Mattingly?’ “ Chavez said with a laugh. “I was like, ‘What? Who? Oh, OK.’ ... I never thought about it, but in this uniform, that’s not a bad thing. It’s also pretty ironic.”

Ironic because of this little-known fact: Chavez might not be playing baseball again, let alone with the Yankees, if it wasn’t for Mattingly, who convinced him he should try.

The two spoke several times over the phone this winter, their conversations providing the oft-injured Chavez with the confidence he needed to make a return to the game.

Chavez, 33, also had plans of joining Mattingly with the Dodgers before “circumstances changed a little bit” and a training camp invite from the Yankees came his way.

The rest is history, of course, so when the comparisons started, Chavez found them both funny and fitting.

“He was the one who got me thinking, ‘OK, maybe I can come back and I can play,’ “ Chavez said. “We discussed injuries, hitting a little bit, so it’s kind of ironic (people are making comparisons). To me, it’s a cool thing because I kind of look at him like a father figure in a way now.”

Despite missing 71 games with a broken foot, Chavez has emerged as an integral part of their plans since returning from the disabled list July 25. He adopted his Mattingly look as a bit of an homage to teammate Russell Martin’s mustache, which gained attention and good-natured ridicule from fans and teammates for its ugliness two weeks ago.

In Alex Rodriguez’s absence, Chavez has been swinging a hot bat, providing the perfect complement to rookie Eduardo Nunez at third base in addition to the veteran presence he brings to the ballpark on a daily basis.

The Yankees (72-46) open a seven-game road trip with their first of three Monday night in Kansas City after being rained out Sunday against Tampa Bay at the Stadium.

And at some point, likely when the Yankees hit Minnesota for a four-game set beginning Thursday, Rodriguez (knee surgery) will return from his minor-league rehab assignment.

He participated in a simulated game Sunday in Tampa and notched four hits (two doubles) while striking out three times in 13 at-bats. Rodriguez is expected to join Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for games Tuesday and Wednesday before his anticipated comeback to the majors.

“I’m just very fortunate to have an opportunity to come here and play,” said Chavez, who is hitting .293 with a homer and 15 RBI in 30 games. “I’ve been swinging the bat pretty well and I honestly don’t feel like I’m replacing anybody. Even if I tried, there’s just no possible way to replace a guy like Alex. Really, all I see it as is just fulfilling my role. This is what I’m here to do.”

Chavez is within four games of playing the most he has in a season since 2007.

“When I played with Chavey, he was the best third baseman in baseball, in my eyes,” said Nick Swisher, Chavez’s teammate in Oakland for four seasons. “The talent is still there, but at this point, you’ve got to look at his personality, too. He’s a perfect fit because he’s such a professional. It’s not all about getting the best guy, but the best fit.”

Healthy this late in the summer for the first time in a long while, Chavez insists he is willing to do whatever it takes to help the Yankees win.

“I’ve played on some pretty good offensive teams early with the A’s, but really I’ve never seen anything like this,” Chavez said. “If you look at the three guys in the middle Robbie (Cano), (Curtis) Granderson and (Mark) Teixeira — they do so much damage. The rest of us, all we’ve got to do is pitch in.”

Comparisons to legendary Yankees notwithstanding, Chavez only can hope to keep up his end of the deal by doing just that.