The veteran pitcher who has been key to the New York Yankees' success in 2024 said a famous verse from the Bible gave him peace during a tumultuous time last year. Right-handed relief pitcher Luke Weaver is fifth among Yankees pitchers in innings pitched this year with a 3.17 ERA and a 5-3-1 record after struggling to find his footing while playing for three different teams in 2023. Weaver even considered retirement at one point last year, he told the media. Sports Spectrum Podcast.
Just before he was released by the Cincinnati Reds last season, he read a passage from the Apostle Paul that changed his thinking. 2 Corinthians 12:10 (“For this reason I take delight, for the sake of Christ, in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”)
“I'm in the middle of my battle and I'm praying hard. I read II Corinthians 12:10, which talks about Paul and the thorn in his side,” Weaver told Sports Spectrum. “…and [Paul’s] It's like, 'Okay, you put this thorn here for a reason, and you're letting me know your strength in my weakness.' There's a lot of power there.”
The poem “made a big impact on me,” he said.
“I probably re-read it about 50 times and really focused on it,” he said.
Weaver had an up-and-down year with the Reds, hurting his elbow on a line drive about a month before being released. The Seattle Mariners acquired him for a month, then waived him again before being picked up by the Yankees last September.
Weaver, in his ninth season in the league, said he was surprised the Yankees, the oldest franchise in major league baseball, wanted him.
“I remember telling myself, 'This is where we are,' this is where God has me,” he told Sports Spectrum. “I remember sitting in my hotel bed during the season and breaking down in tears a few times thinking about all the success and health God has given me. I was like, 'Yo, this is why we compete.'”
His goal, he said, is to be a good teammate, regardless of his own performance.
“I've had conversations with God: 'I want to get better. I want to fight for your favor. And I want you to know that I'm thinking of you no matter what.' And this has been a great year for me on the baseball field. God has answered a lot of prayers. … I'm grateful for that, but instead, sometimes I feel guilty. 'Hey, you're giving me this, but I want to make sure I'm fighting for you.'”
He said his belief gives him confidence on the mound.
“My foundation is built on rock and that cannot be changed,” he said. “There is great peace in that.”
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Joe Sargent/Stringer
Michael Faust He has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years, and his work has appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, Christian Post, Leaf Chronicle, Toronto Star and Knoxville News Sentinel.
