There is no greater compliment a closer could receive than that he was Rivera-esque. And both times Luke Weaver stepped into the role for the Yankees, he was worthy of the distinction.
Because to be Rivera-esque is not just about effectiveness, but how you compile your saves. In a job populated by high-wire artists, Rivera drained drama. There was brevity to his work. He was mainly in and out, without the tinge that the other team had a chance to tie or win.
Weaver did that to end last season after replacing Clay Holmes. And he did so again this year when Devin Williams stumbled in his first New York month. Like Rivera, Weaver could be so efficient that he could cover more than three outs without much toil. He limited walks, slug and tension. From Aug. 16 of last year, when Weaver fully began to push toward a larger and larger pen role through Monday, there had been 146 relievers who logged at least 30 regular-season innings, and Weaver was first in batting average against (.135), second in WHIP (0.77) and ERA (0.99) and third in slugging percentage against (.214) while striking out one out of every three batters.
No one could ever offer the full picture of Rivera. But as snapshots go, it was Rivera-esque.
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