Last week, as the Yankees were about to wrap up the ALCS against the Guardians, Harkey said everything felt “familiar” again.

“You’ve been fighting for your life these 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 bolstered by the likes of David Robertson, Phil Hughes and, in October, Joba Chamberlain and left-hander Damaso Marte.

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

“From my perspective and from my calming perspective, he’s basically just steering that ship there and taking it there, without trying to make things bigger than they need to be,” Weaver said. “I’m just letting you know that you’re joining the game. Just before entry, submit your discovery report explaining the situation. But (also) from day to day. “He’s straightforward, he’s real, he’s honest, and if you don’t have a good match, he’s there the next day to talk about it and explain what he thinks.”

Harkey tries to get the bullpen talking about Rivera a lot, not just because of how good he is, but because it requires him to put in physical and mental effort every day.

“To me, he is such a strong and wonderful sounding board and friend,” Boone said. “He now has a lot of experience in the game, both as a player and as a coach. He’s clearly great at what he does and in his role. I feel very fortunate to have him on our staff and that he has 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 ensure Harkey would return.

“I think it’s helpful when someone with that kind of experience has played, been here, been at the buzzer and obviously been part of a team that won here (the World Series),” 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 signature style in the bullpen, keeping things loose until the phone rings.

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

“It’s the sound of being a New York Yankee,” Harkey said. “We were never as bad as everyone thought. We always knew that wasn’t the case. We knew we needed an opportunity to show 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.”