Yankees pitcher Luke Weaver on his crazy 2023, connecting with God, finding peace in baseball

Luke Weaver welcome back to sports Spectrum my friend it's good to see you hey Jason thanks for having me on brother yeah it's it's nice to talk to you in the midst of a season and obviously um things change it's a long long year uh you're having a great year uh thus far um in a different role which I we'll get to you know later on here in the conversation about adapting to a different role as a pitcher um but love seeing like the opportunity to talk to you during the season can you give people a glimpse last night you were in Tampa I just want people to hear kind of the craziness of of the Glamorous Major League Baseball life right you had a game last night you played Tampa you finish the game and then what happens because you're in Baltimore as we're recording this getting ready for a game against the Orioles yeah so uh with with this Market more than most uh they like their night travel days so meaning uh they they get on the prime time um when most PE when most teams are playing Day games um we'll be playing night games so it's a it's cool because you obviously get to you know that platform um than most teams and obviously uh we we've played well all year obviously this this is hasn't been the stretch we'd like but we're still competing and uh so to your point we play a night game we get done the game ends you know around 10 and then with all the extracurriculars some treatments uh packing up BS getting on the bus getting to the airport um you know you know we we find ourselves in Baltimore and uh we know we get in around 3:00 a.m. or so um you know you you try to get your bag if you can I try to get a little carry-on have a little little pack in there so I'm good and uh in my toiletries and stuff and so try to get to bed 3:30 if possible and make it as quick as I can and then try to sleep in eat a little breakfast and then right back at it again so the cycle continues and uh ready to play some ball today do you have a uh I'm amount of sleep that's preferable because I think athletes look at every single thing they do right sleep nutrition U like you said get your um your postgame you know uh medical attention whatever that might look like even just some some treatment what is that like how important is that for you as a pitcher especially in the role that you're in now as a relief pitcher where you could be pitching back toback nights for all we know yeah yeah that's a great question it uh it just looks different every day I think we have our routines we have things that we know gets us uh most i l to you know recovery aspects um the food um obviously general public everybody knows what good foods and bad foods are uh what's going to help us and not help us but um they do a good job of um help supplying us some food um you know the next morning when we get in just to help get us back on track uh the sleep I think more is always better than less uh you know I have the two young kids so you know it just Cycles in and out but um my wife does an amazing amazing job of you know now that I'm in the bullpen knowing that consistency every day is key um and the trade-off is I get to to be more present um you know maybe a start day or something when I was back starting uh would be a little more hectic on a on that day and trying to make things perfect and uh not exert too much energy so all that being said it just uh I think the big thing I've learned is there's not like a perfect routine ever you know I think every day brings a different course and you just got to be able to adjust and whether whether those little storms or maybe it's all sunshine and rainbow so you never know yeah every day is different that's for sure that's the the life of a baseball player all right let's let's talk about faith that's what this show is about as you know you've been on this show a few times let's start with Christ in the life of of Luke Weaver when we talk about this Faith side of things um we're in the midst of this long season what's this look like for you to kind of stay connected to Jesus in the midst of a long you've been doing this what are you in years you're nine now I think yeah I think so somewhere in that range Sak old guy see yeah not not quite you're still 30 years old physically but we're just kind of sneaky in there a little bit sneaky veteran Luke Weaver joining us right um but like what's it look like to now that you've had many years in this league to make sure that the main thing is still the main thing even in the midst of trying to be you know the best pitcher that you can be too I tell you what there's there's days where it just feels like it's it's nice and it's easy um and then there's days where it just feels you know non-existent it just feels like the day just gets so hectic it gets so um chaotic and it's it's just like anything the discipline in which we have to to be grounded in is so important and I think this year has been uh a pretty crazy one for me uh being in New York and just everything that comes with being a yany uh everything's just kind of highpe speed everything's just kind of uh elevated so to speak and so when the day starts to when the day ends it just feels like a blur a lot of times and it's very easy to get sidetracked and just get caught up and the time is just not discipl disciplin that's a word um used in the right way and so that's been a fight for me it's been something that I've had to fight for it's um you know in my prayer life and my um in my reading uh we we obviously have we have a great chaplain