Yankees Mag: Family Plan

This Q&A is excerpted from an interview for the New York Yankees Official Podcast. Subscribe at yankees.com/podcast or the podcast platform of your choice, or watch every episode on the Gotham Sports app or MLB.com.

Every family has its own legacy, physical in some ways, intangible in others. There are items and stories passed down that help forge an identity, the better to understand the less-than-genetic bonds.

Ryan Weathers wasn’t even born yet when his father, David, pitched in Yankee Stadium for the 1996 team that would kick off a dynasty in the Bronx, but he’s heard the stories. He’s watched the tape. He’s seen his dad’s World Series ring. And after an offseason trade brought Ryan to New York, the left-hander -- primarily a starter, unlike his father -- is keen on adding another piece to the family jewels.

Ryan has already emulated his father in one specific way: This past April, he and his wife, Thayer, became parents for the first time (and Ryan hopes to see baby Paul become a left-hander). But as the 26-year-old works to prove that he can stay healthy and dominant for a team chasing another key moment in the Weathers family lineage, he is determined to mine every advantage he can from the Yankees’ coaching staff as well as the teammates who share his goals. And during a taping of the New York Yankees Official Podcast toward the end of Spring Training, Weathers offered plenty of insight into his process and ambitions.

Yankees Magazine: It’s been a few months, but “Ryan Weathers, starting pitcher for the New York Yankees.” How does that sound?

Ryan Weathers: It’s cool. I’m excited.

YM: We all know that your dad was a New York Yankee. He was a part of that 1996 team, and he went from the Marlins to the Yankees -- the same route you took. How strange do you find that?

RW: He got to play in old Yankee Stadium, so I’m kind of jealous of that. His memories that he had there from that postseason run were really cool.

YM: After he pitched in Game 6 of the 1996 World Series, he was quoted as saying that Yankee Stadium was the loudest ballpark he had ever played in. What has he told you about that game?

RW: It was one of the highlights of his career. He got a big punchout and got them out of a jam in that game. And I remember him saying that he could see the frieze that they had at the top of Yankee Stadium swaying, it was so loud. So, it’s just like a testament to Yankee fans, how well they support the team.

YM: You weren’t even born at that time, but how much has he made you watch that video, just to let you know?

RW: He’s made me watch it a couple times. It’s just a cool moment. That was true old-school baseball, and it’s cool just seeing the old videos and stuff like that.

YM: How old were you when you realized, "Wow, my dad does something pretty cool for a living?"

RW: He was with the Mets from 2001 to 2004. I was still a little too young to remember that, but then he was with the Cincinnati Reds. I had a locker next to his at Great American Ball Park, and I was just a kid, so during the game I was playing pickle in the cages. That was when we realized it was really cool. There was a group of us that were all the same age, like 5 or 6. It was Eric Milton’s son, Ramon Hernandez had two sons, Juan Castro had two sons. Ken Griffey Jr. had Trey, who later played football at Arizona. He was our oldest one. But I can remember, at that age, it was just like, “Baseball is pretty fun.”

YM: What did young Ryan Weathers keep in his locker?

RW: I had a couple jerseys. I had the BP jersey, a game jersey. Some Reds T-shirts, pants, whatever shoes my dad got for me. I had one of the old-school Nike gloves from Arthur Rhodes, and then I had my first Rawlings glove from Daniel Herrera. My dad was always Mizuno, so that was my first Rawlings glove. I miss it. That was when it was really fun and it wasn’t your job, so you could just run around the ballpark.

YM: You literally grew up at the ballpark.

RW: For sure. Before games, I was hitting BP in the outfield and hitting homers at Great American Ball Park. The Reds’ staff there was unbelievable. Dusty Baker is awesome. He let us just run around. We were 6 years old, just running around the locker room. He really helped me learn to love the game of baseball because he allowed all of us kids to be at the ballpark, which is something that doesn’t happen all the time. He was a really family-oriented person. He made all of us love baseball.

YM: At what point in time did you say, "Hey, I think this game is really for me?"

RW: I played basketball in high school, and I always loved that. But my junior year, my velo started going up, and I was left-handed and got to play on the Team USA circuit as an 18-year-old. I got to play against other countries. And I would say that’s when I was kind of like, I might have a chance in this game.

YM: What kind of basketball player were you?

RW: I played anywhere from point guard to small forward.

YM: How was the handle?

RW: It was good enough. High school good. But me and my buddies, we had all played together since we were 5 and 6 years old, playing on eight-foot goals. I’m from a small town (Loretto, Tenn.), so we had 500 kids in our whole school. My graduating class was 72 people. So, if you were a male athlete, you had to play all the sports.

YM: If you could construct a starting five based on the 26-man roster in the Yankees’ clubhouse, who are you putting on the squad?

RW: I’m going to take [Brent] Headrick because he’s from the Midwest. They always play hoops. I’m going to have him as my four. Obviously, you got to take Judgey [Aaron Judge] for the height. We’ll put him at center. He’s our tallest guy. I’ll play the two guard. I’m going to put Grish [Trent Grisham] as our small forward. I feel like he’s a bruiser. And then I’m trying to think of who my point guard would be … I feel like Anthony Volpe would be a good point guard.

YM: Back to baseball, is it interesting walking into a new clubhouse for the first time? You may know guys from seeing them over the years, but to integrate yourself into that clubhouse, is that hard?

RW: Honestly, it’s been super easy. There’s always fear of the unknown when you get traded somewhere. But you get in this clubhouse, and they’re the most down-to-earth guys, true and good human beings, and that just makes the transition a lot easier. I think part of what Aaron Judge does so well as captain is, he makes the transition so easy and makes you feel like you’re a part of the New York Yankees. They’re all really good dudes.

