Thank you, Jered Weaver

Much of the joy of my being an Angels fan has come from watching Jered Weaver pitch.  Jered is far and away my favorite pitcher of all time.  He blessed us all with a great career and so many wonderful memories.

When he announced his retirement on August 16, 2017, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of loss.  Jered provided us with years full of great memories and moments that not only made us smile, but also inspired us and made us proud.  He was special to us in so many ways and I will miss not seeing him on the mound. 

Cheryl and I were there when Jered made his major league debut on May 27, 2006.  We had actually gone to a Padres game that same day to see former Angel - David Eckstein and the St. Louis Cardinals and drove back in time for his game.  There was no way in the world, we were going to miss his debut.

I had anticipated that day from the moment the Angels drafted him in 2004.  Being a fellow Long Beach State alum – I was thrilled to know that this Dirtbag was going to be pitching for my favorite team.  His debut was one of the most highly anticipated events in my Angels’ fandom.

Jered’s collegiate career was electric.  He went 37-9 over his career and won the Golden Spikes Award in his final year as the top amateur baseball player in America.  He also walked away with the Dick Howser Trophy as the national collegiate baseball player of the year and the Roger Clemens Award as the top pitcher in college baseball.  He dominated the competition and demonstrated passion and a competitive fire that made him a larger-than-life athlete.

On May 27, 2006, he did not disappoint.  He went 7 innings, giving up just 3 hits, a walk and no runs while striking out 5.  A hometown hero was born and a fabulous career was launched that day.  He would begin his journey through major league baseball with an impressive 9-0 record and would finish his first year, 11-2, with a 2.56 ERA and a 105 K’s in 123 innings.  He was 5^th in the Rookie of the Year voting that year (Justin Verlander won the award).

I remember leaving the stadium that evening and thinking about how lucky and blessed we were to have Jered on our favorite team.  A love-affair was born.  He was all ours and over the course of his career, he would provide us with countless moments of unbridled joy.

One of my early memories of Jered as an Angel took place at a Fan Fest (back in the day when the Angels had these fabulous events).  He walked into an autograph tent; tall, lanky, with long blond hair, sunglasses on and a big smile on his face.  He exuded confidence, but you got a sense that Jered Weaver knew how to have a good time.  It was clear he was loving the opportunity to be with fans.  That day, Cheryl and I affectionately dubbed him “Rock Star.”  He looked every bit the part.

The funny thing about Jered Weaver is that although his collegiate career was legendary – he was always sort of an under-dog.  While he was dominating college baseball players, the experts who anticipated his entrance into pro-baseball never looked at him as an elite pitcher.  I distinctly remember reading about the projections and none of them matched the career he had at Long Beach State.

He was mostly projected as a #3 starter.  Many "experts" were concerned about the way he threw across his body and felt he was destined for injury. It seemed nobody expected much from Jered.

Make no mistake about it – Jered Weaver was an ace.  A true #1 starter for a good chunk of his career.  Never was that more evident than in 2011 and 2012 when he put together back to back years that were truly magnificent.  In 2011, he went 18-8 with a 2.41 ERA and finished second in the Cy Young voting.  He also had a 7.0 WAR the highest of his career.  In 2012 he won 20 games (against 5 losses) with a 2.81 ERA and third place finish in the Cy Young voting that year.

One of my greatest memories as a baseball fan was the night he threw a no-hitter.  Cheryl and I were there on May 2, 2013 when Weaver blessed us with the only no-hitter we’ve ever seen in person.  To this day, my post about his “no-no” remains one of my favorite blog posts of all time.  Whenever I introduce someone to this blog, I often share that link as their first entre into this space.

Selfishly, I’m going to miss writing about Jered.  I’m going to miss a lot of things about him, but most of all I’m going to miss just watching him pitch.  He was our version of Greg Maddux.  He was an artist, a magician and a precision mechanic all rolled into one.  The way he changed speeds and kept batters off balanced was always fun to watch; especially when his velocity began to dip and he still found ways to get outs and eat up innings.

From 2010 through 2012 he was among the elite pitchers in the American League.  His 233 strike-outs in 2010 lead the league.  Yes, our Jered Weaver once lead the league in strike-outs which makes the fact that he still found a way to get batters out later in his career, despite diminished velocity even more impressive. 

I know very well that “wins” are not a true indicator of how good a pitcher is, but never-the-less Weaver’s 150 major league wins in his career are significant to me.  I knew that every time he took the mound, there was a good chance his team was going to win.  I knew he would do everything he could to keep his team in the game and give them a chance to win.

I will miss his competitive fire and his intensity, but I will also miss the “softer side” of “Weave” as well.  He was always gracious and friendly at spring training.  He always made time for fans, posing for pictures and signing autographs.  He was the consummate professional in every way. 

I will never forget one of his not-so-fine moments as well.  It was June 20, 2009 when he faced off against his brother, Jeff Weaver and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

That night, Jered never looked like himself.  Cheryl and I showed up early because we wanted to absorb this sibling rivalry from the get-go.  I vividly remember seeing Jered warming up prior to the game in the outfield and constantly looking over at his brother in right-field doing the same.  It was as if he was hoping to catch his eye and give him a friendly wave, but his brother never looked his way.

I felt like Jered was disappointed, maybe even sad.  I have no way of knowing if that was true, but that was my take.  He looked like the little brother who wanted desperately to get some attention from his older brother, but it just wouldn’t come his way.

He went on to have a horrible game; giving up 6 runs in 5.1 innings, while giving up 10 hits, walking 3 batters in a 6-4 loss.  I felt as if he was psyched out by his brother and the anxiety of going up against Jeff was just too much.  It was the only time I can remember when Jered looked vulnerable as a major league baseball player.

Again, I don’t know Weaver personally, but I’ve been able to gather an impression of him over the years.  That day in 2009 when he faced his brother and my thoughts about what Weaver went through are based in part by something I vividly remember about the 2006 post-season. 

The St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series that year and Jeff Weaver played a big part in all of that when he won game 5 against the Detroit Tigers.  The cameras kept finding Jered in the stands, all decked out in Cardinals gear, cheering on his older-brother, looking every bit the part of an adoring younger brother watching his hero.

Jered had just finished his rookie season.  It was refreshing to see Jered just being himself, absorbed in the moment of being at the World Series watching his brother.  Jered didn’t look like a major league star in the making – he just looked like a kid cheering on his hero.  It was just cool.

I think we can take something from the fact that Jered also took the #36 in 2007, a year after his brother was traded to St. Louis.  It was Jeff's number.

As you can see, my memories of Jered Weaver are as varied as the speed of is fastball has been over the years.  Not all of them are related to his on–the-field performance. 

My memories include his public press conference when he signed his five-year $85 million extension.  He could have signed elsewhere for more and when asked about that he simply said,  “How much more do you really need?” And with that he cemented himself as a fan favorite for life.

Yes, we are going to miss Jered Weaver.  He was easy to cheer for and it’s hard to see him walk away.  Luckily, we have memories and good times to reflect on whenever we think about our “Rock Star.”

Thank you, Jered Weaver.  Thank you for giving us everything you had every time you stepped on the mound. Thank you for those moments when you took the time to pose for a picture, give us a smile or a wave or even stop to sign a photo or baseball.  Thank you for being yet another reason why we love baseball and for why we love our Angels.