Weaver • The
former Long Beach State star is now
pitching with the Los Angeles Angels
and has a
4-0 record. Matt Brown / CSULB Sports
Information.
Jered
Weaver is a helluva Angel
By
Patrick Creaven
Summer Forty-Niner
Sports Editor
On May 25, Jered Weaver’s Salt Lake Bees Manager, Brian Harper, needed
to talk to his star pitcher.
“I got good news and bad news,” Harper said to a puzzled Weaver.
“The bad news is you’re not going on the road trip with us to Vegas.
The good news is you’re going to make your first start with the Angels.”
Clearly the greatest pitcher in Long Beach State history, and arguably the
greatest Dirtbag of all time, was headed to the big leagues.
“I was in shock,” Weaver said. “I turned all white. It was
very unexpected.”
Weaver has now been in the major leagues for three weeks, and after pitching
seven innings and giving up no earned runs against the Kansas City Royals Tuesday,
Weaver has raced to a 4-0 record.
In four big league starts, the former Dirtbag has a microscopic 1.37 ERA, and
has stuck out 22 while walking just four in 26 1/3 innings.
On June 2, LBSU head coach Mike Weathers and pitching coach Troy Buckley traveled
to Cleveland to watch their former star pitcher.
“[Weathers and Buckley] were really pumped up to come out here and watch
me pitch,” Weaver said.
“We went out to dinner afterwards and they both gave me words of encouragement.”
Although Weaver has had some early success, he understands pitching to the
Cleveland Indians is a lot different than pitching to the Cal Poly Mustangs.
“In college I might make a mistake with a pitch and the batter would hit
a foul ball,” Weaver said. “Now if I make a mistake the ball gets
hit out of the park.”
In 2004, Weaver had one of the greatest pitching seasons in the history of
collegiate baseball.
The Simi Valley native went 15-1, had a 1.63 ERA and struck out 213 (the sixth
most in NCAA history) while walking just 21.
“Going to Long Beach was the best decision of my life.” Weaver said. “I
learned how to play baseball the right way, the Dirtbag way, and had great coaches
and teammates help me improve my game.”
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