How a backyard of dreams powered Yankees closer Luke Weaver
-
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 Neftalí 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.”
-
David Schoenfield
Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh blasted his 48th and 49th home runs on Sunday in back-to-back at-bats in the first two innings against the Athletics, breaking Salvador Perez‘s record for most home runs in a season by a catcher. The next night, he became the second switch-hitter with 50 home runs in a season, joining Mickey Mantle in the exclusive club.
While Raleigh’s season hasn’t exactly come out of nowhere — he reached 30 home runs the previous two years — the fact that we’re not even in September yet certainly makes his power exploits even more impressive.
In honor of his record-breaking season, let’s dig into some of the numbers around his 2025 campaign. And with Raleigh now at 50 home runs, we’ll also break down where his season ranks among the most surprising 50-homer seasons in MLB history.
Cal Raleigh stands alone!
Big Dumper is the first catcher in @MLB history to reach 49 home runs in a single season. #TridentsUp pic.twitter.com/jVllJypOGr
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) August 24, 2025
So, is this the greatest power-hitting season ever from a catcher?
If you want to get technical about it, this is open for discussion. Like Perez with the Kansas City Royals in 2021, Raleigh has benefited from some DH time, with nine of his home runs coming as a DH. Perez’s figures were even more extreme, with 15 of his 48 home runs coming as a DH.
The record for home runs while only playing catcher belongs to Javy Lopez, who hit 42 for the Atlanta Braves in 2003 in just 117 games (he hit one more as a pinch-hitter). That was an impressive season for Lopez, who hit .328/.378/.687 with a 1.065 OPS. He fell seven plate appearances short of the 502 needed for official qualification, otherwise his OPS would rank as the second-highest ever for a catcher (behind Mike Piazza’s 1.070 in 1997) and his .687 slugging as the highest ever (Piazza slugged .638 in ’97). (And we would be remiss not to mention Josh Gibson’s hitting heroics in the Negro Leagues, as he topped both those figures multiple times.)
Raleigh leads the majors in home runs, which would put him alongside Johnny Bench as the only catcher to lead the majors if he maintains his lead over Kyle Schwarber and Shohei Ohtani. Bench, who topped the majors with 45 home runs in 1970 and 40 in 1972, played 158 games in 1970 and 147 in 1972, occasionally playing other positions when he wasn’t catching in lieu of the option to DH.
Could any other catcher in history have hit this many?
Lopez would have been the obvious candidate. Raleigh will soar past 600 plate appearances; Lopez’s home run rate prorated to 625 plate appearances gets him to 54 home runs. Piazza hit 40 home runs in 1997, but did bat 633 times while playing in 152 games, so you can’t really fudge more than a few extra home runs, even if he had more DH opportunities. Roy Campanella hit 41 for Brooklyn in 1953, batting 590 times while playing 144 games (although starting just 130). Give him the 162-game schedule and some DH starts and maybe he gets close to 50. Todd Hundley is the only other catcher with a 40-homer season, hitting 41 for the 1996 New York Mets in 624 plate appearances.
While Raleigh has slowed down since the All-Star break, especially in the batting average department, his season is also particularly impressive because he’s doing this in a very pitcher-friendly home park. He’s hitting .223/.317/.572 with 24 home runs at home and .269/.385/.614 with 25 home runs on the road. His home run rate is similar, but no doubt he has lost a few home runs to the marine layer in Seattle. To hit 50 home runs in a tough home run park as a catcher playing almost every game is a stunning accomplishment.
Are there any other records Raleigh can break?
Glad you asked. It feels like the record for home runs by a switch-hitter isn’t getting enough publicity. Mickey Mantle — now that’s a big name — holds the mark with 54 in 1961. Indeed, he is the only other switch-hitter with a 50-homer season, also hitting 52 in 1956. Raleigh is now third on the all-time list, having soared past Lance Berkman and Chipper Jones, who had 45 in their best seasons. He’s projected to surpass that 54 mark, so this could be the next record to fall.
Then there’s the Mariners team record: Ken Griffey Jr. had back-to-back 56-homer seasons in 1997 and ’98. With 31 games left on the Mariners’ schedule, Raleigh has certainly put that total in play as well.
What were the most surprising 50-homer seasons?
Once he hits No. 50, Raleigh will have the 51st season in MLB history with 50 home runs — by 33 different players.
Which of those were most surprising? Obviously, there were a lot of goofy home run totals from the steroid eras, and a couple of those seasons crack our top seven list:
7. Luis Gonzalez, Arizona Diamondbacks, 2001 (57)
Gonzalez topped 30 home runs just one other time in his career (31 in 2000) but hit .325/.429/.688 with 57 home runs and 142 RBIs in the D-backs’ World Series-winning season. The offensive numbers were so extreme in the NL in 2001, however, that Gonzalez finished just third in home runs (behind Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa) and third in the MVP voting.
6. Roger Maris, New York Yankees, 1961 (61)
Maris’ historic season obviously can’t be considered a complete fluke considering he hit 39 home runs and won the AL MVP Award in 1960, but breaking Babe Ruth’s home run record of 60 set in 1927 is one of the great achievements in MLB history. That was the year that MLB expanded, and Maris’ teammate Mickey Mantle also hit 54 home runs, while three other American Leaguers hit at least 45.
