World Series 2024: Insider promotion of Yankees closer Luke Weaver

Luke Weaver grew up as a shortstop and honed his skills in his backyard in Central Florida, before becoming a Friday night starter at Florida State, before becoming a first-round pick and before becoming a journeyman starter and then a vital reliever in the Bronx became.

Mark Weaver owns 30 acres of land in DeLand. On one of them, right next to the family home, he built a hitting area for his two sons. It became a refuge for Luke and his younger brother Jake. There were L-screens and pitching machines and lights to help them throw baseballs when the sun went down.

“It was great,” Mark Weaver said. “I had the Cadillac. I had lit everything up. Just like a ballpark at night, man.”

Teammates and their families met there. The children turned away. Parents watched from benches. While the aluminum rang, drinks and snacks were available. Luke, if you listen to his father, was “the man. He could really push it, man. Oh my God.”

Mark Weaver didn't play baseball again after high school — he ran a construction company specializing in major remodeling projects in DeLand for 31 years — but he was heavily invested in his sons' passion for the game. He provided the tools and challenged them.

Luke Weaver believes it was the time spent in those cages, the countless ground ball hitting drills at the local park, the two-a-day and three-a-day practices that prepared him for his current role under brighter lights – a role very different from what he imagined when he did the line drives at home – and all the adversity he faced.

Weaver doesn't just shine in his first season as a substitute. The wiry right-hander — he's 6-foot-1 and 183 pounds — was a godsend for the New York Yankees and the central figure of a bullpen that exceeded expectations in the postseason.

“His personality just clicks,” Mark Weaver said. “He just changes. He becomes extremely competitive. And he does, he goes wild. He's a really nice guy and speaks a little softly sometimes. But I wouldn’t upset him.”

The quirky closer for the Yankees, who will play in the World Series for the first time in 15 years on Friday night, compared escaping a traffic jam to “when you see the ice cream truck and your parents say yes and you kind of faint” and attributed his huge fastball improvement to drinking “local orange juice with some pulp in it.” Earlier this month, during the Yankees' clubhouse celebration after the team advanced to the American League Championship Series, he praised the “wild jungle cat” in him for his perfect nine-pitch, 9-inning.

“I kind of throw things together and the word 'wild' came to mind,” Weaver, 31, said. “And then the next word became 'jungle' and then the next word was 'cat.'” So there's no reason for that.

At the start of the season, Weaver was an anonymous middle reliever, but now he enters games at Yankee Stadium to a montage of Gary Wright's “Dream Weaver” to chants of “LUUUUUUUKE” from the crowd.

He likes to keep the atmosphere relaxed in the clubhouse with one-liners. His dry sense of humor has become an unexpected source of entertainment. Aaron Judge knew about this some time ago. The presumptive AL MVP played with Weaver in the Cape Cod League in 2012. Judge just finished 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 even when he got on the mound he turned into a whole different guy,” Judge said. “He was just focused and absorbed. Watching his career, he’s the same guy.”

This competitive side is the reason for his rapid rise from failed starter to dominant bullpen arm. When Weaver posted a terrible 6.87 ERA in 21 starts for the Cincinnati Reds last season, he wasn't sure this pitching thing was still for him. He arrived in New York as a waiver-eligible player in September 2023 with a career ERA of 5.18 over eight seasons with five teams. The doubt was fleeting.

“I think, 'Is this something I want to do?'” Weaver said. “And deep down in my heart there was just absolutely no way I could allow that.”

A year later — after signing a one-year, $2 million contract with the Yankees in the offseason to be the starter in the rotation — Weaver became the first Yankees pitcher since Aroldis Chapman in 2017 with multiple five-out saves in the postseason and the first pitcher on any team to capture his team's first four postseason victories since Neftalí Feliz did so for the Texas Rangers in 2011. He didn't give up an earned run from September 2 until Jose Ramirez hit him with a home run in Game 2 of the ALCS – a stretch that included 17 innings, 13 appearances and one unofficial promotion.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone never officially named Weaver his closer until he announced Clay Holmes would relinquish the role after blowing a save on Sept. 3. Boone instead said the team will get “creative” in how it uses the bullpen. But Weaver effectively became a ninth-inning specialist three days later when he earned his first career save with a scoreless ninth inning at Wrigley Field. In total, he converted eight saves into nine chances in the postseason – four in the regular season and four in the playoffs. He has secured at least four outs in five of his eight postseason appearances.

“I love what he does,” Boone said. “He’s a great person and definitely a funny personality.”

The foundation of his sudden success is a vastly improved four-seam fastball. Last year, batters hit .311 and slugged .543 with a 17.5% whiff rate against the pitch in 25 starts and four relief appearances for three teams. They batted .177 with a .331 slugging percentage and a 30% whiff rate in the regular season that year.

Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake explained that the difference came from two changes: He adjusted his grip on the baseball to create more vertical movement – or ride – and threw it harder in shorter bursts in relief. Weaver's average fastball velocity increased from 94 mph to 95.7 mph this season. His strikeout rate increased from 19.4% to 31.1%. In short, he became a different pitcher.

“It’s like one plus one equals three,” Blake said.

The formula wasn't perfect. Weaver experienced his first failure in his new role before the eyes of the baseball world. Just one hit away from giving the Yankees a 3-0 lead in the ALCS, he allowed a double to Lane Thomas. Moments later, Jhonkensy Noel hit an error change for a two-run home run to clinch the game and give the Cleveland Guardians life in the series.

Weaver waited the next 48 hours, eager for another chance. He wanted it “bad, really bad.” He got it done in the ninth inning of Game 5 with the score tied – one error and another loss – and retired the team in order.

“I said to myself, 'If you give me one run, this game is over,'” Weaver said. “There’s no one scoring on this record.”

Juan Soto gave him the go-ahead with a 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 all the 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. Every child dreams of this in their garden.

“He's finally gotten to the point where he's coming to terms with all of this stuff and finding his role,” Mark Weaver said. “I’m just so happy for him that he’s finally coming into his own.”