World Series 2024: Inside rise of Yankees closer Luke Weaver - ESPN

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