OC Register: Longtime Angels ace Jered Weaver reflects on a successful career, a rough end and his new life

[AngelsWin.com]

• The Angels’ Jered Weaver waves to the crowd after the last game of the season at Angel Stadium in Anaheim on Sunday, October 2, 2016. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• The Angels’ Jered Weaver celebrates after Gregorio Petit made a nice catch to start a double play to end the top the first inning against the Chicago White Sox at Angel Stadium on Sunday. ///ADDITIONAL INFO: angels.0718.kjs — Photo by KEVIN SULLIVAN / Orange County Register — 7/17/16 The Los Angeles Angels take on the Chicago White Sox at Angel Stadium.

• The Angels’ Jered Weaver talks to the media after announcing he won’t make his final start of the season in the team’s last game tomorrow during a press conference at Angel Stadium on Saturday Oct. 1, 2016. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• The Angels’ Jered Weaver pitches against the Chicago White Sox at Angel Stadium on Sunday. ///ADDITIONAL INFO: angels.0718.kjs — Photo by KEVIN SULLIVAN / Orange County Register — 7/17/16 The Los Angeles Angels take on the Chicago White Sox at Angel Stadium.

• The Angels’ Jered Weaver smiles as he talks to the media after announcing he won’t make his final start of the season in the team’s last game tomorrow during a press conference at Angel Stadium on Saturday Oct. 1, 2016. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• The Angels’ Jered Weaver acknowledges the crowd during the Angels’ 8-1 victory over the Houston Astros at Angel Stadium in Anaheim on Sunday, October 2, 2016. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• The Angels’ Jered Weaver acknowledges the crowd during the Angels’ 8-1 victory over the Houston Astros at Angel Stadium in Anaheim on Sunday, October 2, 2016. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• The Angels’ Jered Weaver talks to the media after announcing he won’t make his final start of the season in the team’s last game tomorrow during a press conference at Angel Stadium on Saturday Oct. 1, 2016. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• The Angels’ Jered Weaver celebrates with fans after the Halos clinched the American League West Wednesday night at Angel Stadium. ///ADDITIONAL INFO: angels.0918.kjs — Photo by KEVIN SULLIVAN / Orange County Register — 9/17/14 The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim take on the Seattle Mariners Wednesday night at Angel Stadium. 9/17/14

• Angels starting pitcher Jered Weaver gets a shower of Gatorade after pitching a complete game shutout of the Houston Astros on Friday. ///ADDITIONAL INFO: angels.0509 – 5/8/15 – Photo by PAUL RODRIGUEZ, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER – Angels vs. Houston Astros.

• The Angels’ Jered Weaver says hello to his wife Kristin and their daughter Josie while celebrating after the Halos clinched the American League West Wednesday night at Angel Stadium. ///ADDITIONAL INFO: angels.0918.kjs — Photo by KEVIN SULLIVAN / Orange County Register — 9/17/14 The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim take on the Seattle Mariners Wednesday night at Angel Stadium. 9/17/14

• An Angels fan shows his support for Jered Weaver during game 1 of the American League Division Series at Angel Stadium on Thursday. ///ADDITIONAL INFO: angels.1003.kjs — MANDATORY CREDIT: Photo by KEVIN SULLIVAN / Orange County Register — 10/2/14 The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim take on the Kansas City Royals in the American League Division series at Angel Stadium Thursday. 10/2/14

• The Angels’ Daniel Robertson and Jered Weaver have a little fun with their height difference before a Halos’ game against the Twins July 21. ///ADDITIONAL INFO: angels.0722.kjs — Photo by KEVIN SULLIVAN / Orange County Register — 7/21/15 The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim take on the Minnesota Twins at Angel Stadium Tuesday night. 7/21/15

• Angel’s Jered Weaver ,36, pitches in the first inning during a exhibition baseball game between the Chicago Cubs and the Los Angeles Angeles of Anaheim during a spring training game in the Cactus league March 1. 2008 at Tempe Diablo Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. (SGVN/Staff Photo Keith Birmingham/SXSports)

• Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Jered Weaver throws to the plate in the first inning of a spring baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Tempe Diablo Stadium on Friday, Feb. March 1, 2013 in Tempe, Arizona. Angels won 16-8. (Keith Birmingham Pasadena Star-News)

• Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Jered Weaver warms-up prior to the start of a spring baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Tempe Diablo Stadium on Friday, Feb. March 1, 2013 in Tempe, Arizona. Angels won 16-8. (Keith Birmingham Pasadena Star-News)

• Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Jered Weaver, right, prior to a spring baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Tempe Diablo Stadium on Friday, Feb. March 1, 2013 in Tempe, Arizona. Angels won 16-8. (Keith Birmingham Pasadena Star-News)

• Angels pitcher Jered Weaver #36 signs autographs before a baseball game between the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Tempe Diablo Stadium Sunday March 8. 2009 in Tempe, Arizona. (SGVN/Staff Photo by Keith Birmingham/SPORTS)

• Angel starting pitcher Jered Weaver #36 takes a moment at the banner for Nick Adenhart #34 before a baseball game between the Boston RedSox’s and the Los Angeles of Anaheim at Anaheim Stadium on Friday April 10, 2009 in Anaheim. (SGVN/Staff Photo by Keith Birmingham/SPORTS)

• Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Jered Weaver during a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif., on Sunday, April 22, 2012. Orioles won the game 3-3 in 10 innings. (SGVN/Staff Photo by Keith Birmingham/SPORTS)

• Los Angeles Dodgers Jeff Weaver with his brother Angels Jered Weaver on Saturday as they talk during a press conference before a baseball game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Los Angeles Angeles of Anaheim at Anaheim Stadium on Friday June 19, 2009 in Anaheim. (SGVN/Staff Photo by Keith Birmingham/SPORTS)

• Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Jered Weaver throws to the Boston Red Sox in the first inning of a baseball game on Tuesday, August 28, 2012 in Anaheim, Calif. (Keith Birmingham/Pasadena Star-News)

• Anaheim Angels starting pitcher Jered Weaver (36) tips his hat to the crowd after being taken out of the game by manager Mike Scioscia in the eighth inning of a American League Divisional Series baseball game on Friday, October 9, 2009, in Anaheim, Calif. (SGVN/Staff Photo by Keith Birmingham/SPORTS)

• Anaheim Angels starting pitcher Jered Weaver (36) after giving-up a solo homerun to New York Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez (13) in the fourth inning during game three of a American League Championship Series baseball game at Anaheim Stadium on Monday, October 19, 2009, in Anaheim, Calif. (SGVN/Staff Photo by Keith Birmingham/SPORTS)

• Anaheim Angels starting pitcher Jered Weaver (36) tips his hat to the crowd after being taken out of the game by manager Mike Scioscia in the eighth inning of a American League Divisional Series baseball game on Friday, October 9, 2009, in Anaheim, Calif.

• Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Jered Weaver throws to the plate against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first inning of a Major League Baseball game on Tuesday, May 17, 2016 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/ Pasadena Star-News)

• Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Jered Weaver sits in the dugout in the second inning of a Major League Baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday, May 17, 2016 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/ Pasadena Star-News)

• Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Jered Weaver (36) celebrates after clinching the American League Western Division as the they defeated the Seattle Mariners 5-0 during a baseball game at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2014. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/ Pasadena Star-News)

• Los Angeles Angels’ Jered Weaver shares a moment with his son Aden after clinching the American League Western Division as the they defeated the Seattle Mariners 5-0 during a baseball game at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2014. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/ Pasadena Star-News)

• Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia, left, with Jered Weaver in the locker room after clinching the American League Western Division as the they defeated the Seattle Mariners 5-0 during a baseball game at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2014. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/ Pasadena Star-News)

• Los Angels Angels’ Jered Weaver celebrates after clinching the American League Western Division as the they defeated the Seattle Mariners 5-0 during a baseball game at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2014. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/ Pasadena Star-News)

• Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Jered Weaver walks towards the dugout with pitching coach Mike Butcher (23) prior to an American League Division Series baseball game against the Kansas City Royals at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif., Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/ Pasadena Star-News)

• Jered Weaver

• Angel’s Jered Weaver ,36, pitches i the first inning during a baseball game between the Texas Rangers and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim April 5. 2008 at Angel Stadium. (SGVN/Staff Photo Keith Birmingham/SXSports)