5. George Foster, Cincinnati Reds, 1977 (52)
Foster had hit 29 home runs in 1976 and would follow up his 1977 MVP season with 40 home runs in 1978, but he hit 30 home runs just one other time (30 in 1979). His ’77 season also stands out because it was the only 50-homer season between Willie Mays in 1965 and Cecil Fielder in 1990. Foster did benefit from a new, livelier ball, after MLB switched its manufacturer from Spalding to Rawlings. The NL batting average increased from .255 to .262 in 1977 and home runs per game increased 47%, from .057 to 0.84.
4. Aaron Judge, New York Yankees, 2017 (52)
3. Pete Alonso, New York Mets, 2019 (53)
These seasons don’t look so surprising in retrospect, but both were shocking at the time since they occurred in their rookie seasons, with Judge setting a record in 2017 and then Alonso breaking it just two years later. Both were regarded as good prospects — but not great ones. Judge was No. 44 on ESPN’s preseason Top 100 list in 2017 while Alonso was No. 90 in 2019. Judge had hit just 19 home runs in the minors in 2016 (in 93 games), although his raw power was obvious; Alonso had hit 36 in the minors, so at least looked like your more prototypical hitting prospect.
Alonso’s year, in particular, is fascinating because he wasn’t even guaranteed a roster spot entering the season — the Mets had publicly mentioned his defense as a reason he hadn’t been called up in 2018. They also had a crowded field contending for first base in spring training: former top prospect Dominic Smith, Todd Frazier and J.D. Davis (both couldn’t play third base), as well as Jed Lowrie, who the Mets had signed as a free agent but couldn’t play at second base because they had traded for Robinson Cano. Lowrie hurt his left knee in spring training and Frazier was also injured at the start of the season while Alonso had a strong spring, earning the starting job over Smith.
2. Jose Bautista, Toronto Blue Jays, 2010 (54)
Bautista was a 29-year-old journeyman coming off a 13-homer season, so he stunned everyone with this 54-homer season. He had overhauled his swing and started not only hitting the ball in the air more but pulling it much more often (his pull rate improved from 34% to 49%). He would prove it wasn’t a fluke, hitting 43 home runs in 2011 and 40 in 2015.
1. Brady Anderson, Baltimore Orioles, 1996 (50)
Anderson’s season still stands out as one of the fluke home run seasons of all time — his second-highest total was 24 home runs in 1999. Considering he was 32 years old at the time and coming off a 16-homer season, conspiracy theorists attribute his power spike to performance-enhancing drugs, which Anderson has consistently denied he used. Like Bautista, he pulled the ball more than ever that year while also hitting more fly balls. He played through a broken rib the following season and then he played through neck and back issues in 1998, both of which might have affected his power output. But that 50-homer season will live forever.
So where does Raleigh rank?
Probably along the lines of Gonzalez and Foster — a good power hitter having a career season, except Raleigh gets a little extra surprise credit for doing it as a catcher. Of course, we don’t know what he’ll do in the future, although you do wonder if he can keep playing this many games season after season. He has missed just three games all season, including just one since the All-Star break, but with the Mariners battling for both the division title and a wild-card spot, it’s going to be exceedingly difficult for manager Dan Wilson to rest Raleigh. The strikeouts have really piled up in August, including one five-strikeout game and three three-strikeout games, so it feels like he could use a day off or two. For now, the Mariners will hope he can keep grinding and keep hitting home runs.
-
Jesse Rogers
DENVER — The Chicago Cubs are signing first baseman Carlos Santana, a source told ESPN on Sunday.
Santana, 39, hit .225 with 11 home runs in 116 games for the Cleveland Guardians this season before being released by the team Friday.
The move is expected to become official Monday.
The 16-year veteran has a career .778 OPS while playing for seven teams, though most of his time was spent with the Guardians, whom he rejoined this year after spending a decade there to start his career.
Though he is a switch-hitter, Santana is likely to see at-bats as a right-hander almost exclusively as the Cubs are 17-19 this season when a left-hander starts against them. Left-handed hitter Michael Busch is the regular starter at first base, but he has been spelled by veteran Justin Turner often this season.
It’s unclear what Santana’s signing means for the immediate future of Turner, who is considered the clubhouse leader on the team. With rosters expanding to 28 on Monday, the Cubs have several options open to them to keep Turner if they desire.
In other moves Sunday, the Cubs claimed right-hander Aaron Civale off waivers from the Chicago White Sox, recalled right-hander Porter Hodge from Triple-A Iowa, optioned left-hander Jordan Wicks to their top farm club and designated left-hander Tom Cosgrove for assignment.
The Cubs also are calling up outfielder Kevin Alcantara and sending down Owen Caissie, a source told ESPN.
Civale, 30, is 3-9 with a 5.26 ERA in 18 starts for the White Sox and Milwaukee Brewers this season. The Brewers traded him to the White Sox in June to acquire first-baseman Andrew Vaughn.
Cubs manager Craig Counsell said Civale is expected to come out of the bullpen for the team.
“It’s just length options in case we need it,” Counsell said. “It’s just to be covered with another guy that can start.”
Hodge is 2-1 with a 6.85 ERA and two saves in 26 appearances for Chicago this year. In his past nine appearances with Iowa going back to Aug. 1, he struck out 20 and allowed six hits over 12 scoreless innings.
The 25-year-old Wicks, a first-round pick in the 2021 amateur draft, is 0-1 with an 8.71 ERA in six relief appearances with the Cubs this year.
Cosgrove has a 2.25 ERA in two appearances for the Cubs this season.
The Cubs will enter the final month of the season as the No. 1 seed in the National League wild-card race, trailing the first-place Milwaukee Brewers by 6.5 games in the NL Central entering Sunday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment11 months agoHere are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in October 2024