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Jeff Weaver

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This article is about Major League Baseball player Jeffrey Weaver. For other people named Jeff Weaver, see Jeff Weaver (disambiguation).
Jeff Weaver
File:Jeff Weaver STL.jpg
St. Louis Cardinals – No. 36
Starting pitcher
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
debut
April 14, 1999, for the Detroit Tigers
Career statistics
(through October 2, 2006)
Record86-101
ERA4.58
Strikeouts1,044
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Former teams

Jeffrey Charles Weaver (born August 22, 1976 in Northridge, Los Angeles, California) is a right-handed Major League Baseball pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals. He has pitched for the Detroit Tigers (1999-2002), New York Yankees (2002-2003), Los Angeles Dodgers (2004-2005), and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2006).

Weaver brings a large arsenal to the mound. The tall, lanky righthander can throw a fastball in the low 90's, a hard and tight slider, and a sweeping breaking ball. Occasionally, for a change of pace, he drops down to a sidearm delivery.

Weaver attended Fresno State University before his professional career. In 1998, the Detroit Tigers drafted him in the first round (14th overall). He was fast-tracked to the big leagues a year later, starting 29 games in 1999. Weaver was a fixture in Detroit's rotation, serving as their Opening Day starter in 2001 and 2002. He was traded before the deadline, in a deal that also involved the Oakland A's, to the New York Yankees.

Jeff's time with the Yankees was very turbulent. He bounced in and out of the their starting rotation. Finally, in Game 4 of the 2003 World Series, he was brought in and allowed a 12th inning walk off home run to Alex Gonzalez. This performance, undoubtedly, sealed Weaver's fate in pinstripes; he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the offseason.

In 2005, the Dodgers built their rotation around the durable Weaver (who has never been placed on the disabled list). Jeff went 14-11, with a 4.22 ERA, a 1.17 WHIP, 3 complete games and a career-high 157 strikeouts in 224 innings. These numbers were good enough to rank him 8th in the NL in IP's, 9th in complete games and 9th in WHIP. Following the 2005 season, Jeff filed for free agency. The Dodgers offered Jeff salary arbitration but the two sides were unable to reach an agreement.

On February 15, 2006, Weaver signed a 1-year deal with the Angels for $8.5 million. After posting a 3-10 record with a 6.29 ERA in Anaheim, he was designated for assignment on June 30. Jeff's younger brother, Jered Weaver, ironically, was recalled and replaced Jeff in the starting rotation.

On July 5, 2006, the St. Louis Cardinals acquired Weaver from the Angels in exchange for minor leaguer Terry Evans and cash considerations. He debuted with the team not as a pitcher, but as a pinch hitter in a 14-inning game between the Cardinals and Dodgers on July 13, 2006 at Busch Stadium.

On July 17, 2006, in Weaver's first start as a Cardinal, he gave up six runs in 4 innings and received the loss.

Since that start, Weaver has become one of the Cardinals' most reliable pitchers. He won important games for the Cardinals in the final weeks of the season, helping them win the National League Central Division, and he started and won Game 2 of the 2006 National League Division Series. Weaver started and was the losing pitcher for Game 1 of the National League Championship Series against the New York Mets on October 12, 2006. He pitched five scoreless innings before giving up a two-run home run to Mets centerfielder Carlos Beltran; those two runs were the only scored by either team in the game.

In Game 5 of the National League Championship Series on October 17, 2006, Weaver again delivered for the Cardinals, pitching 6 effective innings and allowing only 2 runs on 6 hits, winning his second game of the 2006 postseason.

After losing Game 2 of the 2006 World Series to the Detroit Tigers, Weaver came back on October 27 , 2006 in Game 5 to pitch 8 innings, giving up 4 hits and 1 earned run. He was credited with the win as the St. Louis Cardinals clinched the series 4-1.

Picked up off the trash heap by general manager Walt Jocketty after being released by the Angels in favor of younger brother Jered, Weaver delivered perhaps the best performance of his career in his Game 5 victory and proved to the rest of the league that he is once again a force to be reckoned with. Written off even by St. Louis fans as just another losing pitcher in the Sidney Ponson model, Weaver established that, with the help of resident pitching genius Dave Duncan, he deserves every dollar he will make with Scott Boras next year.

Trivia

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