Fifteen years later, the Yankees are back in the World Series, and the only link left in uniform from the last team to get here does most of his work in the shadows.
Mike Harkey has remained the bullpen coach through two managers, three pitching coaches, hundreds of relievers and his own two-year hiatus to be the Diamondbacks’ pitching coach.
He is a storyteller, a jokester, a part-time psychologist and one of the biggest wells of experience and wisdom in the organization.
He has a personality as big as his 6-foot-5 frame and is described by Aaron Boone as “happily grumpy,” right after talking about how he has become one of the manager’s best friends.
And Harkey has the Yankees’ bullpen pitching its best at the most important time of the year.
“He’s one of one,” Luke Weaver said in the leadup to Friday’s Game 1 of the World Series at Dodger Stadium.
“He, to me, has been one of the most impactful people for this year in my own personal journey, having transitioned to the bullpen.”
There is a reason why Harkey, 57, has had the staying power he has since 2008, when Joe Girardi hired his former minor league roommate and Cubs batterymate onto his staff.
The Yankees have consistently produced one of the game’s best bullpens over the years, and while this year’s group has had its fair share of ups and downs, Harkey has been there to make sure it got to October in one piece.
“I take a lot of pride in what I do,” Harkey said. “I take a lot of pride in the relationships I’m able to build with some of these guys. Hopefully I’m able to make the kind of impact that needs to be made in order to win games. It’s just really a lot of my experience. I’m lucky to get the 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 it was all feeling “familiar” again.
“Fighting for your lives these last couple days and doing it with the guys that got you here,” Harkey said.
The Yankees’ bullpen in 2009 was led by future Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera and bolstered by the likes of David Robertson, Phil Hughes and in October, Joba Chamberlain and lefty Damaso Marte.
This year, Harkey has overseen a group led by long-man-turned-closer Weaver, closer-turned-setup man Clay Holmes, veteran Tommy Kahnle and resurgent lefty Tim Hill.
“I think he really rides and leads that ship down there when it comes to the way I see it and calming, not trying to make things bigger than they need to be,” Weaver said. “Letting you know calmly that you’re in the game. Explaining the situation, give you the scouting report right before you get in. But [also] the day to day. He’s just blunt, he’s real, he’s honest and if you don’t have a good game, he’s there the next day to talk it out and explain what he thinks.”
Harkey tries to make sure he talks about Rivera a lot in the bullpen, not just because of how good he was, but because of how he still had to put in the physical and mental work to do it every day.
“For me, he’s such a rock and an amazing sounding board and friend,” Boone said. “So much experience now in the game as a player and as a coach. Obviously great at what he does and in his role. I just feel so lucky that he’s on our staff and been a rock for me over the years.”
When pitching coach Matt Blake was hired to replace Larry Rothschild following the 2019 season, one of the first things he did was make sure that Harkey would be back.
“I think it’s helpful any time you have someone with that kind of experience who played, he’s been here, he’s been through the ringer, obviously he’s been part of a [World Series] winning team here,” Blake said. “So the trust in his sense of stability out there is big for the guys.”
Harkey, the No. 4-overall pick in 1987 (three picks behind Ken Griffey Jr.) whose eight-year career was derailed by injuries, has his own unique style in the bullpen and keeps things loose until the phone rings.
But it has proven to work over the years, as it did again this season, even when it didn’t always look like it would.
“It’s the noise that comes along with being a New York Yankee,” Harkey said. “We were never as bad as everyone thought we were. We always knew we weren’t. We just knew we needed a chance to be able to show we can get the big outs when we need to get the big outs. We’re getting an opportunity to do that now and hopefully we can continue to do it for another couple weeks.”