• The Angels’ Jered Weaver pitches against the Chicago Cubs at Angel Stadium Tuesday night. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• Angels starting pitcher Jered Weaver lets out a yell after striking out Seattle Mariners’ Justin Smoak to get out of a jamb in the sixth inning in Anaheim on July 18, 2014. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• ORG XMIT: fotogod@hotmail.com angels06tlpzd.jpg (10-5-2008, sports, Boston) Los Angeles Angels’ Jered Weaver celebrates the Angels victory over the Boston Red Sox in game three of the American League Division Series Saturday in Boston, MA., October 5, 2008. (Terry Pierson/The Press-Enterprise)

• ORG XMIT: fotogod@hotmail.com ANGELS17tlpp.jpg (4-16-2008, Sports, Anaheim) Anaheim Angels’ Jered Weaver pitches against the Kansas City Royals in the 5th inning of the game at Angels Stadium Wednesday in Anaheim, Calif., April 16, 2008. (The Press-Enterprise/Terry Pierson)

• ORG XMIT: DODGERSANGELS21slj.jpg (06-20-09, Anaheim, Spt) The Angels Jered Weaver is removed from the game by coach Mike Scioscia during their game against the Dodgers on Saturday, June 20, 2009. (Stan Lim/The Press Enterprise)

• Jered Weaver plays with his daughter Josie before Mother’s Day activities at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif. on Sunday, May 8, 2016. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• The Angels’ Jered Weaver reacts after Matt Carpenter’s three run home run in the fifth inning Thursday at Angel Stadium. ///ADDITIONAL INFO: angels.0405.kjs — Photo by KEVIN SULLIVAN / Orange County Register — 5/12/16 The Los Angeles Angels take on the St. Louis Cardinals Thursday at Angel Stadium.

• The Angels’ Jered Weaver gets a hug in the dugout by the Angels’ Kole Calhoun after being acknowledged by the crowd at Angel Stadium in Anaheim on Sunday, October 2, 2016. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• ORG XMIT: NY153 ** FILE ** Long Beach State pitcher Jered Weaver pumps his fist in celebration after striking out Stanford’s Johnny Ash to end a bases loaded threat in the fourth inning during the NCAA Division I Baseball Regional in Stanford, Calif., in this June 5, 2004 photo. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

• ORG XMIT: NY152 ** FILE ** Long Beach State Dirtbags pitcher Jered Weaver throws under the watchful eye of pitching coach Troy Buckley in Long Beach, Calif., in this May 25, 2004 photo. (AP Photo/Ric Francis)

• ORG XMIT: PAL111 Long Beach State pitcher Jered Weaver pitches to Stanford in the first inning during the NCAA Division I Baseball Regional in Stanford, Calif. on Saturday, June 5, 2004. Long Beach State won 7-4. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

• ORG XMIT: LA405 Jered Weaver, pride of the Long Beach State Dirtbags, practices a pitch Tuesday, May 25, 2004, in Long Beach, Calif. Weaver, younger brother of Los Angeles Dodger pitcher Jeff Weaver, is one of the best amateur pitchers in the country and is expected to be one of the top picks in the June 7 baseball draft. (AP Photo/Ric Francis)

• ‘I thought it was going to be a tougher adjustment, but it’s really not,’ longtime Angels pitcher Jered Weaver said of retirement, which has included a lot of golf. ‘I think if I would have stopped after the Angels, and didn’t go to the Padres, I would have been wondering if I could have kept going. But I tried to go again, and it didn’t work out. I knew that my body couldn’t do it any more. I was totally at ease with that.’ (Photo by Susana Capra, Crespi High Communications)

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WESTLAKE VILLAGE — As Jered Weaver, his wife and two kids sat recently for family portraits, the photographer asked 4-year-old, Aden, “What does your Daddy do?”

“He plays golf.”

Which is pretty much correct. Jered Weaver plays golf. He also snowboards and plays pickup basketball. He packs lunches and gets his kids ready for preschool every day.

Nearly six months into his retirement, as Weaver prepares to watch a baseball season start without him for the first time in decades, the longtime Angels ace is at peace with this new life and the way his 12-year career came to an unceremonious end last year.

“It’s good, man,” Weaver said. “I thought it was going to be a tougher adjustment, but it’s really not. I think if I would have stopped after the Angels, and didn’t go to the Padres, I would have been wondering if I could have kept going. But I tried to go again, and it didn’t work out. I knew that my body couldn’t do it any more. I was totally at ease with that.”

