CLEVELAND -- It was the week before Spring Training games started when first-time manager Stephen Vogt ran up beside Carl Willis and locked arms with him to demonstrate just how much he'd rely on Willis.

“I’m just going to hold your hand,” Vogt told Willis at the time.

This was a joke that hid a little bit of truth. Vogt needed to learn everyone’s names in the organization while also figuring out how to run Spring Training. He had to evaluate players for the first time while trying to learn the best strategies for filling out a lineup card. He was starting at square one.

We now know Cleveland couldn’t have gotten to the playoffs without Emmanuel Clase, José Ramírez or a handful of other players, but the real X-factor who carried everyone to the finish line may have been Willis.

This is a man who has been with Cleveland for the past seven years, and 14 overall (Willis served as the pitching coach from 2003-09 and returned to the role ahead of the 2018 season). He was part of Terry Francona’s crew, which meant Willis could’ve left when Francona did last winter, but the Guardians left it up to him to decide. They had no interest in losing a man who’s coached five Cy Young winners and has been so successful with the Guardians. The 63-year-old could’ve decided to retire, but instead chose to come back for at least one more season.

“I don’t want to use that cliché, ‘I believe in Stephen Vogt,’ but I was really excited,” Willis said. “I wanted the opportunity, one more time, to see where it would go.”

No one knew it was heading for a 92-win season. Vogt knew he’d have to lean on Willis for advice throughout the year. He didn’t know that Willis would have to navigate around losing the team’s ace in the first week of the season. No one knew that Willis would have to piece together a rotation that was also missing Triston McKenzie and Logan Allen. No one knew that Willis would have to replace James Karinchak, Trevor Stephan and Sam Hentges at the back end of the bullpen with inexperienced arms.

Once it all happened, no one knew how he’d lead the group out of it. And yet, he did.

“Carl is just one of the best humans I’ve been around in this game,” Vogt said. “We wouldn’t be in the position we are without him.”

Everything you need to know about how much of an impact Willis has on his pitching staff was represented in one trip to the mound last week in the ninth inning against the Reds when Emmanuel Clase ran into trouble.

This was rare. Clase had been lights-out all season, hardly ever dealing with traffic on the bases, yet with a three-run lead, Clase started the ninth by walking two batters and giving up a single to load the bases with nobody out.

Willis called for time and walked to the rubber. This is a closer who had given up just five earned runs on the year. He knew how to escape jams. Willis knew he had no reason to give tips or talk strategy when he went out there. He knows what each pitcher needs in all situations. He said a few words and went back to the dugout, leaving Clase, a typically fierce, intimidating presence on the mound, smiling and laughing.

“That’s what Carl Willis does,” Vogt said.

Clase proceeded to retire the next three batters without allowing a run.

This is how Willis has helped lead the Guardians to the fourth-best bullpen ERA (2.57) in the Wild Card Era (since 1995). It’s the best ERA a Cleveland bullpen has ever put together. And it’s going to be the team’s best weapon in October.

“Honestly, [this season has] probably gone beyond anything I could imagine, at this point,” Willis said.

With the help of Willis’ guidance, Vogt has grown at a rapid pace in his new managerial role. He went from a wide-eyed first-timer to popping the first champagne bottle after the Guardians clinched the AL Central title.

Among that chaos, Vogt spotted Willis and grabbed him once again. But this time, he wrapped his arms around Willis’ neck and hugged him to celebrate a moment that many on the outside didn’t believe was possible.

This was the moment Willis came back for.

“This organization means the world to me,” Willis said. “In a sense, they changed my life over the last two or three decades that I’ve been fortunate to be involved with the Cleveland Indians and then Guardians.”