How a backyard of dreams powered Yankees closer Luke Weaver
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Jorge Castillo, ESPN Staff Writer
Before becoming a Friday night starter at Florida State, before becoming a first-round pick, before becoming a journeyman-starter-turned-vital-reliever in the Bronx, Luke Weaver grew up a shortstop honing his skills in his central Florida backyard.
Mark Weaver owns 30 acres in DeLand. On one of them, right by the family house, he built a hitting compound for his two sons. It became a haven for Luke and his younger brother, Jake. There were L screens and pitching machines and lights to help them barrel baseballs when the sun went down.
“It was awesome,” Mark Weaver said. “I had the Cadillac. I had it all lit up. Just like a ballpark at night, man.”
Teammates and their families would convene there. The kids swung away. The parents watched from benches. They had drinks and snacks while the aluminum pinged. Luke, if you listen to his dad, was “the man. He could crank it, man. Oh my gosh.”
Mark Weaver didn’t play baseball beyond high school — he has run a construction company that specializes in large remodeling projects in DeLand for 31 years — but he was heavily invested in his sons’ passion for the sport. He provided the tools and challenged them.
Luke Weaver believes it was the time spent in those cages, the countless practices taking ground balls at the local park, the two-a-days and three-a-days, that prepared him for his current role under brighter lights — a role far different from the one he envisioned while hitting line drives at home — and all the adversity he has confronted.
Weaver isn’t just excelling in his first season as a reliever. The wiry right-hander — he’s listed at 6-foot-2, 183 pounds — has been a godsend for the New York Yankees, and the central figure for a bullpen that has exceeded expectations in the postseason.
“His personality just clicks,” Mark Weaver said. “He just changes. He gets super competitive. And he does, he gets ferocious. He’s a really nice guy and kind of soft spoken at times. But I wouldn’t cross him.”
The quirky closer of the Yankees, who will make their first World Series appearance in 15 years on Friday night, has likened escaping a jam to “when you see the ice cream truck and your parents say yes and you kind of black out,” and attributed his vast fastball improvement to drinking “local orange juice with a little bit of pulp.” Earlier this month, during the Yankees’ clubhouse celebration after the team advanced to the American League Championship Series, he credited the “ferocious jungle cat” inside of him for his perfect, nine-pitch ninth inning.
“I kind of throw things together and the word ‘ferocious’ came to my mind,” Weaver, 31, said. “And then the next word became ‘jungle’ and then the next word was ‘cat.’ So, no reason for it.”
An anonymous middle reliever when the season started, Weaver now enters games at Yankee Stadium to a montage and Gary Wright’s “Dream Weaver” amid “LUUUUUUUKE” chants from the crowd.
In the clubhouse, he likes to keep the mood light with one-liners. His dry sense of humor has become an unexpected source of entertainment. Aaron Judge knew about it a while ago. The presumptive AL MVP played with Weaver in the Cape Cod League in 2012. Judge was coming off his sophomore year at Fresno State. Weaver was one of the few freshmen invited to play in the prestigious summer league.
“The guy always had a smile on his face, but also when he got on the mound, he turned into this different guy,” Judge said. “He was just focused, locked in. Kind of watching his career unfold, he’s been the same guy.”
That competitive side is the reason for his rapid ascent from failed starter to dominant bullpen arm. At one point last season, while posting a dreadful 6.87 ERA in 21 starts for the Cincinnati Reds, Weaver wasn’t sure whether this pitching thing was for him anymore. He arrived in New York in September 2023 as a waiver claim with a 5.18 career ERA across eight seasons with five teams. The doubt was fleeting.
“I’m thinking: ‘Is this something I want to do?'” Weaver said. “And there was just absolutely no way in my core that’s allowed.”
A year later — after signing a one-year, $2 million deal with the Yankees over the offseason as starting rotation depth — Weaver became the first Yankees pitcher since Aroldis Chapman in 2017 with multiple five-out saves in a postseason and the first pitcher on any team to save his team’s first four postseason wins since Neftalà Feliz did so for the Texas Rangers in 2011. He didn’t surrender an earned run from Sept. 2 until Jose Ramirez homered off him in Game 2 of the ALCS — a stretch that spanned 17 innings, 13 appearances and an unofficial promotion.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone never officially named Weaver his closer when he announced Clay Holmes was moving off the role after blowing a save on Sept. 3. Boone instead said the team would get “creative” with its bullpen usage. But Weaver effectively became the ninth-inning specialist three days later when he notched his first career save with a scoreless ninth inning at Wrigley Field. In all, postseason included, he has converted eight saves in nine chances — four in the regular season and four in the playoffs. He has secured at least four outs in five of his eight postseason outings.
“I love what he’s doing,” Boone said. “He’s a great person, and definitely a fun personality, too.”
The foundation for his sudden success is a vastly improved four-seam fastball. Last year, in 25 starts and four relief appearances for three teams, batters hit .311 and slugged .543 with 17.5% whiff rate against the pitch. They batted .177 with a .331 slugging percentage and 30% whiff rate during the regular season this year.
Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake explained the difference stems from two changes: adjusting his grip on the baseball to create more vertical movement — or ride — and throwing it harder in shorter bursts as a reliever. Weaver’s average fastball velocity increased from 94 mph to 95.7 mph this season. His strikeout rate climbed from 19.4% to 31.1%. In short, he became a different pitcher.
“It’s kind of like one plus one equals three,” Blake said.
The formula hasn’t been perfect. Weaver experienced failure for the first time in his new role with the baseball world watching. One strike away from giving the Yankees a 3-0 series lead in the ALCS, he surrendered a double to Lane Thomas. Moments later, Jhonkensy Noel hammered a mistake changeup for a two-run home run to tie the game and give the Cleveland Guardians life in the series.
Weaver bided his time over the next 48 hours, thirsty for another chance. He wanted it “bad, really bad.” He got it in the ninth inning in Game 5 with the score tied — one mistake from another loss — and retired the side in order.
“I told myself in there: ‘If you give me one run, this game is over,'” Weaver said. “There’s not anybody that is scoring across that plate.”
Juan Soto gave him three with a go-ahead home run. Weaver then took the mound again to send the Yankees to the World Series for the 41st time.
“I wanted it,” Weaver said. “I wanted it the whole time.”
Mark Weaver watched from home. He, his wife and Jake will fly to New York next week to see Luke play in the World Series. It’s what every kid dreams about in their backyard.
“He’s finally coming to where he’s figuring all this stuff out, and he’s finding his role,” Mark Weaver said. “I’m just so happy for him, that he’s finally coming into his own.”
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Buster Olney, ESPN Senior Writer
The hiring of Skip Schumaker as a senior advisor may mean that the Texas Rangers have their future manager under contract.
But if current manager Bruce Bochy, who is likely to be inducted into the Hall of Fame once his career is over, wants to continue beyond 2025, the Rangers will enthusiastically welcome that.
According to one source, Bochy will have the latitude to continue if that’s what he wants.
“If [Bochy] wants to manage beyond 2025, [the Rangers] are good with that,” a highly ranked source told ESPN.
Bochy, who turns 70 in April, just completed his 27th season managing in the big leagues — for the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants before he became the Rangers’ skipper in 2023 — and ranks eighth all time in managerial wins with 2,171, the most for any current manager.
Next season, he will likely pass Dusty Baker and Sparky Anderson on the list. Bochy’s teams have won four championships — the Giants in 2010, 2012 and 2014, and the Rangers in 2023.
Schumaker, 44, is viewed as a rising star in the managerial ranks after his first two seasons, with the Miami Marlins.
Miami made the playoffs in 2023 and Schumaker was named National League Manager of the Year. But when the Marlins’ ownership effectively pushed out Kim Ng, the GM who hired Schumaker, he asked the team to void a 2025 option year on his contract, and he left the Marlins after the 2024 season.
One year into his tenure with the Padres, Mike Shildt has been rewarded with a two-year contract extension that ties the manager to San Diego through 2027.
The Padres announced the agreement Wednesday with the 56-year-old manager after they went 93-69, finishing five games behind the eventual World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West and claiming the top NL wild card.
“I am honored to continue leading this team toward Peter Seidler’s vision of bringing a World Series championship to San Diego,” Shildt said in a statement. “In collaboration with our players and coaching staff, we are committed to building on our success, serving our community and the City of San Diego, and delivering a winning team to our incredible and deserving fan base.”
San Diego swept a two-game wild-card series against the Atlanta Braves then took a 2-1 lead on the Dodgers in the best-of-five NL Division Series. Los Angeles bounced back to win the final two games 8-0 and 2-0.
The Padres tied for first in the majors with a .263 batting average and ranked sixth with a .745 OPS. Their 3.86 team ERA rated 12th, and their pitching staff’s 1,453 strikeouts came in sixth.
Shildt previously managed the Cardinals from 2018 to 2021, logging a 252-199 regular-season record and guiding St. Louis into the postseason in three of his four seasons. He was voted the NL Manager of the Year in 2019.
“As Mike demonstrated this year, he has an unwavering commitment to winning and a unique set of skills that got our group to perform at a high level,” Padres president of baseball operations and general manager A.J. Preller said in a statement. “He possesses a true love for this team and the game of baseball, and I am thrilled to continue to work together with Mike to bring a championship to the City of San Diego.”
Field Level Media contributed to this report.
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Ryan McGee, ESPN Senior Writer
Inspirational thought of the week:
Do you love me?
Do you wanna be my friend?
And if you do
Well then don’t be afraid to take me by the hand
If you want to
I think this is how love goes
Check yes or no
— “Check Yes or No,” George Strait
Here at Bottom 10 Headquarters, located among the giant concrete reinforcement pillars installed under the Indiana football offices to support Curt Cignetti’s self-confidence, we are still trying to process the ceaseless series of sea change/Earth change/mindset change/sleep-cycle change events that were thrust upon us over the course of only a few days’ time.
We had Halloween, turning the clocks back an hour, the release of a new Liam Neeson/Ron Perlman mob movie and a Week 10 slate that saw a gaggle of ranked teams pushed and/or upset by unranked teams, not to mention Pur-don’t and Northworstern going into OT.