After his bounceback attempt with the Padres failed in 2017, resulting in a tweeted retirement announcement in August, Weaver slipped away without a public word.

Just before spring training began without him, Weaver sat down in his Westlake Village home and, in his first post-retirement interview, reflected on the transition from Major League Star to Stay At Home Dad, on starting a new life at 35.

A standout at Simi Valley High and Long Beach State on his way up, Weaver became one of the best pitchers in Angels history. He has 150 career victories, three All-Star games and a no-hitter on his resume. He was the Angels’ opening day starter a club-record seven times. Now, all of that is distilled into a closet full of jerseys and signed bats, along with some framed lineup cards that sit on the floor in his home office, waiting to be displayed.

There is still quite a bit to unpack about the journey that got him here.

IT WAS TIME

For all of Weaver’s success, the end of his career was sometimes hard to watch, even for him.

As his body gave way, leaving him without the velocity necessary to succeed in the majors, Weaver realized that he was risking more than a high ERA when he took the mound.

“There were scared times,” Weaver admitted. “I would have nightmares, before I pitched, of getting hit in the face and stuff. You try throwing a 3-1 fastball 83 mph to a power hitter. There were times I threw balls hoping they didn’t come back at me. You can’t pitch that way. It’s tough.”

Weaver said the nightmares “weren’t a regular thing.” Still, they serve as the most glaring manifestation of where Weaver’s career had gone.

“There are not too many guys throwing 84 out there in the big leagues,” he said. “It’s not really where you want to be.”

Weaver is convinced that a lack of commitment to stretching had started to cause his body to deteriorate years earlier. He said he felt “banged up a little bit” as far as back as 2010.

The team-friendly, five-year $85-million contract he signed in 2011, however, was “absolutely not” related to any fear he had for his career, he said. He took the discounted deal because he never wanted to be the team’s highest-paid player, or to make so much money that the team couldn’t afford to surround him with good players. One day in the back of the team plane, Weaver told then-GM Tony Reagins what he wanted, and had a deal within three days.

“I would still have two more years left on my contract if I waited for free agency and signed a seven-year deal,” he said. “There’s no way I could even pick up a ball and I’d be making like $30 million. I’m totally OK with where I’m at right now. I’m glad it unfolded the way it did. It all worked perfectly.”

Through the first few years of Weaver’s deal, his fastball was gradually diminishing, but there was no impact on his performance. He posted a 2.41 ERA in 2011, won 20 games in 2012 and 18 games in 2014.

In 2015, though, Weaver had a 4.64 ERA. In 2016, his ERA rose to 5.06 and he gave up a league-worst 37 homers.

“It was miraculous how I made it through that last year with the Angels,” Weaver said. “Hip, shoulder functionality … stuff wasn’t firing like I wanted to. I was always throwing around some kind of nagging thing. I was on anti-inflammatories and trying to make it through every five days.”

He said there were days that he felt so out of sync in the bullpen before games that he would tell his pitching coach, Mike Butcher or Charlie Nagy, that they’d better have someone ready in the bullpen early.

“The last year with the Angels, I had no inside part of the plate,” he said. “I could not throw a fastball in to a lefty.”

Still, Weaver had just enough good days that he still believed he could get the job done. He vividly remembers a game in Oakland in June 2016 when he came out of the bullpen feeling awful, but pitched a two-hit shutout. He had a 3.04 ERA over his final four starts of the season, which was enough to convince him he could still pitch beyond his contract.

The Angels, however, did not bring him back in 2017. General Manager Billy Eppler spoke with Weaver a couple times that winter, but had nothing to offer.

“I got a little upset,” Weaver said. “Twelve years with a team? Give me a minor league deal or something. Throw something out there. It was a little frustrating, but I totally understand. At the time I was probably a little upset but I get it, it’s a business.”

The Padres were a natural choice for Weaver, who took a $3 million deal to head 90 minutes down the freeway. But he was never able to pitch as he’d hoped. He had a 7.44 ERA in nine starts, getting booed off the mound after allowing seven runs and not making it out of the first inning on May 19.

That would be his last major league game.

The Padres placed Weaver on the “phantom DL,” he said, after that game. He worked out for about a month and made a rehab start on June 22 at Triple-A.

“The first pitch of the game, I looked back and saw 82 (mph, on the scoreboard) and my body, my heart and mind completely shut down,” he said. “I could just feel it.”

