GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Guardians manager Stephen Vogt was talking with Carl Willis last week when he reached out and interlocked his arm with Willis’. He looked up at the towering pitching coach and said: “This is going to be me during the game. I’m just gonna hold your hand.”

The one thing that Vogt and his predecessor have in common is a self-deprecating sense of humor. Spring Training has only officially been underway for one week. Vogt has met with local media just four times. Yet somehow, the number of jokes he’s made about his lack of experience as a skipper have already been exorbitant.

Maybe he already knows what’s going to be said from onlookers all season long and he’s getting ahead of the joke. Maybe it’s his way of seamlessly fitting into a new organization. Whatever the motivation is, it’s an approach that’s disarming, making him extremely approachable -- a quality every manager needs to have.

No, Vogt won’t physically be holding Willis’ hand in the dugout, but there’s no question this entire staff is going to be leaning on his experience in 2024.

So often newly hired managers bring their own coaches along with them. Willis understood this would be a possibility last year, when Terry Francona informed him that he would be stepping down from his position. Willis knew there was a chance he wouldn’t be back in a Cleveland uniform if the next man in charge had another guy for the job. But Vogt was different.

Vogt finished his playing career in 2022. He only had one year of coaching experience under his belt in Seattle last year. He didn’t necessarily have a team of coaches ready to follow him to Northeast Ohio. There was flexibility to have some familiar faces remain in the Guardians’ organization. And that may be the key to Vogt learning the job as quickly as possible.

Vogt is now paired with a person who has 21 years of Major League coaching experience and a reputation to help pitchers compete at an elite level. Plus, Willis has been able to be with this group since 2017, making it easier for him to help Vogt and other new staffers understand the recent histories of each of these pitchers.

“I don’t have to think twice about where our pitching is. I just ask Carl,” Vogt said. “Yeah, ultimately it will be my decision. I know that. But leaning on Carl is going to be -- he’s got so many years of experience. He’s forgotten more than I’ve seen. I think having him as a resource, I feel like I’m in good hands. And that goes for the entire staff.”

This opinion regarding Willis isn’t new. Francona boasted about him regularly over the past few years. Vogt followed suit. And bench coach Craig Albernaz, who was also brought into the organization this winter, didn’t waste time seeing Willis’ value, either.

“I mean, I think the first thing that comes to mind is you’re going to lean on Carl Willis,” Albernaz said about the young coaching staff. “I think that’s going to be for everyone in the dugout, us as an organization, but especially for [Vogt], is having Carl. That presence, that's a calm presence that’s been there. He’s gonna know when to crack to joke, he’s gonna know what guy to go to, he’s seen everything and also with Carl, he’s such a great collaborator.”

So, how does Willis feel about having everyone turn to him?

“Nervous,” Willis said with a laugh. “I’m joking. No, I appreciate that. I appreciate their confidence. I told [Vogt] many times, we’re gonna learn from him. I’m gonna learn from him. We all learn from each other every day.”

Willis hoped that he could stay around for the ’24 season. He didn’t really consider walking away once the position was offered back to him. Sure, he’s at an age that he’d like to spend more time with his family, including his grandkids and his 91-year-old mother. But he wasn’t ready to leave the Guardians yet. Why? Well, he has unfinished business.

“The only thing that I want to accomplish is I want to be part of a World Series in Cleveland,” Willis said. “But to accomplish that, it takes a team effort from ownership all the way down to whatever run you want to go to. And that means that we have to be accountable and responsible for our areas and help, in my case, the pitchers be the best that they can be each and every day. That’s what I challenge myself to do.”