in Jos Mel um who keeps us grounded on Sundays at home uh he's done a good job of keeping Bible studies um present um with kids it's been touch and go with me but I try to stay you know in the chat and do those things so um it's just how bad I want it you know I think it's how bad anybody wants it and um I've had those conversations with God where I'm like man I just I want to be better I want to I want to fight to to to win your favor and just know that I'm thinking of you no matter what and um this year has been an amazing year for me on a baseball field um I I he's answered a lot of prayers in those aspects a lot of needs is or I guess wants as opposed to needs um things that I've just would have liked to see and so I'm gra you know gracious and thankful for that but in the return um sometimes I have some guilt where I'm just like I want to balance out that act you know I like hey you're giving me this but I want to make sure I'm fighting for you and I think there's some times where life just gets in the way and I think that's maybe true for all of us is it easier or harder to stay connected to the Lord when you're home versus away like you're home you're with your family your priorities your family your kids obviously and still playing baseball when you're on the road like you are now as we're talking maybe there is more time but maybe there's not because there's such a a regimented schedule that you kind of have to follow being on the road and in different cities what's that look like for you yeah that's a great question because I think when it's at when I'm at home I would say it looks different than on the road because I'm a dad I'm a husband I'm I'm in the in the word and being Guided by God through those interactions and that they're they're present through all those times and you know maybe getting into the word might be a little tougher just because of the time and everything but I feel like my my physical practice of how I'm walking with my kids and my wife and my interactions is being put on display play every time I'm at home and so I'm thankful for that but on the road there are there is a little bit more time you know there is time to to to have quietness and and to to to Really uh push that forward and I think the challenge in that as well is there's no one holding you accountable except yourself and um you know I don't have the wife and the kids and and and pushing me into a frame of mind where we can kind of get lazy and um just kind of zone out and you know maybe there's a a a good Wimbledon tennis match on right and you just kind of zone out for an hour and I think that is where um time can really blur for you a little bit in that way and so um it all kind of falls back to hey where is your time out in the day um you know when you get to the field it's pretty much a it's pretty much a not so much of a focus that we can get into but you know we know even after the game or even before the game uh in the hotel and and at home we can find maybe a good amount of time it's like hey Guy this is yours yeah and I think if you can you had this with the Cardinals I know when you first came up and saw an Adam way right like just live that out in such a powerful way now I'm I'm trying to wonder if there's guys on the team I know we had Klay Holmes on a year and a half ago or so on this podcast and that man loves Jesus and obviously you're closer with the Yankees and I'm just wondering what's that Dynamic like linking up with somebody like him or even just other like-minded guys on the team obviously the team is the team but just from a faith perspective itive to be able to say hey are you struggling with this too or you want to do a Bible study or can I talk to you about you know something that maybe I can't talk about with some other guys do you have that connection at all now that it's been a little while for you on the Yankees yeah I would say I do Clay is um clay has been a good friend of mine that we've we picked up on that when I first came over we had some time at Pao briefly but it's been great to get to know him he's obviously a great dude as you know um yeah we've had a few of those conversations you know I've I've told him at times where I'm like man I just I feel like I want to be more positive or I want to be more impactful with these guys you know on a daily basis and it's easy in this game a failure uh that we call baseball where just feels like there's so much of it and it's so um so meticulous and just so pinpointed on these little mistakes the mistakes and they just kind of compound and they kind of they wear you down a little bit but um you know I I just have those conversations I'm like man I just help me like call me out and allow me to to know when things kind of get off track and you know challenge myself in that and we've had those short conversations and we balanced off each other pretty good and um you know I have been able to challenge myself and I think at the end of the day um I'm thankful for him and we have you know a handful of guys that that lead in that Clubhouse um for in different ways and and and like-minded ways as well so I'm thankful for sure Luke Weaver from the Yankees is here with us on Sports Spectrum I want to go back to a year ago do a little reflecting with you here because 2023 when I went back and looked at kind of everything that happened with you as a baseball player was a weird one right like you're signed by Cincinnati released claimed by Seattle there for less than a month and then claimed by the Yankees where you are now last September three teams lots of uncertainty