YM: During Spring Training, you spoke about working with Andy Pettitte a bit on some of your breaking pitches. What was the message, and why do you think it resonated with you?

RW: I very much have one gear, and it’s just put my foot on the gas pedal and go as hard as I can. I think with the breaking ball, it’s not a finesse pitch, but the one that I throw -- the sweeper -- it’s very hard to try to muscle it; in Gerrit Cole’s words, to “be an animal” with it. With my hard slider, I get the grip and just throw it as hard as I can. Well, with the sweeper, it’s kind of tough. And what Andy told me, what really helped me, is that it’s OK to throw a softer breaking ball. So, going into my next outing, it was just pick a target and just throw it and just trust it. He put confidence behind the pitch, and that helped me gain confidence with it.

YM: Do you hope Andy’s around a lot more during the year? And not only some of the former players, but also guys like Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, those guys that are in that Yankees clubhouse right now: How much could being around those guys help you?

RW: The trio of pitching coaches we have are awesome. All three are really good at their respective jobs. And I like having Gerrit; that’s like another pitching coach. He really helped me a lot in my live BP yesterday, just telling me, “Hey, throw the breaking ball. Let’s work on stuff that is not your strong suit.” And, metrics-wise, it can be a really good breaking ball, but if I can’t throw it for a strike, then how good is it? I’ve not been a heavy breaking ball pitcher in my career. But it’s too good of a pitch to not throw. So, just them forcing me to throw it, it’s helped me trust it more and more.

YM: Is it hard to get over that mental hurdle? Like, I need to trust this pitch, I need to work on it, instead of going to your bread and butter?

RW: Absolutely. And I think they really helped me in the live BP settings during Spring Training. It’s a time when we can work on something, and obviously, I’m still facing really good hitters, just with our team. And it’s good to see, Why not throw it in a 1-2 count, throw it back door and see how the hitter responds? I now know with two strikes, that lane is available for me. So, if Gerrit wouldn’t have continuously made me try to throw it, I might not have figured that out.

YM: When you look at your last three years, coming into 2026, it’s just 39 games. Everyone knows, if you can stay healthy, how good you can be on the mound. So, how do you ensure that you’re going to be able to go the distance?

RW: My first injury in 2024, I hurt my finger, the type of thing that only happens to rock climbers. I’m like one of three guys in the last decade that’s had that injury. I’ve just had these little injuries where I want to pitch through them, but if I try to pitch through them, I’m going to hurt something else. And that’s the part that stinks, when the rest of your body feels good and you have one little thing that’s making it so you physically can’t go. What they’ve done a good job with here is we’ve got on a really solid lifting routine to get me to where my body feels good. My job in that is, if I have a little nick, I’ve got to pitch through it. If you have 33 starts in a year, you’re going to have a few where you don’t feel good at all. And then you’re going to have 20 of them where you’re like, “Uh, I feel good enough to pitch.” And that’s where I just have to go out there and take the ball. If I’m going to be a starter, I have to take my post every fifth day. And that’s what I want to be able to do.

YM: What are you doing differently to help you stay on the mound?

RW: Just using the weight room is a tool. I feel like I have prided myself on having smooth mechanics and having a good arm action. So, I just sat down to evaluate and write down my routine. You write down the routine, you kind of look at it, and you’re able to pick and choose areas that could potentially lead to something. And I think that this offseason we identified some stuff that could be leading to when I start throwing, why things don’t feel good and why things feel tight. So, we corrected those, and Spring Training was really the best I’ve felt in a couple years. I just hope to keep that going.

YM: How much pressure do you feel to prove yourself?

RW: I don’t really think there’s any pressure; I think baseball is already hard enough as it is. And when we try to add pressure, I think that’s when things kind of snowball. One of my sayings is, “Be a thermostat, not a thermometer.” And I know that this is a different beast, pitching for the Yankees, but I’m either going to throw the ball well or I won’t. I’ve been through the highs and lows. I’ve been at the pinnacle in 2021, when I was in the big leagues the whole year, and then ’22, I’m in Triple-A the whole year and not doing too well. I know what rock bottom has felt like. There’s a saying, “There comes a time in your career where the only person that you can trust is yourself.” Because when you’re doing well, everybody loves you. When you’re doing bad, you’re the only person that can bring yourself out of it. I want somebody to watch me pitch and, if there was no scoreboard, I don’t want them to know if I’ve thrown seven shutout or four innings and gave up 10 runs. I want to stay as even keel as possible.

YM: How much of this have you learned from your father?

RW: A lot. My dad and I are a touch different. He’s a pitcher that wore his emotions on his sleeve. I just don’t have that in my personality. When I pitch, I’m a competitor; I see red. I want to be a bulldog. In 2024, my pitching coach with the Marlins really helped me understand that it’s good to have that bulldog, but there’s times to let it out and then there’s times where you keep it inside.

YM: Well, we hope it is going to be a big year professionally for you. We know that it’s going to be a big year personally because you and your wife welcomed a little baby boy into the world in April. How excited are you? And what kind of dad do you think you’re going to be?

RW: Very excited. I have no excuses to not be a good dad with how my dad raised me. And thankfully, my wife’s felt good throughout this whole process. I’m excited to watch her be a mom, too.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Jon Schwartz is the deputy editor of Yankees Magazine. Get more articles like this delivered to your doorstep by purchasing a subscription to Yankees Magazine at www.yankees.com/publications.