That day, Weaver went back to the clubhouse and sent his wife a text.

I think it’s over.

“Barely even cried,” he said, recalling the moment.

Weaver continued to work out in vain. Finally, on Aug. 16, Weaver tweeted the news of retirement, with a picture of a sunset.

FAMILY TIME

Weaver said he now lives a quiet life, barely recognized around a region filled with other celebrities. He is happy to drift into anonymity.

“People always asked me ‘What are you going to do?’ and I always said, ‘Dude, once I’m done playing this game, you will probably never see me again,’” he said with a laugh.

He plays golf a couple times a week, having lowered his handicap from 12 to 7 in six months. He plays for a men’s league team representing his club. He tried snowboarding, one of the activities prohibited by a standard player contract. He’s played pickup basketball. He said his next challenge is dirt bike trail riding.

Weaver said he has no immediate plans to get into any sort of baseball coaching, although he might next year help with the basketball team at Simi Valley. Last month, Weaver returned to Simi Valley to pitch in the alumni game.

“It didn’t feel too good,” he said, “but I got through two innings.”

Mostly, Weaver is focused on his duties as a husband and father, with a third child on the way in June.

Weaver lets Aden whack plastic golf balls in the living room. He takes 3-year-old Josie to ballet class. He considers himself an involved father, but knows he has some work to do. He is trying to be more patient, and to figure out how his wife, Kristin, wants things done.

“There are times I try to step in and I don’t do it the right way,” he said. “I am still trying to learn my place. She’s been working around me for all these years. Now it’s my time to work around her. She runs the show around here.”

Weaver is busy enough with his family that he rarely reminisces about his career. He said he still hasn’t watched a full replay of his 2012 no-hitter. Weaver watched some clips from 2006, when he and his older brother, Jeff, were teammates.

“That’s the thing I remember the most, the little time I had with my brother,” he said. “You’re in a big league dugout with your brother. I kinda cried during that. I’m not a very emotional guy, but that was cool.”

He appreciated the standing ovation Angels fans gave him on the final day of the 2016 season, even though at that point he didn’t feel his career – or even his Angels career – was over. He is likely to get a more satisfying closure when the Angels inevitably induct him into the team’s Hall of Fame.

For now, Weaver seems disinterested in waxing nostalgic about his career, because he doesn’t feel defined by it.

“I didn’t think of myself as a baseball player,” he said. “I didn’t like the attention. I didn’t want the attention. It was just something I did. … It was just something I was fortunate enough to do. And I was just a normal guy after.”

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[HaloNArizona]

The team-friendly, five-year $85-million contract he signed in 2011, however, was “absolutely not” related to any fear he had for his career, he said. He took the discounted deal because he never wanted to be the team’s highest-paid player, or to make so much money that the team couldn’t afford to surround him with good players. One day in the back of the team plane, Weaver told then-GM Tony Reagins what he wanted, and had a deal within three days.

 

Too bad many players do not think this way.

[Hubs]

I think Weaver could've transitioned to the pen. He had a funky delivery and his velocity may have been better if he was only throwing one inning at a time. We'll see if he wants to comeback. He was our 1st round pick in 2004, the year before Upton was drafted #1. So he's not that old, but still, his velocity wasn't there.

 

[UndertheHalo]

I really hope that Weave finds his way into being a part of the organization.  Whether as a coach or some front office role or in the booth.  I cant help but have a great fondness for Jered Weaver and I can’t really think of many who have been better Angels.  I wish that the Angels had reached out and arranged for him to retire in an Angels cap.  I’m not sure if that was a possibility but I’m sure there’s no hard feelings or anything.  One of our all time greats for sure.  

[T.G.]

@Jeff Fletcher that was such a great read.  I've been wondering about his life after baseball.

[Troll Daddy]

 

[Troll Daddy]

 

[Cdaniel]

Really enjoyed this article....well done.

[VariousCrap]

It's a damn shame his body just couldn't do it anymore.  When his body was at his strongest, he was one hell of the pitcher.  The only good side to an early retirement is that he gets to spend so much time with his family.  He'll never regret that.

[notherhalo]

How fortunate we were to have him with us 

game 2 against Boston, closing out a playoff game, the game against his brother, the electric rookie season, him still throwing CG's w/o the speed in his later years and the funny gifs that went along with it