can you describe what last year was like for you to go through especially in the midst of comparing it to this year where you've been a pretty stable force and have been with one team which is which is nice in this game when you can do that yeah Jason I tell you what man that that is a year to remember right so it's uh you know I the fight has always been to um for the last few years just to stay healthy to feel confident in my health that is then going to reflect on the field and that's my my biggest prayer for in my relationship with God is like just show me what it looks like you know I I don't I would like it for it to be awesome but if it's not like just maybe some closure maybe just some peace and knowing like hey this this is uh this is my time this is the you know maybe I need to move on to the next chapter and like that's okay I can live with that I think it's hard to live in this space where people think that you could be this and you continue to kind of fall short of that but it's really deep down you know you could do that and you keep falling short so it became hard but yeah that year was crazy because um you know I I I started off you know in Red's camp and trying to win a starting job and and and I won it and then it came you know I had a little flexor strain in my elbow it set me back a week or two which wasn't a big deal but it was like all right and we're falling into this trap again and obviously those are some things that are out of my control because it's not like I'm not working uh but at the end of the day um it was just a struggle that year it was it was a it was an awkwardness of like I'm so close to feeling healthy and and implementing things physically on the mound that I'm I'm so close to achieving and so close to putting together through a full start and there was always one pitch there was always one moment that would just negatively affect me on the field you know mentally physically in just really the ball game and it just became a cycle and it became like now I see the numbers on the board now like there's this a lot of things that are just compounding on me but I think my biggest goal was I will not not walk into the field every day with with that mindset like nobody is going to tell me that I've changed in a bad way like I'm going to be a teammate I'm going to be a great teammate I'm going to be um an impactful person of God I'm going to fight for it even though it it hurts and it's hard um but that's my that's my goal that's like my prayer to God like hey just just give me the strength today to come off a bad outing and to be the same guy and I think in that he showed me a lot of you know amazing moments with these guys because I felt like I was a really big part of that team even though I felt like I wasn't doing much physically on the field that I would have liked um we had like some crazy streaks where like I think I had like eight outings in a row where I would I wouldn't get a decision but we would win and it was like tracking I think it was like one away or something from a Major League record of like you know cuz usually you get the win or Lo right and sometimes you get no decisions but like there was something about like even though sometimes it didn't go as well like say I'd give up four runs in the first like I would throw four scoreless the next because I'd just fight for it and then they'd end up coming back and winning you know and I felt like there was just cool moments in that and no one ever looked down on me by my performance so we fast forward really quick and we get to a point where like they end up letting me go and that's I understood why and you know we had some young guys coming back and it was just about that time so um right before that happened probably a week or so um you know I'm in the midst of my struggle and I'm I'm I'm praying hard and I'm in 2 Corinthians um 1210 um talking about with Paul and his his his thorning as side and he's trying not to um you know he's he's battling against trying to make it about himself and he's just like all right you put this Thorn here for a reason cuz you're you're allowing me to know your power like and in my weakness there is so much power in that and I just like it just we had it in the chapel and it just hit me so hard hit me like a ton of bricks and I just reread it probably 50 times and I just focused on it and I was like okay this is this is where I'm at right now because there's nobody stronger than me in that on that team than the weaknesses I'm going through but the strength that I'm gaining from it you know because I'm fighting for it and I remember getting into an outing finally I start off the game hot like it's like five strikeouts through seven hitters like I'm like all right I have a lot of confidence and I'm and I'm fighting for it and then I give up um a couple like cheap hits and then I give up a like a just cheap home run I mean I'm going to call it cheap but it was they wouldn't go out in Cincinnati's ballpark it's a tough ballpark but uh three run Homer uh to to a friend of mine who actually hit it that I played with and it just took the wind out of my sales man I mean and I remember sitting there praying like there's power in your weakness there's power in your weakness there power in weakness and I just try to reset and then I throw three pitches in the next bat or line drive straight off the elbow and I kid you not man I just I couldn't feel my arm my shoulders for my my fingertips it just shut off I could barely breathe from the pain and uh I just remember walking straight into the training room and I