Greg Weissert more than just OK against Yankees . . . he's 3-K
Bay Shore native Greg Weissert #57 of the Boston Red Sox pitches during the seventh inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Bay Shore native Greg Weissert’s parents and brother went to Yankee Stadium on Friday night to watch the Yankees play the Red Sox.
Or, in their case, to watch the Red Sox play the Yankees.
Ray and Liz’s son Greg is a Boston reliever who used to pitch for the Yankees. But Greg did not get into Friday’s game. That happens sometimes — it’s the life of a reliever. You never know when you’re going to get the call.
Greg got the call on Saturday night and struck out the side in the seventh inning of Boston’s 10-7 victory over the Yankees.
Unfortunately, for this one night, the Weisserts were not among the sellout crowd of 47,020.
“They were watching, obviously,” Greg said minutes after the game in the victorious visiting clubhouse. “They watch every game.”
What the Weisserts saw on TV was pure dominance from their 30-year-old son, who pitched for the Yankees from 2022-23 before getting traded to Boston in the Alex Verdugo deal.
Weissert emerged from the Boston bullpen after “God Bless America” with the Red Sox holding an 8-5 lead.
He struck out the side on 12 pitches to help the Red Sox hold on for the victory.
For his efforts, Weissert received cheers from the many Red Sox fans in attendance along with the important but hardly-ever-celebrated stat called a “hold.” It was his 10th of the season. (Going into Saturday, the MLB leader in holds was Houston’s Bryan Abreu with 17.)
“Hold’’ is not the sexiest stat. It’s neither a win nor a save. But middle reliever isn’t the sexiest role.
It just means 10 times this season, Weissert came in with a lead and held it in a Red Sox victory. And that means a lot, especially given that the Red Sox have only 31 victories in 2025.
The win went to Boston starter Garrett Crochet, who allowed five runs in six innings. The save went to former Yankee Aroldis Chapman, who pitched a 1-2-3 ninth.
The best relief job of the night belonged to Weissert.
He fired strikes with his first six pitches to strike out Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Oswald Peraza, both on 96-mph fastballs.
He fell behind Paul Goldschmidt 3-and-1 but battled back for another K, this time on a fastball that was “only” 95.
Other than his first pitch — a called strike on an 83-mph sweeper to Chisholm — Weissert fired all fastballs or sinkers, all at at least 94 mph.
“It’s just — I don’t know,” he said. “I felt good today.”
Weissert, an 18th-round pick of the Yankees in the 2016 draft from Fordham, was called up by the Yankees to the majors for the first time on Aug. 25, 2022.
He made his debut in Oakland that night and it was a nightmare. Weissert walked two batters and hit two, recording only one out. His ERA was 81.00.
But Weissert stayed in the big leagues and, three days later, threw two scoreless innings in Anaheim against the Angels. Then, two days after that, he pitched another two scoreless innings against the Angels and his first win.
Weisert made his Yankee Stadium debut on Sept. 5 and again was the winning pitcher. A third win came two days later. The three wins in his first six appearances were the third-most in MLB history for a reliever behind Tanner Roark (four in 2013) and Robbie Ross (four in 2012).
But Weissert soon learned about life on the Yankees-to-Triple-A shuttle. Because he had contract options and could be sent back and forth multiple times, he got to know the route between Scranton, Pennsylvania, and the Bronx quite well in 2022 and 2023.
He made 17 appearances for the Yankees in less than two months in 2022 and only 12 for the entire season in 2023. His final Yankees record: 3-0 with a 4.60 ERA.
On Dec. 5, 2023, Weissert was part of a rare Yankees-Red Sox trade when he was dealt to Boston along with two minor-leaguers for Verdugo.
He loved his time in New York, but Weissert found himself a more permanent spot in Boston’s bullpen. Last season, he went 4-2 with a 3.13 ERA and one save in 63 games.
This season, Weissert has been even better. After Saturday, he is 2-1 with a 2.83 ERA. In 28 2⁄3 innings, he has 29 strikeouts.
Now he’s on the other side of The Rivalry.
“It’s always a good atmosphere when we play the Yankees,” he said. “When I was with the Yankees and we played the Red Sox, it’s always feisty. It’s always a fun place to play.”
And his parents? Had they been able to share in his Saturday night success?
“Oh, yeah, yeah,” he said. “They already texted.”
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