And oh yeah, dummy me. I forgot the biggest event of them all. The one that was unfurling just as we were compiling these rankings Tuesday evening, Nov. 5, 2024. I am, of course, speaking of the #MACtion doubleheader of Boiling Green at Centralized Michigan and My Hammy of Ohio at Baller State. Oh, and the eve of “The Golden Bachelorette: The Men Tell All.”
With apologies to Joan Vassos, Jesse Palmer, Matt James, Tyler Cameron, Cleisthenes and Steve Harvey, here’s the post-Week 10 Bottom 10 rankings.
The good news is that the Golden (plated) Flashes, aka America’s last winless FBS team, did not lose their 18th straight game. The bad news is that it’s only because they didn’t play. Now they kick off Week 11 early with the first of four straight midweek games to end the season. It starts with a visit from fellow Ohioans Ohio, followed by a trip to fellow Ohioans My Hammy of Ohio, a visit from fellow Ohioans Akronmonious and then a trip to Buffalo, which isn’t in Ohio, but I’m pretty sure Ohio eats more Buffalo wings than any other state, so it feels like it is.
Brett Favre Funding U also managed to escape its open date without a loss ahead of hosting Marshall this weekend. The Olden Eagles are already eyeing their potential Pillow Fight of the Year of the Century in their season finale to Bottom 10 Waiting Lister Troy Bolton State. Actually, they’re already eyeing the weekend after that, when the season is finally over.
Speaking of the Waiting List, that’s where the Minors were just two weeks ago, but after back-to-back Pillow Fight losses to Fa-la-la-la-la La-la-la-Tech and Meh-dle Tennessee, they have jumped up off the bench outside and burst into the front door like me when the buffet hostess finally says, “McGee, party of one!” Now they will play in unprecedented Pillow Fight Three-peat against … yeah, like that hostess, we’re going to make you wait a minute.
Our old friends the Minuetmen also spent part of this fall on the Waiting List, but they answered the call of duty by following up their non-FBS win over Jack Wagner by getting housed by another Waiting List member, a fellow 2-7 squad out of the S-E-C, Miss Sus Hippie State. Now the Mess plays last week’s Coveted Fifth Spot winner Liberty. It’s always a weird headspace for a group of Revolutionary War soldiers to try to defeat Liberty.
The Tigers tumble down The Hill from the fancy-schmancy Coaches Poll top 10 into the Coveted Fifth Spot after losing to #goacc mid-packer Louisville. We were on the fence about whether to put Death Valley or Happy Valley into this slot, but our minds were made up after downing a bottle of refreshing water that had been winged at our heads from the Clemson student section.
Clemson fans threw debris onto the field after they were unhappy with a call.
Louisville scored on the very next play. pic.twitter.com/AI6SBYmRrM
— ESPN (@espn) November 3, 2024
I can hear the lobby conversation now. “Hey, Clemson, did y’all really just lose to Louisville and land in the Coveted Fifth Spot?” “Hey, FSU, did y’all really just lose by 24 points to North Carolina and is the only team you’ve beaten really Cal?” Then they both grab up their briefcases and head into the courtroom to explain why they are too good for the ACC.
The Buttermakers lost the B1G Bottom 10 Bowl presented by Rust-eze, falling to Northworstern in overtime. Now they finish the year with three of four games against top 10 teams in Ohio State, Penn State and Indiana. In related news, sources tell Bottom 10 JortsCenter that Purdue’s legendary engineering department is trying to invent one of those Tony Stark time machine thingies so they can fast forward to winter.
The New Owls have flown back into these standings after following up their first-ever win as an FBS program with their seventh-ever loss as an FBS program. Now they hit the road for their first-ever Pillow Fight of the Week, a matchup with border rival UTEPid. Told you we’d get to it.
If the Bottom 10 were a series “Game of Thrones” memes, this is where we’d see a photo of Boromir talking and giant white letters that read “ONE DOES NOT SIMPLY GET SMOKED 59-21 BY ONE-WIN UAB AND NOT END UP IN THE BOTTOM 10.” OK, sure, let’s go on and do it …
Working on this week’s #Bottom10 and, heads up northeastern Oklahoma… pic.twitter.com/7VUfH88njv
— Ryan McGee (@ESPNMcGee) November 5, 2024
My OG Bottom 10 champs are back! The Panthers keep racking up moral victories. Their only actual victories came back-to-back in September over Chattanooga and Vanderbilt. So, if you’re scoring at home, and we are, Georgia State beat Vandy, who beat Bama, who has been ranked No. 1 and who beat Georgia, who has been ranked No. 1 and who beat Texas, who has been ranked No. 1. I almost printed this paragraph out on Georgia State stationery and nailed it to the door of the College Football Playoff selection committee meeting room at the Gaylord Texan, like Martin Luther at the Castle Church.
Waiting List: FA (not I) U, Akronmonious, Meh-dle Tennessee, WhyOMGing?, You A Bee?, Whew Mexico State, Temple of Doom, Utaw State, Charlotte 3-and-6ers, assistant coaches impersonating volcanos.
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