Yankees Bullpen Coach Mike Harkey Says Anthony Rizzo Prank Calls The Bullpen From The Dugout During Every Game
Regardless of the sport, every team needs a Mike Harkey on their team. Hark is the Yankees bullpen coach and is in charge of managing the guys out there during the course of the game. With that job, he also takes on the responsibility of keeping the mood light when tensions are high. Can't just have everyone shitting bricks out there as the game gets late. You may think being the bullpen coach is a breeze, but being a vibes guy out there is a huge plus to the team. Hark has been there for a long fucking time and has just about as much respect from the team as anyone.
Quick story I think of with him is this story from former bullpen catcher Radley Haddad.
Well, the turns have tabled a bit. According to Harkey, Anthony Rizzo takes it upon himself to prank call the bullpen in the middle of the game. Little taste of his own medicine!
All I'm thinking about is Rizzo channeling his inner Ron Burgundy calling Veronica pretending to be her doctor.
Harkey thinking he's gotta get double barreled action going with a starter's pitch count climbing and here comes Rizzo trying to order a buffalo chicken pizza. I love it.
Rizzo was a contention point for being on the ALCS roster. Lots of fans were furious at his addition and were content with Berti and Oswaldo alternating at first. The way I saw it, if Anthony Rizzo is healthy enough, you play him at first in the postseason. So far that decision has worked out great as Rizzo is roping line drive after line drive. You could easily argue this is the best he's swung a bat since his concussion in 2023. There's a real argument to move him up in the lineup to swap out a struggling Austin Wells. I sorta hope they keep him down at the bottom where him and Volpe have pumped out very solid at bats. There's some length to the lineup now they've craved for years. I'm very happy Rizzo is back and producing, but his voice alone in that dugout during the late stages of the postseason speaks volumes. This could very well be his last year in New York, let's go out with a bang.