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 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.”
Hard-throwing rookie Jacob Misiorowski is a National League All-Star replacement, giving the Milwaukee Brewers right-hander a chance to break Paul Skenes‘ record for the fewest big league appearances before playing in the Midsummer Classic.
Misiorowski was named Friday night to replace Chicago Cubs lefty Matthew Boyd, who will be unavailable for the All-Star Game on Tuesday night in Atlanta because he is scheduled to start Saturday at the New York Yankees.
The 23-year-old Misiorowski has made just five starts for the Brewers, going 4-1 with a 2.81 ERA while averaging 99.3 mph on his fastball, with 89 pitches that have reached 100 mph.
If he pitches at Truist Park, Misiorowski will make it consecutive years for a player to set the mark for fewest big league games before an All-Star showing.
Skenes, the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander getting ready for his second All-Star appearance, had made 11 starts in the majors when he was chosen as the NL starter for last year’s All-Star Game at Texas. He pitched a scoreless inning.
“I’m speechless,” said a teary-eyed Misiorowski, who said he was given the news a few minutes before the Brewers’ 8-3 victory over Washington. “It’s awesome. It’s very unexpected and it’s an honor.”
Misiorowski is the 30th first-time All-Star and 16th replacement this year. There are now 80 total All-Stars.
“He’s impressive. He’s got some of the best stuff in the game right now, even though he’s a young pitcher,” said Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, who is a starting AL outfielder for his seventh All-Star nod. “He’s going to be a special pitcher in this game for a long time so I think he deserved it and it’s going be pretty cool for him and his family.”
Carlos Rodón, Carlos Estévez and Casey Mize were named replacement pitchers on the AL roster.
The New York Yankees‘ Rodón, an All-Star for the third time in five seasons, will replace teammate Max Fried for Tuesday’s game in Atlanta. Fried will be unavailable because he is scheduled to start Saturday against the Chicago Cubs.
In his final start before the All-Star game, Rodón allowed four hits and struck out eight in eight innings in an 11-0 victory over the Cubs.
“This one’s a little special for me,” said Rodón, an All-Star in 2021 and ’22 who was 3-8 in his first season with the Yankees two years ago before rebounding. “I wasn’t good when I first got here, and I just wanted to prove that I wasn’t to going to give up and just put my best foot forward and try to win as many games as I can.”
The Kansas City Royals‘ Estévez replaces Texas’ Jacob deGrom, who is scheduled to start at Houston on Saturday night. Estévez was a 2023 All-Star when he was with the Los Angeles Angels.
Mize takes the spot held by Boston‘s Garrett Crochet, who is scheduled to start Saturday against Tampa Bay. Mize gives the Tigers six All-Stars, most of any team and tied for the franchise record.
Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia will replace Tampa Bay‘s Brandon Lowe, who went on the injured list with left oblique tightness. The additions of Estévez and Garcia give the Royals four All-Stars, matching their 2024 total.
The Seattle Mariners announced center fielder Julio Rodríguez will not participate, and he was replaced by teammate Randy Arozarena. Rodríguez had been voted onto the AL roster via the players’ ballot. The Mariners, who have five All-Stars, said Rodríguez will use the break to “recuperate, rest and prepare for the second half.”
Arozarena is an All-Star for the second time. He started in left field for the AL two years ago, when he was with Tampa Bay. Arozarena was the runner-up to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the 2023 Home Run Derby.
Rays right-hander Drew Rasmussen, a first-time All-Star, is replacing Angels left-hander Yusei Kikuchi, who is scheduled to start Saturday night at Arizona. Rasmussen is 7-5 with a 2.82 ERA in 18 starts.
San Diego added a third NL All-Star reliever in lefty Adrián Morejón, who replaces Philadelphia starter Zack Wheeler. The Phillies’ right-hander is scheduled to start at San Diego on Saturday night. Morejón entered the weekend with a 1.71 ERA in 45 appearances.
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