CLEARWATER, Fla. — The name on Friday’s travel list was familiar to many people inside the Yankees’ organization, because the pitcher — in a lot of ways — grew up in the family.
As the son of former Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long, Jaron Long has been a fixture in the clubhouse since 2007, when he was a 16-year-old high school pitcher in Arizona.
With his father, after eight years with the Yankees, now working on the East Coast of Florida as the Mets’ hitting coach, Jaron is trying to work his way to The Bronx after being an undrafted hurler out of Ohio State, signed for $50,000.
Long wasn’t invited to big league camp, but with two games Friday — one against the Phillies in Clearwater and another against the Pirates at George M. Steinbrenner Field — the Yankees needed extra chuckers.
After two innings and a 50-minute rain delay at Bright House Field, Long emerged from the first-base dugout to face the bottom third of the Phillies’ order with his mother, Marcey, watching from the stands.
“It was amazing, I was so excited,’’ Marcey Long told The Post. “I was sitting behind home plate and I was a little nervous. I’m very proud of him, it was fun.’’
Any parent would be proud of a son who retired the first three big league hitters he faced, even if it were a spring training gig.
Working a fastball that doesn’t move much past 88 mph, but is located well, the 6-foot, 185-pound Long whiffed Carlos Ruiz with a 3-2 pitch, got Jeff Francoeur on a grounder to the mound and ended the perfect frame by getting Cord Phelps on a harmless fly to left field during the Yankees’ 4-1 victory.
“It was the first time pitching since last September, it was good to get on the mound,’’ said the 23-year-old right-hander, who put himself in position to get noticed last year by going 12-5 with a 2.18 ERA at three levels of the minor leagues. In 28 games (18 starts), Long threw 144 ¹/₃ innings, allowed 124 hits, fanned 122 and walked 22.
Having finished last year with Double-A Trenton, Long was asked where he was going to start this season. Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre is a possibility.
“That is up to the Yankees,’’ said Long, who was 7-2 with a 2.35 ERA in 11 games (10 starts) for the Thunder. “Wherever they put me, I will do my best to end up in The Bronx.’’
Even as a kid tagging along with his father, Long understood his place in the clubhouse and around big leaguers. That hasn’t changed now that he has made people notice.
“If they tell me to pitch a game, I pitch a game,’’ Long said.
Immediately after the outing, Long said he hadn’t chatted with his father, but would later.
“We talk every night, it’s been that way forever,’’ Long said. “I’m 23 and it’s still the same deal.’’
If Long makes it to the big leagues, it will because he possesses a feel for pitching.
“He knows how to pitch, he knows how to locate and he knows how to change speeds,’’ manager Joe Girardi said.