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Weaver brothers have become best pals
By KEN PETERS, AP Sports Writer
March 28, 2006
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) -- Jeff Weaver hasn't had much of a chance to ditch his little brother this spring, especially since Jered's locker is just across from his in the Angels' clubhouse.
Not that Jeff wants to anyway -- the lanky right-handed pitchers have become best pals.
That wasn't always the case.
"We were six years apart, and when I was in high school and he was 9 or 10 years old, he was kind of the nagging little brother who wanted to go everywhere, hang out with the big boys," Jeff said.
"It was kind of that usual sibling love-hate relationship."
Jered grinned and recalled that all he really wanted back then was some mobility.
"Because of the age difference, we didn't really hang out, didn't go to school together or anything," he said. "But when he was 16, I really wanted to hang out because he had just gotten his driver's license. Of course, he didn't want to hang out with his 10-year-old brother."
They've spent a lot of time together this spring.
"I get to see him in action, we get to hang together, go to dinner," Jeff said. "We've spent the most time that we ever have together, because we'd always been on different schedules in different places.
"So this has been really fun for me, and hopefully, we'll have it for years to come. We'll just have to wait and see."
Said Jered: "The fact he's here, we don't have to talk on the phone. If I have a problem, or if I don't understand something that's going on in camp, I can just walk over and ask him."
Jeff, 29, signed a one-year, $8.325 million contract free agent contract with the Angels last month, with another $600,000 available in performance bonuses.
After going 14-11 with three complete games, two shutouts and a 4.22 ERA in 34 starts for the Dodgers last season, he is set to follow 2005 AL Cy Young winner Bartolo and John Lackey in the Angels' rotation.
Jered, 23, was a standout at Long Beach State, where he won the Golden Spikes Award in 2004 as the country's top college baseball player. He was selected by the Angels with the 12th pick in the draft later that year, and after waiting 11 months, finally agreed to a minor league contract last June for a club-record signing bonus of $4 million. He is slated to begin this season in the minors.
It's obvious the two are related. Jeff is 6-foot-5 and 200 pounds, while Jered is 6-7, 205. Both look a bit like California surfer dudes, with their long, brownish-blond hair.
Jeff noted another similarity.
"When I finally did get to see him pitch, it was eerie because we're so similar, the mechanics," Jeff said. "I'd never worked with him on mechanics or anything, just on things like approach and what he might want to throw.
"But until I saw him pitch, I didn't realize there were so many similarities. It's easy for us to talk about pitching because we are so close in certain things we do."
There are differences, of course.
"Personality-wise, Jeff is quiet, more soft-spoken, and Jered is a little more outgoing. Jeff is stoic on the mound and Jered, maybe because of his youth, shows a lot of emotion," Angels pitching coach Bud Black said.
"I've enjoyed them in the short time we've had them. They're very engaging to talk to. And the one thing they definitely have in common is that they both love pitching and they're both very competitive."
Despite the age gap, it's obvious the brothers always have been proud of each other.
Jeff talked about Jered being "really something to watch on the basketball court" in high school. Jered spoke of how his older brother inspired him by walking on at Fresno State, making the team, then going on to the big leagues.
Even when they were younger, they had some good times together. When Jeff made it to the majors, he used to have Jered, then in high school, visit him.
"He would come out for about 10 days and stay with me and get to come in the clubhouse and hang out with the guys and kind of see how it all worked at the big league level," Jeff said. "I think all those experiences helped him through his college career, kind of understanding how difficult the game is, and dealing with adversities.
"He's a lot further along than I was at this time, that's for sure. His second-best pitch is his changeup, and that's the one that's still a work in progress for me."
Jeff grinned and added, "And he's always had a level head, a good demeanor. That's something that took me a while."
― Steve Shasta (Steve Shasta), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 16:22 (twenty years ago)
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