just sit there at the ceiling and it was like the only moment in my entire life where I like contemplated like I don't want to play anymore like this is I can't I can't handle this burden anymore and I I haven't really shared this much to be honest to St with family but it's like I think it's important to know like we all have our breaking points and I know I'm playing a game right but I think it just it relates to any any job or anything we're doing totally and it was the first time I admitted it to myself and I just like I just wanted to break down and um I remember going home and my wife and kids are usually asleep cuz it's late right and I remember sitting on the couch just staring at the ceiling just like man I mean what does my life look like if I'm not doing this and I was just really kind of in my feels and I was like probably 30 minutes go by and I was just like no like this isn't how it's going to work and I just got flooded I was just like no I'm this I'm not I'm not a quitter this is not something I'll ever do and when I'm done I'm done but I know I'm emotional I got it out like we're good and then I called up a guy I work with um out outside the field that you know just helps me stay healthy it's like 1: in the morning and I'm like I need you for an hour like help me get this inflammation out of my out of my out of my elbow like I need to get back to work and so I wake up the next day I tell my wife you know some of my things she was pretty thrown off like hey I've never heard you talk like this and I'm just like I'm good now but like that's where I was at and then fast forward I get released probably shortly after and I'm just like all right so what you know it was a shock right it was Pride moment it was shocked but I was like so what and then the Mariners picked me up stood there a time a little a month you said I guess and uh it was okay I mean good moments okay moments not so great moments like just kind of put together and then they let me go in Tampa and I had my family there and so I drove back with them to to Tallahassee and sat there and obviously there's a a waiver claim system and then the yanes hit me and um I was like man the I was like kind of like looking to the season there's probably about 3 four weeks left and I was like you know what reset let me just get back let me work on things let me get my mind right and then the Yankees called and I was like no way I was like the Yankees like in my mind right now after everything I just said like the Yankees seemed like the last team on my mind that I needed to get involved with just from the stakes and just the the the New York lifestyle and I remember just convincing myself like this is where we're at like this is where God's put you and and so I get there I I actually pitch really well I learn a lot and I just remember sitting there at the end of the season being like man why do you make this so hard like God like why do you what are you doing like I'm I'm I'm getting crushed over here but it was like hey man you fought for it and now you're here and this is what this is going to look like and then we get into it I sign back with the Yankees and then I'm doing what I'm doing today and I think it's just it's just so I remember I broke down a couple times just through the season sitting in my hotel bed just thinking about the success that he's brought me and the health that he's brought me and just being like gosh this is this is why we fight this is why we do the things we do this is why we trust in his plan and why we trust in that you know he is gracious and G to and give us what he feels that we need or or where we're going to get to and I just remember feeling like just not worthy of it but feeling also like it's because I stayed strong and you know that story means a lot to me because you just never know where you're going to be led to and so I took a lot of time there but it's just it's it's a huge part of my journey for sure no I'm I'm glad you answered it that way I mean I figured there was something going on like any human being that you look at what 2023 looked like from an athletes perspective and there's got to be some lessons in there and and thank you for being so candid in what you shared because now and it's funny because I would never I'll say hey man I hope everything goes great I hope you all go to the World Series and win it all like you hope that the the success continues and you can look back in November hopefully we see each other in November at Pao and we can say hey remember that conversation that we taped over the summer but at the same time it's almost prepares you for to be able to enjoy the success but also to be able to sustain uh a relationship with the Lord in the midst of whenever things don't go your way for example tonight or today where you're you're uh you know getting a little less sleep maybe coming from from Tampa to Baltimore you know I I mean that's a little thing but it allows you I think to see things in a different light when you've got like that thorn in the side that Paul talks about he he shares that for a reason like the hopeful the hope that he can still have in Christ no matter what circumstances come his way exactly and to your point I just there's not anything that I'm not prepared for like you mentioned you know getting a little less sleep and what like it just it just doesn't matter anymore you know because there's not anything that my we talk about like a heart and heart and all that type of stuff but like I feel like the exact opposite I feel like my Foundation is built on Rock like and it can't be