Yankees still have a uniform connection to the 2009 World Series team

Fifteen years later, the Yankees are back in the World Series, and the only man left in uniform from the last team to get here does most of his work in the shadows.

Mike Harkey remained bullpen coach through two managers, three pitching coaches, hundreds of relievers and a two-year hiatus to become the Diamondbacks’ pitching coach.

He is a storyteller, a joker, a part-time psychologist, and one of the greatest sources of experience and wisdom in the organization.

He has a personality as big as his 6-foot-11 frame, which Aaron Boone describes as “happily grumpy” soon after describing how he became one of the manager’s best friends.

And Harkey is the Yankees’ best performer at the most important time of the year.

“He’s the one,” Luke Weaver said before Friday’s Game 1 of the World Series at Dodger Stadium.

“He has been one of the most influential people for me in my own personal journey this year and his transition to the arena.”

There’s a reason Harkey, 57, has the staying power he’s had since 2008, when Joe Girardi landed his former minor league roommate and Cubs battery mate on his roster.

The Yankees have consistently produced one of the game’s best bullpen over the years, and while this year’s group has had its share of ups and downs, Harkey has been there to make sure they get to October in one piece.

“I take great pride in the work I do,” Harkey said. “I take great pride in the relationships I was able to build with some of these guys. I hope I can make the impact needed to win games. That’s really a big part of my experience. I’m lucky to have had this experience.”

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That experience included being on the franchise’s last World Series championship team in 2009.

Last week, with the Yankees on the verge of wrapping up the ALCS against the Guardians, Harkey said everything felt “familiar” again.

“You’ve been fighting for your life for the last few days, and you’re doing it with the men who brought you here,” Harkey said.

The Yankees’ 2009 bullpen was coached by future Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera and supported by the likes of David Robertson, Phil Hughes and, in October, Joba Chamberlain and lefty Damaso Marte.

This year, Harkey led a group led by big man-turned-closer Weaver, closer-turned-schememan Clay Holmes, veteran Tommy Kahnle and resurgent lefty Tim Hill.

“From my perspective and calming, he’s really just driving that ship out there and taking it there, not trying to make things bigger than they need to be,” Weaver said. “I calmly inform you that you are in the game. Submit your discovery report immediately before entering, explaining the situation. But (also) day by day. “He’s straightforward, he’s real, he’s honest, and if you don’t have a good game, he’s there the next day to talk about it and explain what he thinks.”

Harkey is trying to get the bullpen to talk a lot about Rivera, not just because of how good he is, but because he has to put in the physical and mental effort every day to do it.

“To me, he is such a strong and amazing sounding board and friend,” Boone said. “He’s got a lot of experience in the game now, both as a player and as a coach. He’s obviously great at what he does and in his role. I feel very lucky to have him on our staff and to have been a rock for me over the years.”

When pitching coach Matt Blake was hired to replace Larry Rothschild after the 2019 season, one of the first things he did was make sure Harkey would return.

“I think it’s helpful when someone with that kind of experience has played, been here, faced the buzzer and obviously been part of a team that won (the World Series) here,” Blake said. “So the confidence in his sense of consistency is huge for the players.”

Harkey, the 1987 No. 4 overall pick (three spots behind Ken Griffey Jr.) whose eight-year career was derailed by injuries, has a distinctive style in the bullpen, keeping things loose until the phone rings.

But over the years it has proven that it works, as it did this season, even if it doesn’t always seem like it.

“It’s the noise that comes with being a New York Yankee,” Harkey said. “We were never as bad as everyone thought. We always knew we weren’t. We knew we needed a chance to show that we could achieve greatness when we needed to achieve greatness. “Now we have the opportunity to do that and hopefully we can continue to do that for a few more weeks.”