'Way cooler in person': Weaver seals Yanks' World Series trip

CLEVELAND -- Luke Weaver was right where he belonged, right in the middle of the celebration, champagne and beer erupting around him.

Few Yankees enjoyed punching their ticket to the World Series more than Weaver, who closed out New York’s 5-2, 10-inning win in Game 5 on Saturday with two shutdown innings. On the mound, he was stoic and unrelenting, mowing through the Guardians’ lineup as the Progressive Field crowd begged him to do anything but. In the celebrations that followed, Weaver was, as one teammate put it, “the worst dancer on the team.”

What a ride it’s been for the 31-year-old, who spent the past two seasons bouncing around baseball before finally establishing himself with the Yankees. He didn’t just cling to a role, he thrived, enough to take over the closer’s role late in the season. Now, he’s going to the World Series, and if the Yankees are going to win their 28th ring, he’s the best bet to be on the mound.

“This means everything,” Weaver said. “I’ve been doing this for a little bit, but I’ve never been able to go to the playoffs. I watched it like a fan on TV. It looks pretty cool on TV, but I’m here to say it’s way cooler in person, especially with guys you’ve been doing it with every single day. This is really, really, really cool.”

The bullpen moved through the clubhouse in a pack, pausing for pictures and chanting each other’s names, one by one. These relievers, like everyone else in pinstripes, have praised Weaver louder by the day through this postseason run, even when he stumbled in the Game 3 loss.

He’s quick to deflect the praise with a joke, but it’s all around him.

“Well, if you slip a five-dollar bill in their pocket, it goes a long way,” Weaver said with a smile. “I appreciate them so much, I really do. It’s been a long season. I’ve done a lot of different things on the mound, roles, everything in between. I’m blessed. I’m thankful to be where I’m at, getting the final out.”

Now, Weaver and the Yankees’ bullpen can finally rest, even if just for a few days. With the Mets and Dodgers scheduled to play Game 6 on Sunday night, this is a break the Yankees desperately need. Both Weaver and Clay Holmes have pitched in eight of the Yankees’ nine postseason games. No one is fresh, but they will be.

It took Mark Leiter Jr., Tim Hill and Jake Cousins to bridge the gap from Carlos Rodón on Saturday. Those names don’t exactly tower over what the Guardians could roll out, but that doesn’t matter now.

“If I would have told you a month ago or two months ago that we're going to close out the American League with Mark Leiter Jr., Tim Hill, Jake Cousins, Luke Weaver, I don't know if many people would have thought that,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said, “but it's a credit to each and every one of those guys. Just their ability to do their job, their ability to focus, their ability to lock in, and just proud of that group.”

Boone did some fine work in this, too, navigating the Guardians lineup through a roller coaster of a series that ended with Juan Soto’s three-run home run, an instant classic we’ll be seeing for years.

The Yankees got more out of their starters than the Guardians -- far more -- and that structure makes them stand out from the postseason crowd. Boone still needed to pick the right spots, though, and trust the right pitchers at the right times.

“I thought Boonie did a great job,” said general manager Brian Cashman on the field after the win. “Especially this three-game series here, the way it played out. Going into it, let’s get our starter going deep, but it didn’t happen. Then, you go into Game 2 and 3 [in Cleveland] with the late innings the way they were, it was like, ‘How are we going to piece this stuff together and can these guys step up and get the outs?’ They did.”

It’s been 28 years since someone not named Mariano Rivera recorded the final out of the World Series for the Yankees, when John Wetteland did it in 1996. If the past few weeks have taught us anything, it’s to expect the unexpected, but Weaver has his shot now after pitching the Yankees to the AL pennant.