Play the Movie Later: Luke Weaver's Formula for Success
- Mark Rosenman
- Jun 11
- 4 min read
As the Mets continue navigating a season that has featured enough injuries and adversity to test the patience of even the most optimistic Mets fan, (even me) one player who has consistently found answers is reliever Luke Weaver.
Prior to Thursday's game against the Cardinals, I caught up with Weaver to discuss the secret behind his success, the mindset that keeps him locked in, and why the Mets still believe they can make noise despite the challenges that have piled up during the first half of the season.
For Weaver, the foundation is surprisingly simple.
"Consistency, probably being number one," Weaver explained. "Just staying in my process, routines, things before the game, after the game, recovery."
Then came one of the more memorable descriptions you'll hear from a pitcher.
"I'm trying to be really tight-knit, keeping all those screws and bolts nice and tight and throwing a little WD-40 when needed."
It's a colorful analogy, but it perfectly captures the approach that has transformed Weaver into one of the Mets' most dependable bullpen weapons. For him, preparation creates confidence, and confidence allows him to quickly move past mistakes.
"Ultimately it's just trying to stay in that confidence that comes within that," Weaver said. "When things don't really necessarily go my way on the mound, that can put a governor on it a little bit quicker."
While Weaver's success could easily be viewed as an individual accomplishment, that's not how he sees it. I asked whether his mental approach could help a Mets club that remains within striking distance of a Wild Card spot despite a seemingly endless injury list, Weaver immediately shifted the focus away from himself.
"It's not just about me, it's about all of us," he said.
The veteran reliever believes the ingredients for success are already in the clubhouse.
"We have a lot of great preparation. We have a lot of great mindsets that are in the right spot."
The challenge, he says, is executing consistently between the lines.
"It's just about trying to get the collective group all firing at the same time."
And when that happens?
"We're all big league players and we're capable of having big moments."
Perhaps the most telling quote from Weaver came when discussing the mentality required during difficult stretches.
"I think it's kind of just like, 'Why not me today?' type of mentality."
That philosophy applies not only to relievers but also to starters who have been asked to adapt to different roles in today's evolving game. With more teams using openers and bulk relievers, pitchers are often required to adjust on the fly.
According to Weaver, the biggest adjustment isn't physical.
"The mindset is the biggest one," he said.
Preparation changes slightly, but the challenge is mostly mental.
"The baseball just doesn't really change, right? You're still pitching."
What does change is the willingness to embrace circumstances that may not match a player's expectations.
"There's a pride aspect to everything," Weaver explained. "Being able to swallow your pride a bit and just say, 'Hey, this is the circumstance at the moment.'"
Acceptance, he believes, is often the first step toward success.
"Once you accept it and surrender to whatever that is, then you have a better chance to achieve what you're trying to go for."
For Weaver, success is never one grand moment. It's the accumulation of countless small details.
"Success is really just driven from all those little bitty things that we talked about — the nuts and bolts."
The conversation eventually turned toward New York sports and the dramatic comeback by the Knicks the night before. While Weaver acknowledged that baseball's daily grind differs from playoff basketball, he saw lessons worth applying.
"It was an unbelievable game," he said.
What stood out wasn't necessarily the comeback itself but the way elite athletes handle adversity in real time.
"You see small mistakes kind of showing up in big moments. You see how quick you got to get through that and over it and then try to get to the next play, next pitch in our sport."
That ability to stay immersed in the present moment may be the central theme of everything Weaver discussed.
"It's that killer mentality of saying, 'Today, in this specific moment, I'm going to be relentless and I'm going to win this moment.'"
String enough of those moments together and good things happen.
"When you stack enough of those and you look back and you say, 'Oh wow, I went on a pretty good run,' that's kind of what you want."
The key, according to Weaver, is not worrying about the big picture while it's happening.
"You kind of want to black out to it. You want to be so focused on every little thing that you could focus on."
Or, as Weaver put it in perhaps the most fitting description of all:
"Just being immersed into whatever the moment is. Then that ends up being like, okay, play the movie later and let's watch it."
For a Mets team still trying to write a happy ending to its 2026 season, that's not a bad script to follow.
Here is the full interview :
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