changed you know and I think that's such an amazing thing for me because it's like out there on the mound like situations that I was never winning or I wasn't winning much of I'm winning and it's just because I'm confident who I am and what I'm doing um because he's instilled all the things that I've asked for in prayer that I've fought for the last few years and it just there's such peace in that you know like it does nothing bothers me it's like sure there's moments where my adrenaline gets up higher or lower certain situations I remember I had a save opportunity clay was uh took the day off after throwing a few and I uh I I never had a save and so they put put me in the the closer roll and we're up two and at home against the Twins and I'm warming up and I probably from the sixth inning on my heartbeat was out of my chest and it was the only time all year where my heart I mean it was probably Midway probably let's just call it a month ago but we were decent ways for the season and I had never felt like that the whole year cuz I just was so super calm I'm like hey when they need me they need me but I was like and we get up there and I'm warming up and my heart is at my chest and there's two outs and there's a guy on for us and I'm about to go in here after the next out and Stanton hits a two-run homer makes it four to or makes it 5 to one or something like that and I was like no no save opportunity no save opportunity but guess who I still had to go in the game right so it just became a a little Glimpse on the radar and I went out and I pitched well and um you know that little moment that like I when I look at that moment it's such a positive moment that like kind of somewhat seemed negative for me personally but we won and I pitched well and it was all good um the bullpen guys gave me a hard time because I was like no I want it I wanted to save and they're just like dude we won I was like I know we won but like I wanted it and they're just like and then of course you know Clay gets back um back up the next day so there's probably been four times that I've had a save opportunity where Clay's been down and we have not ever lined up the opportunity so I'm like no I can't I'm it's not meant to be I'm not a close this is not my job like I scare him away whatever reason but that's that's that's the beauty of like that's where I'm at mentally right it's such a a good healthy head space where like I'm I'm just worked up about you know a successful opportunity as opposed to just like begging to pitch or just begging to get through an inning or begging just to have some type of momentum um out there on the field we need to get like our friend our mutual friend Chase Anderson last night a couple nights ago pitched three innings in like an eight nothing game but if you pitch three innings in a in a elongated uh you know reliever Ro you can get a save in that situation so he got a save and it makes me think like 5 to one versus eight nothing or seven nothing but he got the save so you'll get your opportunity there's no doubt sure I think that's how I thought I was gonna get it was GNA be a a a three inning St especially early on when I was throwing a little bit more um during my outings but yeah I mean that's just that's the that's just part of it right he gets to save in a in a different situation and I'm out here just you know hoping we continue to score but also like well just don't score too many because I I want to go out and try to try to you know get something I haven't accomplished but I'm at all not worried about it it's just part of the game but it's uh it's it's fun sometimes to get Juiced up yeah with the bottom line being the win obviously now real quick what's the adapt adaptation for you like or I I think that's the right word or or just adapting to a role of being you know a reliever versus a starter it's different like you could pitch tonight um you pitched a couple nights ago and did really well I think it was like one and a third or one and two thirds and and you gotta win so like what's the what's the mindset like knowing that you gotta come in and Pitch potentially three or four times a week if it if it was to happen that way yeah this conversation Olivia and I my wife had and um it's just been it's been a blessing for our family really it's been you know the starting is the the mecca of pitching right like you or five spots you know that's where you know they say the big bucks are not that where you know it's part of it right but it's it's where you want it's where most people want to be because that's just the cream of the crop so to speak um and that's not that's all I guess that's all objective right but at the end of the day um you know that's what I've always done that's just the way I thought of it and um I think there's times where we've had conversations like man maybe I could be successful in the bullpen you know maybe that look is just it's just different with the style how people play uh maybe their mindset their personality and I always felt like I could do both and I always felt like I could be on the back end um especially maybe in a closer role or setup roll and you know I just never done it and so when I came into the season you know there was a chance of starting uh but you know we had obviously have great five we had five great starters to start the season so now I'm kind of in like a hybrid role where I'm like I'm doing what I know I could do with a little bit of length but I'm also having to do it in a different way so it was just really just getting over that mental hurdle of like this is where I'm at this is what I'm committed to there's no ANS if or butts there's no like I should be doing this or that it was just committed and that just turned into some success which then turned into a situation where now like you know I was throwing in the eighth Innings I'm getting holds now and I'm I'm I'm pitching in high leverage and and I'm still giving a a little bit of length so it's a little bit of a a little bit of a Swiss army knife so to speak and um and but the blessing for our family is like every day I just get to show up like a like a new day like every day it's like a position player I always Envy position players even though some would say it's a little bit of a harder job to do um especially swinging the bat but they just show up every day right it's I'm playing nine innings I'm playing shorts stop and every day's got to be treated like not like a stark day right and yeah that's been great for us because now I get to be president with my kids not that I wasn't it was just my interactions get to increase they get to heighten I get to take my daughter to the coffee shop and then she gets her croissan and I'm getting my sandwich and then we're going to the playground and then the playground's an hour or so and you got the splash pad and you know it might be a little hot but it's like it's all good and then we come back and you know my son's awake and we're just playing so there's just things that I get to do every day to give my kids a sense of consistency um and to get let them know that dad's present every single day and nothing's changed and I think that is so important into their lives because it's like well why on this day is Dad not available or why is he not playing with me or why is he just so uh focused and quiet and it's like I don't want to live in that space it gets it it becomes a lot you know and I think that's part of the game but this has been cool because I know how manage short doses now and I know how to we can go into the city of New York and walk around and then I can get in the ice ice bath and do some things to wake up the body and to get things right and now I'm just hey I got two innings Max maybe in an inning or whatever but I know how exactly I to get there and then prepare for the next day so it's it's been good it's been really good that's good uh last question I want to be mindful of our time because you got a game to Stadium to get to in a game play um but let me just ask you as you think about and reflect a little bit right like I was looking at your Cape Cod summer league the the Brewster white caps in 2012 right and think about Luke Weaver at that time you're a college kid and you know then you get drafted and you're what 23 I think when you make your debut in 2016 with St Louis and then here you are now in 2024 what do you think's the biggest difference that God has has worked in your life as far as that young man at that point whether it's in Brewster or whether it's in the K League or in Florida State or even with the Cardinals compared to the guy I'm talking to today gosh um yeah just well seasoned um cooked cooked to well done but there's still some good flavor in there right like that's good like when my wife orders um you know a flaming Yan she needs it to get butterflied and cooked well done because she wants to make yeah yeah well done um and you know they they could do it and make it taste pretty decently well when you get you know the right guys the right skills doing it and so totally anyways besides the point it's um man it's just been a lot of learning a lot of a lot of failure um sprinkled in some success I guess it depends what success looks like for anybody but um no there has been success but I think it's I've always not understood how those with so much success have learned how to fail and you know I think there's always going to be special humans in different fields um but I've always really appreciated and like man how do they do that because I don't know where I would be without failure and I think that is just a part of our life and especially a part of this game but it's just like I said it's built such a foundation that's firm um in who I am and what I do um I think as a dad that's uh that's strengthened me up a little bit too you know I'm walking around the playground like making sure my kids are good got some dad strength in there um you know I just it just life it just comes at you fast but it also gives you such moments to to relish and to enjoy that slow down so I'm still doing it I guess man I'm still I'm still here um and you know I Marvel at the the fact that I look at some stadiums and I'm just like right I'm right where my feet are you know and I'm just like let's see how much longer we could do this but I'm just going to enjoy every second of it and try not to let days pass by where I'm just kind of blurred together I just want to make them impactful and those around me I want them to know that it means something totally yeah I mean you made it to your nine that's that's success my friend as a major still got some more work that's right still lot lot of lot of innings hopefully more to pitch and a lot of years to play for Luke Weaver with the New York Yankees thanks Luke appreciate your buddy coming back on the show uh continued success the rest of this year and I hope I I get to see you later this year so thanks for joining us thanks Jason appreciate it as always brother keep shining the light and we'll talk soon hey thanks for watching sports Spectrum here on YouTube you can click our next video or you can check out our website Sports spectrum.com